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About Criminology
You'll become
Average Salaries
Criminology workers may earn between $54,000 and $99,000 per year
Fight for a better world and use your skills to build a thrilling new career in justice by studying a criminology course.
What is crime, and what are the key tools in the fight to stamp it out? By studying a criminology course, you’ll develop a comprehensive body of practical skills and critical insights into the minds of criminals, and become a leader in our fight against crime.
A multi-disciplinary and complex area of study, criminology is concerned with society’s understanding and interpretation of criminal behaviour. Criminology asks what we consider criminal behaviour, why people commit crimes, and how we can use this knowledge to manage and prevent crime. Drawing on a range of different fields, including the study of psychology, social science, law, history, political science and criminal justice, criminology is a holistic, comprehensive and contextually grounded point of view, and adds critical assistance to our management of crime and security. Criminology ensures law enforcement officials can most effectively understand, prevent and punish crime, and ensures offenders receive fair and nuanced treatment.
By studying a criminology course, you’ll build the essential knowledge and skills required to work in the field of criminology, and play a key leading role in helping to make our society safer.
If you care deeply about people and want your work to contribute to making society a better place, consider studying a criminology course.
You may study criminology as a bachelor’s degree, and may have the opportunity to pursue research or more specialised study into a particular area relating to criminal justice in a master’s degree or as a doctorate of philosophy. After completing a criminology course, you may choose to seek employment in a variety of roles in the security, intelligence, social science and social and justice sectors. Versatile, challenging and rewarding, a career in criminology is an exciting prospect for anyone seeking a career with a difference.
What do criminology graduates do?
Graduates of criminology courses can seek employment in a range of positions across the risk, security, intelligence, and justice and counter-terrorism sectors, and may also work in academic research, or for a body like the Law Reform Commission.
You may work as an analyst or researcher, and perform tasks like conducting research, interpreting data, cataloguing and analysing surveillance information, and contributing to publications and policy documents. You may also work as a case manager, where you’ll work closely with vulnerable clients to design and monitor specific interventions for managing that person’s behaviour and circumstances. Or, you might work in an educative role, providing training and facilitation to law enforcement officials on topics like human behaviour, psychology, drug and alcohol problems and community attitudes to crime. Day-to-day, you may be required to conduct research and interviews, collate and write reports, and present evidence and advice to relevant bodies.
You may also choose to work in policy development or analysis, the education sector, or in a training role with law enforcement officials, working closely with key stakeholders to share your knowledge of criminal justice and human behaviour in order to influence decision-making.
Career Outcomes
Career Outcomes
Graduates of criminology courses work in a variety of different roles in the intelligence, security and justice sectors, and may also pursue work in academia.
After completing a criminology course, you may choose to seek employment as a:
- Writer
- Sociologist
- Parole Officer
- Historian
- Criminologist
- Public Servant
- Indigenous Community Liaison Officer
- Probation Officer
- Community Development Officer
- Correctional Officer
- Policy Officer
- Project Officer
- Immigration Officer
- Case Worker
- Researcher/Analyst
- Juvenile Justice Officer
- Security Officer
- Law Enforcement Officer
- Welfare Support Worker
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Is criminology right for you?
You’ll thrive working in the criminal justice sector if you:
- Are curious and open-minded
- Are resilient
- Can think critically and analytically
- Can make sound decisions and exercise judgment
- Are a natural leader
- Have excellent organisational and time management skills
- Have good communication and interpersonal skills
- Are highly motivated
- Work well with details
- Are proactive and disciplined
- Love solving problems
- Can work well independently and in a team
- Can work well under pressure
Job opportunities
The Australian Government’s Job Outlook offers job prospects for intelligence and policy analysts, describing the industry as a small sector, with moderate potential to grow. Job Outlook states that fewer than 10,000 people are employed in these roles, and that the industry is likely to grow modestly or remain at a constant size until 2020.
However, skills in criminology are transferable, and you may also choose to seek employment outside of Australia after completing a criminology course, or work in a range of roles in the social work, counselling and government service sectors in Australia.
Average Salaries
PayScale reports that people across a range of professions with skills in criminology can expect to earn on average approximately $73,000 per year, working in a range of different industries.
After completing a criminology course you may choose to seek employment as an intelligence analyst. PayScale reports that an intelligence analyst can expect to earn between $54,000 and $99,000 per year, with an average salary of $75,000. While a moderately positive relationship between earning capacity and experience exists, PayScale notes that the majority of analysts have fewer than 10 years of work experience, indicating that people progress into more senior supervisory roles as their careers advance.