Criminology - worth it or not?

[mirahyndley]

I did a BSc Criminology years ago with OU as a hobby degree whilst on an extended career break. I really enjoyed it, it was something different and opened my mind to some new things.
DD is now thinking to apply next year. Entry requirements are quite high, I think she said ABB. Is it useful? Or just another 'I can tick the I've got a degree box'?
Has anyone gone into a job because of this degree? Any thoughts welcome.

This thread looked quite useful.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Criminology/comments/1jjqy0v/those_who_have_studied_criminology_what_jobs_did/

Does she have a real interest in/passion for the subject? People seem always to talk now about whether degrees are "worth it" but I always think the question is the wrong way round. The question should be "do I think I can enjoy and learn from this experience enough that it will seem worthwhile even if I don't make any money from it?"

Thanks, that link looks really useful. Unfortunately we are not in the position to fund them beyond the enjoyable/thought provoking degrees, they will need to make money out of it!

I guess the offer depends where you want to do the degree tho? Friend's DC did this at Swansea and had a lower offer than ABB (not that ABB is so very high tbh). Leeds where they also applied offers AAB. Their DC is now doing a masters at Birmingham. Not sure what the plan is workwise tho. It’s not a degree that obviously leads to a job role tbh but I agree, if it inspires you then happy days.

ETA: not sure what you mean by this Unfortunately we are not in the position to fund them beyond the enjoyable/thought provoking degrees, they will need to make money out of it! @mirahyndley – do you mean you cannot fund your DC after uni? I mean most of us don't do that tbh (beyond having them back at home to support)

You and your daughter might find this research useful (link below). Essentially, the most directly applicable post-degree career routes are into the criminal justice system or social services; otherwise, you are competing with other graduates with humanities or social science degrees as a generic generalist. It might be worth your daughter researching different career routes in more detail and the Prospects website will help with that.
luminate.prospects.ac.uk/what-do-criminology-graduates-do

Your daughter should choose whichever degree she feels most passionate about! It’s your choice not to fund her, it’s her choice to decide whether she wants to do it regardless.

Thanks for this. I was responding to a pp who said they should do a degree they will enjoy even if it means they won't make money from it. We (the parents) need our dc to be financially independent, there will be no house deposit handed to them and two adults are already sharing a bedroom (they are university students) so coasting along in a minimum wage job that they happen to love isn't going to cut it. Even a room in a flat share is very expensive now. We are raising them to be realistic about career prospects and investing in their education and degree that will lead to a career path.

Ah OK @mirahyndley well maybe criminology may not be the best option.

What A levels do they do? Is something that leads directly to employment like engineering an option? Or could they do something like maths or physics and become a secondary teacher? No probs finding a job and the salary is well above min wage.

Has she thought about becoming a probation officer? They have both a graduate and non graduate training scheme. With a criminology degree she would be eligible to apply for the fast track training scheme which pays a salary. Alternatively a masters in social work would qualify her to work in youth justice (or go straight for a BA in social work). Alternatively there are jobs in forensic and clinical psychology working with offenders but these are rare, very specialised and she would need a masters or PhD
https://prisonandprobationjobs.gov.uk/probation-service-roles/overview-of-the-probation-officer-role/probation-officer-training-pqip/

Personally I don't think it's a worthwhile degree, I only know one person that's done it though and they're working in a call centre now. Considering the cost of a degree it would be worth looking at apprenticeships with the police or as a probation officer instead IMO.

I literally cringe when I heard another 18yo who wants to do Criminology (sorry!) Seems like an enjoyable degree with no direct career path. Agree with pp, she should look at potential post degree jobs and work back eg Probation, Police, Prison Service, Social Work. None of those you will need a Criminology degree. The cost of higher education is just too expensive to not be doing a degree without a clear outcome.

Psychology would be better to consider. At least it is a degree you need to get on a pathway to Clinical/Educational Psychology (Dr).

A lot of criminology grads are not working in that field a year or three years after graduation. I think a lot of them want to be police detectives but apparently that's quite a 'who you know' kind of situation.

I would say pointless and don’t waste your money or hers. I know about 3-4 people who’ve done it and mainly because it was the only degree they could get into.

One of them (my sister) had one GCSE and got into it at Bangor Uni. Others who’ve done it are working in a bank or estate agency. I know degree reqs may seem high at some unis but that relates to its popularity not its academic requirements. I’d put it alongside media studies.

I should have added my sister never completed it as did not like sociolgy element and never completes anything so wasn’t a huge shock. The only thing she took from it was debt.

