I am a 17 year male and I am looking for a career. I looked at the military but decided against it. Right now I am seriously thinking about becoming a police officer. Can I ask what are some things you like about your job and dislike. Is there any thing I should know. Thank you for serving.

LIKE:

Steady employment
Decent Pay
Good Benefits (medical insurance, life insurance, disability long/short term insurance)
Education incentives (employer pays 50% for college)
With our shift schedule, road works 15 days a month
Work with good people overall who are career minded
Different activity every day for the most part
At times, you really get to help people
Specialty team opportunities (SWAT, Dive, K-9, Traffic, Street Crimes, etc.)
Makes my mom proud

DISLIKE:

Working holidays
Liability, you get blamed for everything, victims bitch, suspect bitches, prosecutor bitches, sometime the boss bitches



I retired from the military after 20 years, got one retirement there. I'm half was to a second retirement now in LE.

I would still consider the military at least in a part time capacity...

Get your training done the. Let them pay for AT LEAST an associates degree.  

By the time you are done a 3 year enlistment you will have 3 years Military on your resume, a degree and no debt. Military will definitely open some doors for you as well.

With that being said... I would look at firefighting... same or similar pay and benefits but everyone loves you when you get there and you get an awesome schedule! Then you can always work part time PD if you still have the itch for the blue lights.

My .02

Not career LEO here. I am a retired firefighter/paramedic and a sworn reserve deputy. Advantages in the public sector are usually benefits, especially pension. Plan to get in while you're young and you can get out in your mid forties (or at least have that option)

You're young and feel bulletproof now, now so you won't probably really understand what I'm going to say.  Night shift work, the sedentary nature of the job, and potential stress if left unmitigated will be bad for your long term health. You will need the discipline to stay healthy through proper diet and exercise or you will likely become the stereotypical "Chief Wiggum" fat cop.  If you want to be LEO, despite being young and wanting to change the world, find a wealthy town with good neighborhoods to work in. It won't be exciting, and you won't be on an episode of Cops, but  it will give you the ability to go long while minimizing stressors that can cause burnout and their related heath issues.

And if you are so inclined to like the fire service, I bet many cops would honestly advise you to become a firefighter. Having seen both sides,
I can verify firefighters definitely have a better work environment.

The job is common sense. If you have none then find another profession. The job itself it 95% tedious BS. The hardest part is dealing with the BS passed down from above (bosses and politicians) and having to work with/for people that you wouldn't want to sit down and have a beer with (which will happen at points throughout a 30 year career). I don't see our society changing for the better. Too many dregs breeding and raising kids in their own image to change for the better. There are nicer places to be a cop in this country than other places. Usually the nicer places don't pay and the other places may pay but you won't enjoy living there.

You will have to deal with 1000s of ignorant and useless people in your career. They call or get involved with police because they cannot manage their personal lives, relationships or self destructive behaviors. How many times can some two people that are so in love with each other that they just can't break-up call the cops because they are at each others throats again....How many? The answer...dozens of times. And they look at you like you are supposed to solve their relationship problems for them...it's your fault that they keep going back to that shithead who has been drunk and beating on 'em again and again.

If you got a head on your shoulders and have an interest in the military then do it. There are many career choices in the military that can translate to a well paying civilian job, including police. Or something else. My son and I got to talking about flying the other day and I said, Join the Marines and become a helicopter pilot... But there are dozens of other options.

My suggestion would be to join the guard and go to college.  Which is the exact opposite of what I did.  You'll end up with a degree of some sort (DO NOT GET A CJ DEGREE), and have some military under your belt. 

+1 on the non-CJ degree.

A Bachelor's in Accounting, Engineering, Information Systems, or Linguistics (Middle Eastern, Chinese, and/or Russian) would help you get on with the Feds.

Most depts won't look at you till you are 21 years old. Might as well spend that time getting a degree that you can fall back on if you decide that LE isn't for you.

If you do decide to join a city/county LE agency, make sure that they have collective bargaining/union.

I did 16 years in LE, in the middle GA area, and only made $31K. No police union in GA. 

I left LE in 2013 and went back to school to work on an Associates in Networking Specialist.

Got hired as a full-time temp network support specialist in spring 2014, 2 semesters into my degree program, making $33K. Not even finished with a degree and already making more than 16 years in LE. 

Been in IT 3 years now, and making $48K, which is more than the Patrol Major/Chief of Detectives at my last dept. 

I have been out of LE for 11 years now and am making 3x what I did then. I do enjoy my job but I miss the brotherhood of the blue. I have often looked at going back but the wife says no as she cannot go through the nights of wondering if I am ok. They say money doesn't buy happiness and I now believe in that. I miss it dearly. If you are looking at it for the fact of helping others and the brotherhood, then the only things equal are the military and Firefighting but if you are looking for the money, look elsewhere. I will always have a bluestriped heart and still have to many friends in to list. Good luck to you in whatever path you choose.

Thanks for the input

Go to school.  The ideal candidate will have at least an AA/AS and some stable work experience.  If you don't have either, your application goes right in the trash.

Yea, start studying.

Serious question.....why did you decide the military isn't for you?

I'll explain why I asked once I see your answer.

This is always the proper answer. 

My decision not to join the military had a lot behind it such as heavy rules of engagement but a major reason is most of conflicts the US miltary is in is not protecting this country. Bringing the fight against terror to the middle east is useless when the government is shipping the Problem here as quickly as possible. Then when I see the news I see extremely bad things happening to good powerless people (ie 14 year old school girls) enter law enforcement. The military is important but I do not believe it is where I want to go.

