As an A graduate of Business Law class I can honestly say that getting a career in criminal justice is not exactly what they show on TV. On television programs they only show you a part of what it would be like to be a cop, CSI, detective, or lawyer, but the work to achieve one of these jobs is a long tedious journey. The schooling alone would cover things like criminology, government, state laws, statistics, certified training, exams, and incredible amounts of research. On TV programs they jump straight to the action and skip all the hard work it took to get them where they are so that the show doesn't get slow or boring.
Being a police officer in real life is indeed dangerous, as shown on TV, but there is more to it than that. To be a police officer you need to learn many things, some of which include how to carry and use a firearm, how to search and test for drugs and alcohol, how to perform background checks, how to deal with domestic disturbances, maneuvers for pursuing a criminal in a high speed chase, and how to judge a situation before acting upon it. There is police academy training which requires great mental and physical strength and endurance. You need to be willing to work with a partner or canine drug sniffer, as well. Full dedication, honesty, and the willingness to serve the public is needed to make a great officer.
To be a CSI or detective you need a great amount of brain power. On TV however, anyone that can read a cue card can act as one of these professionals. Actuality shows that CSI and detectives have studied endlessly to be so good at what they do. To solve a crime you need to be ready to keep your eyes open, keep your brain active, and remember clues and details. Finding clues is also tricky when criminals are also smart. As shown on TV criminals wear gloves and clean up after themselves which can make it hard to do the job. Real CSI and detectives have to out smart even the smartest criminal, which looks easy but is far from it.
Lawyers on the other hand may have one of the toughest criminal justice jobs. After incredible testing and schooling, after finding a law firm to work under, and after working your way up things get much harder. In real life, if someone works with a law firm they will do anything to win their case for their business. If they don't win it brings in bad business and reputation. So, if a lawyer knew their client was guilty of the crime, they would still need to defend them and prove their innocence whether or not they know their client did it. It could put a criminal back on the street, but it might come with the territory of being a lawyer. A firm might deny that case, but it's not up to the lawyer unless he or she runs her own firm.
So, as you see, being a real world criminal justice employee isn't as glamorous as they show it to be on television. But, if you were to take a career in this type of profession, you will be well set on schooling, money, smarts, and bragging rights because the job would be quite the accomplishment to say the least.