4 Things to Know as a Student of Criminal Law
Law is one of the most demanding courses because of its diversity. Sometimes, law students do not know which specialty to focus on. They are often caught between advancing a better future and majoring in an area with huge pay.
“However, you can minimize this confusion if you know some facts about every law specialty. Knowing some key facts about criminal law will help you decide if it is your ideal specialty,” says criminal defense attorney Bill Nettles, Attorney at Law.
This article outlines four things you should know as a criminal law student:
Jobs Available Under Criminal Law
Criminal law provides you with several career opportunities when you are done with your studies. Laypersons assume that law schools only produce attorneys and paralegals. However, society benefits much more from them.
After your criminal law studies, you can become an attorney, police officer, criminologist, judge, private investigator, or FBI agent. You can also become a forensic psychologist, corrections manager, fire investigator, customs officer, or paralegal. Hence, you have many options to explore beyond being a criminal defense attorney.
Understanding the Law
Even though there are many job options under the criminal law specialty, it is crucial to familiarize yourself with every aspect of law to make your degree valuable. Your criminal law degree becomes questionable if you know nothing about different criminal law aspects.
Specifically, you should understand tort law, constitutional law, correctional law, the law of evidence, criminal law, and the basics of criminal law. Your essence as a criminal law student lies in your ability to know these aspects of the law.
Without knowing the law, applying it to practical cases is impossible. Also, no one will trust you with their case if they discover that you do not understand the law.
Beyond Understanding the Law
Most times, knowing the law is only the starting point. Depending on your career choice, you must know beyond the law. If you decide to work in the field, you must possess additional skill sets to enhance your criminal justice skills.
For instance, you must understand critical thinking, multi-tasking, digital skills, and public speaking. You must also be observant. As a good listener, you will hear many unsaid expressions that will help you greatly deliver your roles.
The ideal way to acquire these skills is to enroll in specialized classes (online or onsite) while studying criminal law. The additional classes you may consider include research methods, statistics, criminal investigations, and criminal procedures.
When you adequately prepare for the challenge ahead, you will always stand out no matter how saturated the market is. People with these additional skills will outsmart you if you only focus on knowing the law.
The Need for Experience
You need more than good grades to secure a high-paying job. You need some experience to secure your dream job. Experience entails relevant work done over a given period.
Thus, you must start garnering the necessary experience as a criminal law student. When you act proactively, you position yourself strategically for your dream job.
The necessary experience makes your resume rich and exceptional. Hence, you should consciously be at the forefront of internships, projects, voluntary work, and externships. These experiences will give wings to your good grades.
You must build a compelling resume to accelerate your journey. You can take advantage of digital tools to make your resume look professional. For instance, you can use a downloadable CV template to highlight your grades and experience.
Your resume must indicate your readiness to take responsibility. You must prove through it that you have what it takes to contribute positively to your desired organization. Your resume should convince the hiring manager even before you step into the organization or firm.
Final Thoughts
This discourse shows that you need to know more than criminal law to stand out in the field. In today's increasingly competitive landscape across all sectors, only those individuals who demonstrate exceptional dedication and consistently exceed expectations will achieve positions of leadership and prominence.
Your criminal law degree will only be valuable when you clearly understand the subject and groom yourself with relevant skills. You must be ready to sacrifice your comfort in acquiring these skills. Without dedication and hard work, your desires will remain a mirage.
