<p>I'm working with the Dean of Minors at my college on developing a Middle Eastern Studies minor. I'm interested in going into government law enforcement. Would minoring in M.E. studies be helpful or would it be a waste of time?</p>
<p>No, it would not be helpful at all.</p>
<p>So…you want to be an Arabic-speaking cop?</p>
<p>Was going more for Homeland Security or something along those lines</p>
<p>Nobody learns a foreign language by minoring in it in college. You learn it rhough years of study and living in a country that speaks the language.</p>
<p>I didn’t say I was going to learn a foreign language just by minoring…or that I was going to learn any language at all.
I’m not minoring in Arabic or any other language, the minor would be in Middle Eastern Studies.
So my question again is, would Middle Eastern studies be a worthy minor?</p>
<p>No, it is not a worthy minor. There are no job prospects associated with it.</p>
<p>It wouldn’t be beneficial for a career goal of doing something in Homeland Security or something along those lines? I thought having background knowledge of the history & culture could be beneficial (obviously not a replacement for real life working knowledge)</p>
<p>We’ve gone over this before - federal agencies don’t care about your degree, especially your minor.</p>
<p>It’s work experience, not college curriculum.</p>
<p>The only majors that matter are ones that set you up for a professional career like accounting/law/medicine and perhaps computer science.</p>
<p>If you want to set yourself up for a job with DHS LE start building your working resume. Internships, part time work and keeping your resume clean.</p>
<p>I’d look into becoming a seasonal police officer on the east coast. I believe Ocean City, MD still has this program, perhaps a few departments in New Jersey.</p>
<p>So to answer your question directly:</p>
<p>No, it would not be helpful. Feel free to minor in it, just know it won’t matter. In fact, it will probably never even be considered or mentioned.</p>
<h2>It wouldn’t be beneficial for a career goal of doing something in Homeland Security or something along those lines? I thought having background knowledge of the history & culture could be beneficial (obviously not a replacement for real life working knowledge) ~Shibbychic</h2>
<p>Nope.</p>
<p>Hahaha thanks Beast. I know the actual title of Minor or even Major doesn’t matter, I was thinking more of it providing a good background that’s all. Plus when a program becomes a Minor at my school, the students can do an internship relating to that minor in D.C. through the Washington Center.</p>
<p>“I’d look into becoming a seasonal police officer on the east coast. I believe Ocean City, MD still has this program, perhaps a few departments in New Jersey.”</p>
<p>Good point on that. I know most of the beach towns by me in Jersey have summer police officers…but they’re just the meter readers. Does that really help on a resume?</p>
<p>I’m not saying it will hurt you…it definitly wouldn’t.</p>
<p>If you enjoy that stuff, go for it…in my opinion that’s what a minor should be used for.</p>
<p>Check out the USSS internship. It’s unpaid, but it’s pretty obtainable and looks nice on a resume.</p>
<h2>Good point on that. I know most of the beach towns by me in Jersey have summer police officers…but they’re just the meter readers. Does that really help on a resume? ~ Shibbychic</h2>
<p>Can’t comment on all their responsibilities. I know the ones down in MD use to carry guns and mostly do security style work in public areas.</p>
<p>Sure wouldn’t look bad on a resume, much better than working at the GAP or Dairy Queen.</p>
<p>Plus, the chances of you bagging a federal LE job out of college are extremely rare, so I’d start building a resume/background that looks good to local/state LE, which is where you will probably get your start. And in this case, yes - definitly, those seasonal officer jobs look VERY good.</p>
<p>Thanks for the USSS internship idea. Do you think that getting a job doing surveillance at a casino would be helpful? I live outside of AC so I was thinking about working surveillance at one of the casinos and doing some volunteer work at the local VA</p>
<p>Sure, lots of cops start out doing security work.</p>
<p>It won’t do much to help you get into Federal LE, other than maybe Border Patrol, which hiring standards are more similiar to local LE.</p>
<p>Off the topic of a minor, is it mandatory to be a cop before joining an agency?</p>
<p>No it is not.</p>
<h2>Off the topic of a minor, is it mandatory to be a cop before joining an agency? ~ Shibbychic</h2>
<p>No, it’s not mandatory.</p>
<p>However, there really aren’t to many ways to get the required experience other than being a cop or being in the military.</p>
<p>Besides being a cop or military you have some attorneys, experienced accountants, and scientists.</p>
<p>I can say every 1811 I know has a LE/military background. </p>
<p>The most competitive applicants have a mixture of LE and military experience and their college degree. If a candidate doesn’t have either they won’t be competitive in most situations.</p>
<p>The US Park Police does not require experience as a cop. I know because I took the exam a few years ago and was called for the physical exam. You can also apply to the uniformed division of the Secret Service. They don’t require experience.</p>