Which masters degree would be best when seeking a future career as a narcotics or homicide detective in LE?

Which masters degree would be best when seeking a future career as a narcotics or homicide detective in LE?

• I am a female, 21 yrs. old. I'm about to start my senior yr. in college just 2 semesters away from my bachelors degree in criminal justice and graduating from the police academy in May. I want to go right after my masters degree but there are just so many areas of knowledge you can gain from different degrees. Which do you think would be best for my career goals? I eventually want to work for the federal government. (DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals) I am currently thinking about behavioral analysis/behavioral sciencs, criminology, police admin., critical incident management, even pysch but not as much. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

• Answer:

  If you want the feds go for law or MBA. For the police no one cares what your masters is in. For your personal edification if you want to be a homicide detective I suggest taking a writing course along with majoring in business or philosophy. MBA because running a homicide or narcotics investigation is like being a boss. You have to handle people well, be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses, delegate and think outside the box. Philosophy because the greatest asset a detective or any cop can have is his critical thinking skills, which the study of philosophy tends to help develop. Don't go for cj stuff like criminology, police administration, critical incident management, etc. until you have actually been a cop for some time and can tell the difference between reality and what you are taught.