Undergraduate thesis.

This research surveyed Criminology graduates and graduating students concerning their career orientations and the tension between aspiration and pragmatic employability. What emerged was that graduating students predominantly preferred passion-driven professions like police work investigations, whereas alumni cited a transition into safer and more financially secure occupations like administrative and private security positions. The difference between both sets underscores the ways in which professional exigencies{97}like employment availability, salaries, and work-life balance{97}mutate nascent career aspirations over time. The research concludes that criminology undergraduates and postgraduates go through a development from idealistic career aspirations to pragmatic choices, with pecuniary security and availability for work as primary determinants. It also emphasizes the necessity for a balanced method that compromises passion with pragmatism, complemented by career counseling, fiscal literacy, and access to various criminology avenues. Recommendations involve incorporating career realism seminars into the curriculum, providing dual-track internships, enhancing academic-industry partnerships, and creating alumni mentorship programs. In doing so, institutions can more effectively equip criminology students for the realities of the labor market, giving them a more informed and sustainable fit between personal enthusiasm and professional security.