So what is the average starting wage and average experienced wage for a police officer.

Depends on where you live. In parts of the northeast it's in the $55-$65k range for entry level. Higher in many California cities. Midwest or down south I've heard of guys with decades on barely cracking the 30's. 

I cant stress enough how important it is to get a college degree. Not just for the experience it gives you, but if you ever want to be promoted down the line it can be a necessity. 

Varies greatly on where you are located. Prerequisites for the job do as well. Some departments won't even consider you without a degree of some kind, which is pretty outrageous for the salaries that most start at.

As stated above, GA is round about 30k. Here in Las Vegas LVMPD starts recruits at $51,022.44 - $72,633.60 Annually.

LVMPD Police Recruit

I'm a medic, have been for a while. I moved to working in a hospital and many of the people I've worked with over the years have gone fire. The ones who didn't test high enough or washed out of academy and were persona non grata for rehire went PD. YMMV.

We have some depts that still pay $12/hour in GA.

A Sheriff's Office, several counties from me, was advertising at $27K. 

As for your view on the military, you will have a similar view with our criminal justice system.

You will see scumbags you've had to deal with get a slap on the wrist many times before they get any type of lengthy sentences.

Plea bargains flow freely from the DA's Office as an never ending beer tap during happy hour at Applebees. 

The sooner you realize that you won't really make a difference in society, the better off you will be.

The good ole boy network/cliches is still alive and well in the 3 depts I've worked for in my area. 

Putting the Constitution first, and not kissing ass, was detrimental for me in the long run.

The straw that broke my back was me and my buddy (26 years of patrol experience between the two of us), were the only ones to put in for two detective vacancies.

The administration decides to hire two females, from outside the dept, and put them straight into the detective bureau.

I'd be looking for a new job of that shit went on where I work. 

Law enforcement is probably not going to be a good fit for you. Good luck in your future endeavors.

I thought it would be different at different depts, but the same shit at the three I worked at in my area.

Oh well. I work banker's hours now and making more than my buddy that's been promoted to Chief of Detectives. 

Well my department is considered Public Safety so we are both LE and FF certified.  I knew what I was signing up for, but I don't care for the firefighter side.  But to each his own.  And as far as the LE side goes, I have only been in for about 2 years, and I have already become sort of jaded when it comes to people.  Yes, there are still good people, but a lot of people you will be dealing with are not the most quality citizens.  Also, there are people who call LE for every little thing, and expect us to handle their own personal problems.  Part of the job I guess.  But the fellowship and brotherhood is great, and there are definitely some fun aspects, and it is rewarding.

Take a look at the U.S. Coast Guard, you may be able to get the best of both worlds.

While us .mil types like to make fun of them on occasion, I swear if I had to do it over I would take a hard look at them.

Your pay and benefits line up with the military paychart, but 90% of your assignments are stateside. They're the "sea police," so you can go that route and have both LE and military experience for more money (and probably better benefits) than you might see in most agencies. Do that for a few years, get some experience, get a degree, then punch out while staying in their reserves and go federal LEO. And everybody loves the USCG...they literally wrote the book on inter-agency cooperation.

Take a look at them, but make sure you find someone who's doing it currently to pick their brain. I'm sure the USCG recruiters are about as truthful/accurate as any DOD recruiter...

Best of luck to you, and congrats on being only 17 and trying to map out the career this early in the game. Wish I was thinking long term when I was that age!

What kind of major would be needed for a federal LEO position.

Depends on the agency, and direct hires are a tough road to go (vice lateral transfer in from a state agency).

FBI is particularly partial to IT/computer engineering, key foreign languages (Farsi, Chinese, etc.), and accounting, for example.

Finance or accounting.

If your that Politically sensitive your better off going into something else cause your going to have a hard time swimming in all the bullshit a cop has to.

Its a people job and your either able to treat each person as an individual or you probably dont belong. The Constitution is pretty clear regarding individual rights.

Soldiers and cops dont fight for politics. They fight for each other. Leave Politics to the Politicians or you'll go nuts.

Last time I talked to them they were also actively looking for IT and computer science types. That was about 2 years ago though.

+1

Think about it... They never end up on Youtube, they work in a team, they sleep at night, they never get sued.  Everyone loves to see you show up

All I'll add is...


You are picking a very, very controversial time in American history to be considering picking up a gun and serving your community. It is now less about skills and tactics and more about social services and public relations than it has been in a long, long time.

Don't get sidetracked by what you perceive as the 'neat stuff'. Gunbelts are heavy and will ruin your back. People will smile long enough to stab you in the back. Even saying sir or ma'am could get you in trouble.

Make some money. Buy some land. Pay off that land. That will serve you 1000x better in the long run.

It's probably not going to be anything like you expect it to be. Yes it's very rewarding, you get to do cool shit, you will actually save lives, helping legit people with legit problems is fantastic, search warrants and call outs can be bad ass, but 90% of the time you are doing paper work, helping dumbasses with shit when they don't even want to help themselves, and getting filmed because people want to sue you. Sound fun?

But if you know what you're getting into its a pretty cool job that you can actually make a little bit of difference.

Do cadet till you're 21 or reserve later on to see if you want to do it if you're not sure.

But really if you don't want the military option for the reasons you stated, LE may not be right for you.

Don't get a CJ degree.