Every occupation the official NCES/BLS crosswalk connects to criminal justice programs, with BLS pay, the education each job usually needs, what the work involves, and where to go next.
Criminal Justice · CIP 43.01 series · 17 codes · 17 careers · Check one exact major, e.g. 43.0100 Criminal Justice and Corrections, General, in the major to career finder
The official NCES/BLS crosswalk maps criminal justice programs to 17 occupations that such programs typically prepare people for, including Forensic Scientist, First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officer and First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives. BLS median pay across them runs from $38,020 (Security Guard) to $106,040 (First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives) in May 2025. The crosswalk describes preparation, not what graduates actually go on to do.
Data Program → related occupations: these are jobs criminal justice programs typically prepare people for (NCES/BLS crosswalk). Not a guaranteed outcome, and not a record of what graduates do.
Data Filter by the education the job usually needs or its preparation level; sort by pay or by number employed.
| Occupation | Most common education | Job Zone | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Security Guard | $38,020 | 1,283,470 | High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 1-2 |
| Police Officer | $76,210 | 670,520 | n/a | 3 |
| Compliance Officer | $80,730 | 417,070 | n/a | 4 |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | $59,550 | 392,550 | Bachelor's Degree | 4 |
| Correctional Officer | $58,940 | 380,500 | High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 1-2 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives | $106,040 | 154,610 | High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 1-2 |
| Detective | $93,790 | 114,430 | n/a | 3 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Security Worker | $55,940 | 81,480 | Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 1-2 |
| Financial Examiner | $94,160 | 67,830 | Bachelor's Degree | 4 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officer | $77,970 | 53,380 | High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 3 |
| Private Investigator | $51,220 | 35,580 | Bachelor's Degree | 3 |
| Forensic Scientist | $72,060 | 19,120 | Post-Secondary Certificate | 3 |
| Bailiff | $56,600 | 17,310 | High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 3 |
| Emergency Management Director | $93,330 | 13,500 | Bachelor's Degree | 4 |
| Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, PostsecondaryPostsecondary teaching | $76,590 | 13,150 | Master's Degree | 5 |
| Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators | $43,370 | 9,520 | High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 1-2 |
| Transit and Railroad Police | $90,230 | 4,390 | Bachelor's Degree | 3 |
No occupations match these filters.
Data The education column shows a typical entry level only where O*NET data supports one answer. Check the typical education for First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officer, one of the criminal justice jobs above.
Data BLS national median annual wage, May 2025. These are pay levels of the occupations, not earnings of graduates.
Data The largest related occupations by employment (postsecondary teaching shown in the explorer).
Collect evidence from crime scenes, storing it in conditions that preserve its integrity.
Keep records and prepare reports detailing findings, investigative methods, and laboratory techniques.
Reading Comprehension · Active Listening · Writing
Career guide Salary How to become
Mapped from CIP 43.0100Take, receive, or check periodic inmate counts.
Maintain order, discipline, and security within assigned areas in accordance with relevant rules, regulations, policies, and laws.
Social Perceptiveness · Coordination · Active Listening
Mapped from CIP 43.0100, 43.0102Supervise and coordinate the investigation of criminal cases, offering guidance and expertise to investigators, and ensuring that procedures are conducted in accordance with laws and regulations.
Prepare work schedules and assign duties to subordinates.
Social Perceptiveness · Management of Personnel Resources · Reading Comprehension
Mapped from CIP 43.0100, 43.0102Conduct head counts to ensure that each prisoner is present.
Inspect conditions of locks, window bars, grills, doors, and gates at correctional facilities to ensure security and help prevent escapes.
Social Perceptiveness · Active Listening · Monitoring
Career guide Salary How to become
Mapped from CIP 43.0100, 43.0102Prepare reports that detail investigation findings.
Obtain and verify evidence by interviewing and observing suspects and witnesses or by analyzing records.
Active Listening · Speaking · Social Perceptiveness
Career guide Salary How to become
Mapped from CIP 43.0100, 43.0107Provide for public safety by maintaining order, responding to emergencies, protecting people and property, enforcing motor vehicle and criminal laws, and promoting good community relations.
Identify, pursue, and arrest suspects and perpetrators of criminal acts.
Active Listening · Social Perceptiveness · Speaking
Career guide Salary How to become
Mapped from CIP 43.0100, 43.0107Data Related occupations grouped by government career field, with their pay range.
Data A national median for federal-aid graduates of this field: a separate measure from the BLS job pay above.
See earnings by degree level, college spread and federal debt.
The NCES/BLS crosswalk relates instructional programs (CIP 2020) to occupations (SOC 2018) when programs in the CIP category typically prepare individuals directly for jobs in the occupation. This page uses the CIP program series below and shows every non-residual occupation mapped to them that has BLS wages and O*NET data; each occupation lists the CIP codes that map to it.
Searches this page answers include “criminal justice degree jobs”, “what can you do with a criminal justice degree”, “what can i do with a criminal justice degree” (Ahrefs, U.S.).
