How many people on here enjoy their public/criminal justice career?

I assume that I am the most qualified on Fluther, to answer this question. As you know, Criminal Justice has many avenues you can take. My choice was to be police officer. I chose this field, simply because I wanted to help people and to arrest the bad guys. I have never regretted my choice.

Being in law enforcement, is like no other occupation. Each day is different. I actually looked forward to going to work each day. I am a people person, so mingling with the public was a natural for me.

The challenges in law enforcement are many. Staying in top physical condition is a must. Staying in top mental condition is imperative.

Being a cop is not for everyone. The stress is unbelievable. How you handle the stress is up to you. And, being a cops wife tops the charts of strain and stress in a family.

I could have been an attorney. I could have been somewhere else in the judicial system, but wearing the uniform just seemed right for me.

Once a cop, always a cop. a true statement that lives with you forever.

The choice is yours. choose wisely.

I assume I am second most qualified to answer this question. As you may or may not know, I handle post-conviciton relief appeals for the state of South Carolina. It is my responsibility to keep the bad guys in jail and make sure that those wrongly convicted will get their day in court. I set the agenda for the highest court in the state and often act as clerk for the court. I interact daily with judges, attorneys, and prosecutors. I love my job more than I ever thought it possible to love a job. I didn’t set out to do this for a living, but the opportunity presented itself as a second career, after spending 26 years working in the field of rehabilitation. My father was a criminal attorney, my mom was his legal assistant, so the legal field was where I always thought I should have been. I just didn’t start there, but am ever so thankful to have ended up here. If I had things to do over again, I would probably opt for law school, but there are tons of interesting jobs aside from actual lawyering.
As long as people are committing crimes, there will always be a need for people trained in this field.

@john65pennington and @VS I really appreciate your input and views.
Hopefully by the end of this year I will know exactly where to put my full
interest to. For some reason I’m leaning towards law enforcement because
I could really see my self doing this. But my mom doesn’t feel the same way.
I can tell she would fear the worst.

I believe I am the third most qualified person to answer this. I’m working on a master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice right now in order to get a career in corrections. I worked in a county prison before shadowing the counselors and I honestly loved every second of it. Even the mundane and tedious parts. If criminal justice interests you, I would say to jump in and don’t look back. These careers offer a variety in the day to day work that you can’t really find anywhere else.
Just be sure to really understand where you’d like to be in the criminal justice field because there is such a variety of positions and some people are better suited for some of those jobs but can’t fit in other areas. I started out thinking I wanted to go the legal route, law school or otherwise, but then I discovered I loved the atmosphere and challenges presented in corrections work. Analyze what kind of person you are, what you like to do (not just CJ related) and then see what positions reflect those interests. Best of luck!

^ Thanks for that answer! It helps a great deal. I gotta do a lot of thinking now