Wow what a ride! Life has been good. I am 28 years old and just graduated from college with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice. What I really want is to begin a career in my field to apply the things I learned in school. However, the job market is limited right now. Here is my story.
When I was younger, I spent some time in the United States Navy. As much as I did not like it, I am glad I did it. The parts of being in the Navy that I carry with me are not necessarily job related. I spent a year in Monterey, California where I was supposed to be learning a foreign language. That was a successful venture for me. However, the most interesting part was being able to meet and learn about people in downtown Monterey.
A large group of people in Monterey were stuck in a Catch-22. They could not get a job without an address, but they could not get an address without a job. It was interesting to see the lack of services to people in that area at the time. The only homeless programs were for men. When a woman was ready to give up life on the streets, she either had to go to Sacramento or find a friend who would give her a place to stay. After being transferred to Fort Gordon, Georgia, I lost contact with all of the people from Monterey.
The lack of social services coupled with watching people being arrested for trying to find a warm place to sleep sparked my interest in the criminal justice system. While in Georgia, I started taking college classes in criminal justice. The more I learned about the system, the more I wanted to fix things. Then, my back got to a pain level where I could no longer serve in the Navy. That was enough to send me home to Indiana, where I finished my degree in criminal justice.
So, here I am. Trying to find employment in the criminal justice field that is friendly to someone with chronic lower back pain. Fortunately, the VA gives me enough compensation to scrape by with only a lot of help from my mom. Right now, I am stuck in my own Catch-22. I have been turned down for jobs that require a BA in criminal justice because my competition has 5 or more years of experience. Yet, I cannot get experience in the field because my BA makes me over qualified for jobs that do not require a degree. Now what?
Reference: Personal Experience.