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by Natalie Peeterse
npeeterse@armystudyguide.com
Army Study Guide Columnist

If you currently serve as a Military Police Officer, or MP (MOS 95B), then you already have many of the skills and experiences you need in order to transition to a civilian career in Criminal Justice . You can prepare for this transition by beginning work toward your bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice.
From Military Police (MOS 95B) To Criminal Justice
Your military training prepared you to be a law enforcement and security specialist . You learned how to protect lives and property by learning about and enforcing laws, controlling traffic, deterring crime, and showing up calm and ready to act in emergency situations. This experience is invaluable in many civilian careers in criminal justice. Many criminal justice careers require more than practical expertise, however, and you, may need to earn a bachelor's degree to compete on the civilian job market.

Earn Your Criminal Justice Degree While You Serve
With a criminal degree in hand, you can work in corrections, criminal law, security, or in a civilian police department, to name only a few options. You can begin taking online courses toward a degree in criminal justice now. Available coursework includes investigative techniques, criminology, research methods, legal rights for offenders, technology and criminal justice, and civil disobedience, to name a few.

There are many online degree programs offering criminal justice coursework, and starting a degree now can help you transition from the service with ease. Besides, online degrees allow you to study wherever your stationed and complement the military lifestyle (read: tight schedule) well.

The Army Will Pay For Your Degree!
Using your military tuition benefits, you can earn this degree for little or no cost to you, and that includes online degree programs. It is part of your compensation for serving the country, so use it. In addition, you can use education credits toward Army promotion points, advancing both your military and civilian career at the same time. The Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) program also allows you to translate some of your valuable experience into college credit.

About the Author
Natalie Peeterse lives in Washington, D.C. She is a freelance writer and teaches on-line courses to soldiers.

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