Law Enforcement & Firefighting

Types of Degrees Law Enforcement & Firefighting Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	60,668
Associate Degree	35,304
Basic Certificate	27,351
Master’s Degree	11,614
Undergraduate Certificate	6,242
Graduate Certificate	1,184
Doctor’s Degree	247

What Law Enforcement & Firefighting Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting Majors

homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting Majors

As a homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Law Enforcement & Firefighting Major?

People with a homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Accountants	10.0%	$70,500
Auditors	10.0%	$70,500
Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Business Intelligence Analysts	9.3%	$90,270
Child, Family, and School Social Workers	14.2%	$46,270
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Criminal Investigators and Special Agents	4.5%	$81,920
Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Professors	12.1%	$61,900
Document Management Specialists	9.3%	$90,270
Emergency Management Directors	7.9%	$74,420
Financial Examiners	9.7%	$80,180
Fire Inspectors	7.3%	$62,510
Fire Investigators	7.3%	$62,510
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	6.6%	$89,030
First-Line Supervisors of Protective Service Workers	4.7%	$49,640
Forensic Science Technicians	16.9%	$58,230
Forest Fire Fighting and Prevention Supervisors	7.1%	$76,330
Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists	29.4%	$39,600
Forest Firefighters	7.2%	$49,620
Immigration and Customs Inspectors	4.5%	$81,920
Information Security Analysts	28.5%	$98,350
Information Technology Project Managers	9.3%	$90,270
Intelligence Analysts	4.5%	$81,920
Investment Fund Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Loss Prevention Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Municipal Fire Fighting and Prevention Supervisors	7.1%	$76,330
Municipal Firefighters	7.2%	$49,620
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers	7.0%	$61,380
Police Detectives	4.5%	$81,920
Police Identification and Records Officers	4.5%	$81,920
Police Patrol Officers	7.0%	$61,380
Private Detectives and Investigators	10.6%	$50,090
Professors	9.4%	$65,660
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Security Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs	7.0%	$61,380
Transit and Railroad Police	8.2%	$74,030
Wind Energy Operations Managers	8.0%	$107,480

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Law Enforcement & Firefighting?

According to recent stats this major attracts about equal numbers of men and women. Roughly 53% of the graduates are women, and 47% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1,642
Black or African American	9,965
Hispanic or Latino	15,129
White	27,808
International Students	693
Other Races/Ethnicities	5,431

Geographic Diversity

Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting appeals to people across the globe. About 1.1% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Law Enforcement & Firefighting Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree made a median starting salary of $34,360 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $31,701 (25th percentile) and $38,520 (75th percentile).

One thing to note here is that not all of these people may be working in careers related to homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $53,240 to $85,020 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Law Enforcement & Firefighting

Some degrees associated with homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	1.0%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	23.1%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	10.1%
Some College Courses	12.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	12.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	29.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	2.1%
Master’s Degree	7.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.4%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.4%
Doctoral Degree	0.8%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.1%

Online Law Enforcement & Firefighting Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 2,095 schools offered some type of homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	857	92
Certificate (2-4 Years)	15	0
Associate’s Degree	2,268	398
Bachelor’s Degree	248	104
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	588	239
Post-Master’s	22	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	49	12
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Law Enforcement & Firefighting Worth It?

The median salary for a homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting grad is $72,390 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 81% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $649,800 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Law Enforcement & Firefighting

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting.

Major	Number of Grads
Public Administration & Social Service	98,583
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies	73,813
Legal Professions	61,055
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences	4,477

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Barry Bahler under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.