When you are looking for the average criminal justice salary, you will find that averages in the field depend entirely upon the sector of criminal justice you work in. As you start to study discipline-specific coursework, you need to consider what career within criminal justice that you plan on pursuing. By doing this, you can adequately begin to compare the salary ranges of professionals within the field so that you know what your future earnings could potentially be. Many people assume that criminal justice graduates will move on to become lawyers or police officers, but there are a wide range of jobs in the field that do not involve working in a squad car or a court room. Here are some of the salary ranges of Criminal Justice graduates holding private, federal or state level jobs.
Salary Ranges in Private Security
One of the many routes that you can take with your Bachelor’s degree is in private security. If you would like to become a security manager or director in the private sector, you will be managing the security guards who protect facilities. You may develop procedures, train guards, and follow the regulations to ensure that the organization is in compliance. Security managers and directors must have a Bachelor’s degree and some on-the-job experience. Because you are responsible for the safety and security of employees, pay in this line of work is high. Manager salary ranges between $56,898 and $108,937 per year, with the average coming in at $82,975. The salary that you are offered depends on experience, location and size of the organization.
Working in Corrections of Probation
There are many different roles in the prison system that must be assigned to criminal justice specialists. With a larger prison population than any other developed nation in the world, it is no surprise that the demand for professionals in corrections is high. The pay range for corrections officers shows just how dramatically salaries in the field can vary. Based on reports conducted by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, there are 432,680 officers employed in corrections and the salaries range between $26,740 and $71,720 per year. If you move up in the system to become a warden, your salaries could range between $43,300 and $125,000 per year depending on the prison and the state’s budget.
Federal Criminal Justice Salary Ranges
Some of the most popular criminal justice careers are at the federal level. Your salary as a federal employee will depend on your title and the agency in which you work for. Agents working for the FBI can average a salary of $50,000 per year, coroners average just around $100,000 per year and crime scene investigators average $60,000 per year. To determine how much you will earn, you will need to know which agency and which title you are pursuing.
As you can see, the average salary for graduates who have earned a degree in criminal justice can vary. Ultimately, you need to know if you will work for a private or public agency and what you would like to do. Narrow down your options first, and then compare the right criminal justice salary ranges.