Identify at least five different law, public safety, corrections, and security careers that you could pursue in your home state, and choose three that appeal to you the most. Out of three, write a one page essay describing which one would be your career choice and the educational pathway that you would have to follow in order to obtain that career. Finally, identify at least three colleges, universities, or training programs that are suited to that career choice.

Five careers within the Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security cluster are bailiff, social worker, sheriff, ski patrol worker, and private detective. Of these careers, the ones that are most appealing to me are social worker, sheriff, and private detective.

I would like to be a private detective, because I enjoy researching, solving problems, and thinking critically and creativity. Using these skills, I would need to conduct investigations to locate missing people, check for fraudulent claims, complete background checks, or help in other ways. To do this, I could use the Internet, public records, credit reports, and more.

Before I could work in this field, I would need to go to school. There are associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, and master’s degree programs that I could complete. Some of the fields of study that are recommended for this field are police science, financial forensics, and criminal justice. I think that I would work toward a bachelor’s degree in order to boost my chances of a promotion down the line.

Three schools that have private investigation programs are the University of Washington, Boston University, and California State University–Fullerton. These schools all offer certification programs that I could complete in a year, but they recommend getting at least an associate’s degree along with it.

By attending one of these schools, I can complete the academic requirements to become a private investigator and start looking for a position in this field or open up my own private investigation business.