College major

[jakeg]

I'm a high school senior, and I'm trying to decide on a major for college. I plan to join the Army (probably Special Forces), followed by some sort of federal LE. I would greatly appreciate any thoughts on what college majors are most helpful in law enforcement and special operations.
Thanks,
Jake

[LeCarre]

Most people on this forum would tell you that the degree doesn't matter as much as the need to keep your life in order. No drug use, excessive alcohol abuse, or criminal activity will be accepted. The occassional moving violation or college prank won't hurt, but don't get stupid when confronted with any "new experiences".

You may want to take some ROTC classes. Try it for your first year in order to get a feeling for whether you might want to become an officer. Cadets are some of the most serious students on campus and there might even be a Ranger Club that you could join. You can join the SF when you're O2 Promotable (2-3 years of being an officer) and there are a number of SF units in the National Guard, so you could conceiveably have a career and be SF as well!

Study something that you enjoy, because if you apply for an ROTC scholarship, you'll need good grades. Undergraduate degrees that are helpful include Criminal Justice, Ciminology, Computer Science, Accounting, and ANY FOREIGN LANGUAGES. Also, keep in mind that the Feds won't even look at you seriously unless you have a Master's degree. Again, don't get hung up on the field of study or try to tailor your study to what you think the Feds will want--it changes all the time--just do well in what it is, stay clean, and stay in shape.

Best of luck.

[RoscoeRuhl]

Jake,

It sounds like you have set some short range goals for yourself and for the time being seem to be realistic. Remember that there's still a long time and your plans can change. As far as what to study, the choice is yours. There isn't a need to study criminal justice to be in law enforcement. I think you should concentrate on something that's going to benefit you first. For example, accounting, computer science, nursing, languages political science, finance etc are all fields where there is a need both in the military and civilian work forces. They are also fields that are handy in the law enforcement world. A combination can make you an attractive candidate to a potential employer. I would recommend that you consider something along the lines of one of these with a few years of language training. The ROTC thing can also be incorporated to give you a taste of the military. There will be opportunities for you regardless of the path you take. Good luck.

Have a great day!