Yep, I really turned this in

Last week's assignment was to write an essay giving information to other students in your field of study about a job that you had researched.  Well, I wrote something .. not exactly what the instructor expected, but it still got me an A ;)  It's a journal thing, so figured I'd put it here for y'all too.

In the autumn of my life, I decided to give Criminal Justice that old college try. I am finishing up my first year within my chosen major and have learned some things about this field, as well as about myself in the process. First and foremost, when working in this field, you are expected to know the law. Not only are you expected to know it, but you are expected to abide by the rules set forth in the law. I am, by nature, a rule breaker. I have, at times, a hard time swallowing the government’s pills. I have also found that no matter how many times I ask, or how convincing I believe my argument is, they will not let me have a police-issue gun or make arrests until I have gone through all the correct channels. I find that quite annoying.

I chose this major with the intent of going into police forensics, which I find very interesting, but wanted to have a solid background in Criminal Justice and chose the focus of Police Science. I found that there are age limits on the positions that I would have enjoyed being in the most -- age limits which I passed before ever starting college! Though the average salary is between $49 and $59K/year, which is so much better than I have ever made, I quickly decided that this field was not really a good fit for me. Besides the age limit on the interesting jobs, there is so much about the law and the way it is enforced (or not) that I do not agree with, I feel that I would be constantly frustrated working in this field. I have been pretty constantly frustrated just by taking the courses! Subsequently, I changed my major’s concentration from Police Science to Homeland Security because of the psychology and sociology concentrations in such a major.

I have always loved psychology and hoped that, in changing my focus to an area that uses more psychology, I would be more satisfied with my choice of field. I spoke with a long-time friend in the state police who, on finding out what I am majoring in, cautioned me (after he stopped laughing at the thought of me in law enforcement of any kind) that, though he loves his job, it can be overwhelmingly frustrating, that there is no money in it and that I should go into law. For some reason, he feels that I would make a good lawyer, because I “could talk someone to death in a courtroom.” He also made mention that, even though he felt that my being in a constant state of euphoria over being surrounded by men in uniform might temper it a bit, my “Shoot them in the face” approach to terrorism would most likely not go over very well. I’m pretty sure he was also trying to ensure that I would go into a field that would not issue me a firearm because he is a spoilsport. He agrees with my approach to terrorism, but apparently he hides it better than I do. After speaking with him, had money been my goal, I would have quickly chosen something else. I did check up on average salaries of security professionals in the US and it ranges around $79K/year, which is not bad at all, but I’m not terribly worried about making boat loads of money; I just want to do something I love. Speaking with him helped me realize this would not be something I could love, or even really enjoy very often, no matter how much I made.

In this mini-journey of finding myself, my first love and constant companion, Writing, has been niggling at me, asking why I have forsaken it in the name of science (and the hopes of being issued a gun). I have decided that I should follow my original dream of teaching English courses in a college setting and writing on the side in the hopes of being published someday. The thought of introducing other students to the beauty of the written word and the serenity that can be found in it makes me smile. The average salary, by my research, is around $50K/year for English professors, which is more than enough to satisfy my simple pleasures in life. The hours in class are reasonable, the hours outside of class needed to prepare and grade assignments would not be terrible. I cannot really imagine a better job for myself than to teach what I have always loved the most. After all, if you have a job that you love you will never work a day in your life!