Just graduated college with a degree in finance last December. Been trying the suit and tie thing but have always wanted to be a police officer. I hear how slow the hiring process can be, and times are still tough in Michigan. I was wonderin if this would be a good plan of attack...

I'd like to give the whole finance thing another year before I make a final decision on career path. I don't really enjoy it but feel like I owe it to myself and my family to give it a shot. I was thinking in the mean time, apply for a position as a reserve officer with the local sheriffs dept.  that way I can get training, experience and build repor with the department. After a year if I decide law enforcement is the path for me rather than corporate America, I can apply for a full time paid position with the sheriffs department and I'm assuming it would be a lot easier to get a job that way. Would this work? I don't know jack squat about the reserve officers programs and the hiring process for that. I have been on one ride along and loved it however

I'm a reserve office in a decent sized city while I'm in college. I do plan on going full time and wanted to gain some experience while I grind through school. I also don't have a family so my situation will be a little bit easier than yours.

Every place is going to be different, but where I am every test is exactly the same. I took the same tests that the FT guys took and passed them. Once I hit the street I will do everything a normal officer does, but for free.

If I was in your shoes I would contact your local agency that you're interested in and ask them a few questions over the phone. Apply for many different ones since it's unlikely that you will get picked up with your dream agency on your first try.

Another piece of advice; stay within the financial sector and pay off your house COMPLETELY. After you've paid everything off you should save up a little bit for when you go full time. Money won't be nearly as good and can be a bit of a shock to some who leave big name jobs and switch to LE. Once you're all paid off switching to LE will be easy to do since you will have a few years on patrol by that time.

TLDR: Pay off house and any debt. You will take the exact same tests if your agency is the same as mine. Testing is a pain in the ass and takes forever. Put in tons of applications and call each agency to get a feel for their process.

Good luck.

In MI, reserves programs vary wildly from all I've looked into. Some places you may only come out at the local county fair once a year, and others will put you through "reserve" officer academies and allow you to ride secondary to a certified officer on the street. And others will just be just an excuse for the good old boys club to hang out. Call around and try to get info from various departments.





Note: In MI you will not have police powers as a reserve officer unless in the presence of and acting under the authority of an certified LEO. In MI, you cannot be "certified" with police powers unless you are actively employed by a agency.



Or just do what I did, go corrections. Less desirable job, more opportunities. Also is a good way to gain experience that departments look for if you ever wanted to parlay that into working the road.