Retail Loss Prevention Specialists

• Collaborate with law enforcement or security agencies to respond to incidents.
• Collaborate with outside groups to develop programs or projects.
• Communicate situation details to appropriate personnel.
• Investigate crimes committed within organizations.
• Investigate personal characteristics or activities of individuals.
• Maintain operational records.
• Prepare investigation or incident reports.
• Maintain surveillance of individuals or establishments.
• Monitor operations to ensure compliance with safety or security policies or regulations.
• Train employees in proper work procedures.

• Frequent contact with others.
• Working with a group or team.
• Working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions.
• Freedom to make decisions without supervision.
• The importance of being accurate or exact.
• Responsibility for others' health and safety.
• Dealing with unpleasant or angry people.
• High levels of competition.

Enrolling in a community college can be a great place to start your four-year degree. While all 31 Minnesota State community colleges, technical colleges and universities offer all or part of the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (a 40-credit package of general education courses accepted for transfer to other state colleges and universities, the University of Minnesota, and some private colleges and universities), not all two-year colleges offer degrees intended to transfer to a four-year bachelor's degree.

If you plan to transfer to obtain a four-year bachelor's degree, it is important to know which degree path is right for you:

• Associate of Arts (AA) degrees offered at community colleges are designed to transfer into liberal arts four-year majors.
• Associate of Science (AS) and Associate of Fine Arts (AFA) degrees offered at community and technical colleges transfer into specific four-year majors and will likely require completing additional general education courses at a university.
• Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees offered at technical and community colleges are not designed to transfer. They lead to immediate entry into the workplace.
• Diplomas and certificates offered at technical colleges are not designed to transfer. They lead to immediate entry into the workplace.

Talk to a transfer specialist as early as possible to determine the best associate degree for your goals. Be sure to review your Degree Audit Report (DARS) each semester to best prepare for transfer. Get more help understanding transfer using the tools below.

• Visit Transferology to see if your courses will transfer.
• Search Articulation Agreements to find formal transfer agreements between schools.

• Reading—Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Thinking Critically—Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Monitoring Performance—Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Speaking—Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Listening—Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Writing—Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Being Aware of Others—Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Coordinating with Others—Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Evaluating a System or Organization—Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
• Learning New Things—Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Public Safety and Security—Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Customer and Personal Service—Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Education and Training—Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Clerical—Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• English Language—Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Computers and Electronics—Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Law and Government—Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Mathematics—Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Administration and Management—Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Personnel and Human Resources—Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

• Conventional—Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
• Enterprising—Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.