This often brings them in contact with outlying communities and may result in some local municipal patrol authority. A student entering county policing may also aspire to promotions carrying additional responsibilities as well as increases in salary. State police have primary responsibility for state highways and they also support county, city, and federal police, whenever appropriate. Support activities include ballistics, fingerprinting, crime scene photography, and records. The amount of hiring depends upon federal budgets.
Many federal agencies require their recruits to have a college degree.
The type of degree often depends on the agency and its assignments at that time. Some require that job applicants be between 23-35 years of age. The private sector of enforcement employs over 1 million people. In comparison, the nation has only 500,000 public law enforcement personnel. Pay and benefits in the private sector vary much more than in the public sector and, because of this, may have a lower low end and a much higher high end.