Most of us I don't think really do it for the money. Sure, I went to college for 4 years and received a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and have a good chuck of student loans to pay off. I made $36K last year and for me, that's enough. Thankfully, my wife makes about 50K a year working as a nurse.
I could not imagine doing any other job. I can't stand working inside a building all day, serving food to idiots, or doing hard manual labor all day long. I would hate dressing up in a suit to go to work every day. Just not me. So for me and my needs and likes, I love being outside all shift driving around in my squad.
I love seeing and going to bar fights, car wrecks(demented, I know), blood, oh yeah.........and arresting people!!
I love guns, gadgets, and cars.
True, it would be nice to work Monday through Friday and make 75K a year. But oh well. I knew what I was getting into and I knew I would NEVER become rich being a cop. I typically work 6 days a week, but have often worked 16 straight days in a row. I work straight MIDNIGHTS, so my lifestyle is pretty screwed up.
I work a decent amount of overtime and security jobs just to make my $36K a year.
I appreciate the thanks though! Having someone say thanks is a great feeling and it shows that atleast someone out there appreciates what we do.