Students who complete their degree in criminal justice have a wide array of occupations to choose from. Many of these jobs require a postsecondary education, which can be either an associate's, bachelor's, or master's degree.

Some of the jobs that require a criminal justice degree include police officers, correctional officers and detectives.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), each of these positions involve certain skills that may be obtained through an online degree program.

Police officers can have a wide range of duties to perform while maintaining the goal of decreasing criminal activity in their areas . Some may be assigned to cruiser vehicles, horses or motorcycles to help aid them in the job. Others may continue with school or work experience to specialize in things such as fingerprint analysis or patrolling the area's waterways.

The number of sworn-in law enforcement personnel at local, nationwide agencies was roughly 24,000 individuals between 2000 and 2004, the U.S. Depart of Justice reports. In the From 2004 to 2008, this number rose to more than 33,000 new law enforcement workers. Areas that experienced the largest influx included cities such as Dallas, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona.

Detectives have similar objectives of maintaining peace, but they specifically work towards solving crimes that have been already committed, the BLS reports. These individuals may hone in on certain concentrations, such as taking on cases that involve juvenile delinquency or computer crime. Both of these may have been introduced to a detective during a class while obtaining their criminal justice degree.

Once convicted criminals have been detained in prison, correctional officers maintain order and respect among inmates. A degree in criminal justice or another related field of study is normally required to land one of these positions, so staff may be best prepared for difficult situations that may occur while handling detained felons.

Regardless of where students would like to start their career in criminal justice, the flexibility of college programs online allows those pursuing jobs in this field to relocate or consider almost any region for work. Online coursework may be worked on wherever a student has internet access, so they may move to a new city and continue the required work at the same web-based school.

A student can begin an online degree program in criminal justice at any accredited institution with flexible enrollment, which can be the first steps in obtaining a position in the field of law enforcement.