Criminology is one of those much derided degrees on MN, unlike psychology. There is a glut of psychology applicants theses days, and an over supply of graduates. I know plenty of ex psychology graduates working in shops, call centres etc.

Criminology is not always understood as a degree so can sound 'sexy'. Its basically a branch of sociology, so, yeah, dont go into Criminology if sociology bores you!

The best Criminology degrees have work related modules and placements. I dont track all my past students but have recently heard from 3 who studied Criminology . One has been accepted on the competitive Police Now scheme, one is on a probation officer graduate programme and the other is training in social work. These are all programmes my own DS couldn't get on to with a different social science degree and a master's in policy.

It really isn't. They are huge on 'safer recruitment' processes. It is hard to get on to the schemes, though, that is true. The sift is like some form of torture.

Mine is criminology. Not once has my knowledge or study been required for my jobs. That includes police officer, H&S regulator and intelligence analyst.

Has it been useful to send me off into the direction of career I wanted? Absolutely.

Has it given me a leg up? Yes, but so would any other degree.

Has it made me money specifically on the criminology aspect? No. It isn't a vocational degree in that it doesn't qualify you to do anything specific. No jobs want a criminology degree as a standalone requirement to fulfill the needs of a role.

Yes, agreed - but the recruitment picture out there for graduates right now is bleak : so the more work related modules and placements the better. Having had part time work in B and Q to 'show you can work in a team/handle the public' doesn't cut it at the moment.

Criminology is offered at a lot of excellent unis, too. Cambridge has a particularly famous postgrad programme.

My dd thought about this - you need to look at if it’s a BSC or BA. She was looking at sociology / with criminology. For where she is looking at she decided against criminology as that made it a BSC - it was very much into the research methods / statistics side.

she is doing sociology but planning to take a lot of the crime type modules - these are more humanities focused.

My personal experience is that they’ll end up in a role that they didn’t need a degree to do, unless she uses this as a starting point gets a 21 self funds and masters and progresses from there
It’s a fairly well trodden path, but it’s a long road
And she’ll end up working in a job where she’s competing with John Smith who failed his GCSE in 1991 but has 25 years experience

I don’t think psych is any better tbh. As @Piggywaspushed says, it’s such a popular degree and the chance of becoming a psychologist is remote. Friend of DD’s did it and is a primary teacher. Great role obvs but any degree would work.

If we’re working on the theory that any degree would work then they might as well do one they enjoy
More chance of passing it and sticking with it

Some degrees are directly vocational. You finish with a professional qualification that qualifies you for specfic jobs (e. g. nursing, paramedic science, engineering, medicine, physiotherapy, social work etc.)
Most do not. They open up postgraduate training (e. g. teaching, social work etc.) and job roles that specify any degree. Some would argue STEM degrees although not always directly vocational open up more postgraduate training and job options. There are schemes and roles that target STEM gradustes. Not all young people will have an interest or aptitude in STEM though. It will be a pretty sad day if we say non-STEM degrees have no value.
If the OP's daughter embarks on a vocational degree she will probably have an easier time getting a job. However, you have to have an interest and aptitude. The job market is tough, but a criminology degree could lead to post graduate training (teaching, social work, probation etc.) or a graduate role that accepts any degree. It is going to put you in a similar position to a history, sociology, english literature degree. Only the OP's daughter can decide if it is worthwhile. The key things to think about are interest, apttude, possible future pathwsas and realistic alternatives (degree courses, appreticeships etc.)

It absolutely isn’t.

all police jobs are a specific marking system- you score the highest in interview, you get the job.

however there are techniques to entry. The grads I know that got into the direct entry detective scheme did so by getting a staff job- call taker is easy to get, there are many jobs in intelligence for staff as well which are great options for potential DC’s.

the police environment is very pro supporting promotion and movement between ranks, so once you’re in, even a basic admin role, talk to a supervisor about your goals. They can arrange courses, shadowing days, mock interviews, training etc to help you along.

so the “who you know” aspect is more getting off your arse and putting yourself in a position where you can learn about the interview process and finding people who know how to navigate the system.

Yeah maybe that's what it is. Sorry I don't know much about the police but my friend works in graduate research and was telling me a lot of them seemed to say stuff like that. They seemed kinda disappointed and were working in unrelated jobs they weren't fond of. But of course that's just a snapshot.

I agree and in fact I said in my first post that if a degree inspires you then that's good.

I was saying though that a psych degree, while needed to become a clinical psych, does not that often lead there.

I suspect the OP may prefer a more vocational choice so that there's a high-paying career at the end.