Choose a person who works in the CJ field and has a job you’re curious to learn more about or who experienced a situation on the job that you would like to know more about. For example, in a previous class, I had a student whose uncle resigned from his job as a correction officer because he refused to testify against his boss, who was accused of excessive use of force. The student asked about the situation itself and then zoomed out to explore his uncle’s thoughts about the work of a Rikers Island correction officer generally.
Start by asking easy questions: the person’s job title, what they actually do on the job, how long they’ve been working in the field, and why they chose it. You might ask them about the pros and cons of the job, the pay, the potential for advancement, and what they like most and least about the job. You might want to ask them what advice they’d have for someone who wants to go into the field and whether they would make the same career choice if they were starting out. Make sure you include some analysis about what they told you. For example, what are your thoughts about what they said?