Sheriff

Sheriff Career Description

The duties of a sheriff are similar to those of a city police chief, but a sheriff oversees an entire county. Sheriffs are usually elected law enforcement officials, and they generally work with smaller staffs of approximately fifty officers. A sheriff's deputy performs a job similar to that of an urban or city police officer.

Sheriff Education

A sheriff must have a high school degree or its equivalent and undergo law enforcement training at a sheriff training or police academy. It is common for sheriffs to have bachelor's or master's criminal justice degrees. An online degree or traditional campus degree can prepare students for police jobs like sheriff that can offer an impressive start to a number of law enforcement careers. Online criminal justice degrees offer specializations in a variety of areas, whether your aspirations are towards a security job, traditional police job, or sheriff position.

Sheriffs Employment

There were about 861,000 police and detectives employed in the U.S. in 2006, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Particular data for sheriffs is not listed.

Sheriff Job Description

It can be difficult to predict job growth for elected officials, but it is known that law enforcement positions overall are expected to grow by 11 percent between 2006 and 2016. With this in mind, it is logical to assume that sheriff positions will grow in accordance.

Sheriff Salary Range

*The BLS lists the average annual salary for first-line supervisors of police and detectives at $76,820 as of May 2008. The top 10 percent earned $114,300, while the bottom 10 percent made $46,000.