As I started to watch several episodes of this show a couple of days ago, I realized that I would love to have a job like the characters in the show. That's when I started to wonder if their actually was a job out there like this and if there was, how accurate the show was to the real life thing?
After I did some research on the topic, I came to some interesting conclusions. It turns out that the real life profession the show is trying to portray are 'Criminal Psychologists.' But not all criminal psychologists are like the characters in the show. There are a vast number of jobs for criminal psychologists; everything from investigating online fraud, to interviewing past criminals, to working in a court, to doing actual criminal profiling just like in the show.
However, when comparing the 'profilers' in the show to the 'profilers' in real life, there are some differences. The show portrays the criminal psychologists to have a more active role in the investigation then they actually do, like showing them help arrest the suspect after a intense, wild chase. This is done in an artistic manner to make the show more suspenseful. In real life the psychologists aren't there for the apprehension of the suspect, they leave that to the real law enforcement. All they do is examine the crime scene, determine what type of person they are looking for, help to narrow down the suspects and to locate them. Another difference is that the cases in real life are usually take weeks or months to solve, and they are never as easy to piece together as the show makes it seem.
Although criminal profiling is a really exciting path to take for a criminal psychologist, there are only a handful of jobs out there. The profilers are employed by the FBI and only investigate serial killer cases, so there is no need to have a ton of profilers. They are better off sending the rest of the criminal psychologists to other needy areas where they would be of better use.
The life of a Criminal Psychologist may not be as glamorous or exciting as the show makes it seem, but it is still an interesting career none the less. I think its really cool that there are actual people out there in the real world who do the same thing as the characters in the show. Even though its unlikely to happen, being a criminal profiler will always be one of my dream jobs. Doing this research also opened my eyes up to the other jobs and opportunities in criminal psychology. It will definitely be a possibility for me to pursue a career in this field, in the future.
Sources:
Rosevear, Paul D. "Https://kucampus.kaplan.edu/documentstore/kudocs/pressroom/real.pdf." America Online. Classes, USA Inc., 2006. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
Renee. "Criminal Minds Recap 10/2/13 – “The Inspired”." HaveUHeard. HaveUHeard, 3 Oct. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
Reading your blog post got me thinking about my favorite show, Grey's Anatomy. I want to go into the medical field so this I had thoughts very similar to the ones you had about your favorite show. I have no idea how accurate the show is but I'm sure like you said, they make it seem much more glamorous. Although there are careers like the ones in Grey's, I'm sure its hardly as awesome as the show makes it out to be.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you've found a good profession to pursue. You can either work with the FBI/ in the government, in a doctors office, or some where else. What are some of the other job options you have with being a psychologists? If real Criminal Psychologists were accurately portrayed as they are in the show, would you still want to be one? Being so up close and personal with all that is happening.
ReplyDeleteThere's many job opportunities like sports psychologists Other opportunities include jobs within human resources, being a guidance counselor, parole officer, or even mediator in any type of dispute. If the job was just like the show I think that I would like it a lot, especially all the action and excitement, but i do not know if I would be able to handle the pressure of the decisions they have to make.
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