Criminal Investigation/Interviewing

 

Types of Degrees Criminal Investigation/Interviewing Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many law enforcement investigation & interviewing graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	56
Basic Certificate	33
Undergraduate Certificate	20
Associate Degree	18

What Criminal Investigation/Interviewing Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to law enforcement investigation and interviewing and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Law Enforcement Investigation and Interviewing Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in law enforcement investigation and interviewing should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Skills for Law Enforcement Investigation and Interviewing Majors

A major in law enforcement investigation and interviewing prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Law Enforcement Investigation and Interviewing Majors

Law Enforcement Investigation and Interviewing majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Criminal Investigation/Interviewing Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with law enforcement investigation and interviewing:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Criminal Investigators and Special Agents	4.5%	$81,920
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers	7.0%	$61,380
Police Detectives	4.5%	$81,920

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Investigation/Interviewing?

The major attracts more women than men. About 67% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of law enforcement investigation and interviewing majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	11
White	7
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

How Much Do Criminal Investigation/Interviewing Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $65,400 to $85,020 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to law enforcement investigation and interviewing. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Criminal Investigation/Interviewing

Some careers associated with law enforcement investigation and interviewing require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to law enforcement investigation and interviewing have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	31.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	13.2%
Some College Courses	16.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	15.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	8.2%
Master’s Degree	8.2%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.8%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.3%
Doctoral Degree	5.4%

Online Criminal Investigation/Interviewing Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	2	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	5	1
Bachelor’s Degree	4	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	2	2
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Criminal Investigation/Interviewing Worth It?

The median salary for a law enforcement investigation and interviewing grad is $72,390 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 81% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $649,800 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Criminal Investigation/Interviewing

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to law enforcement investigation and interviewing.

Major	Number of Grads
Criminal Justice Studies	46,895
Criminal Justice	31,754
Criminal Justice & Police Science	20,976
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice	3,988
Corrections	3,042
Criminal Justice and Corrections, General	1,323
Securities Services Administration/Management	797
Security & Loss Prevention Services	685
Corrections Administration	143
Juvenile Corrections	97
Protective Services Operations	19
Critical Incident Response/Special Police Operations	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.