Hey guys, I currently live and work in a large Kansas city as a police officer and am looking to possibly move out of state. I have family who have lived in Montana for the past 10 years and always go up to visit them when I get the chance. I've looked before at moving around where they live, but never made the commitment or at the time had the ability to do so. Few things have changed and I'm more motivated to move away from Kansas hopefully to Montana.

I was hoping some of you guys, whether you're LEO or just live in Montana, know if there are many openings or how hard it is to land a LEO job in Montana. Im open to working either small town, large town, Sheriff's office, possibly some other type of organizations. I currently hold all certifications required by Kansas and my department to work as a commissioned officer, and attended a 24 week academy which many people hold to a high standard. I need to look into what it takes to transfer, and what I would need to work in Montana. I know I'll have to go through some time covering laws in Montana. I have some money saved up to help with the move, and am single with no kids so it would be just me. Time frame could be anywhere from a couple months, to a year or two. It just depends on the type of department I could get hired on at.

Any advice yall could give me as far as what to expect concerning job openings, or places to look to live would be great and I appreciate it.


Thanks,
CodeOrange

A potential option.

http://www.fs.fed.us/lei/job-opportunities.php

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY BOZEMAN: Police Officer Vacancy (CERTIFIED applicants only) Salary: $22.156 - $25.19 per hour, dependent on experience. See website for application instructions: http://www.montana.edu/jobs/classified/14-281

In Montana, there are a couple of ways of getting hired on.  One way is to take the Montana LE test, which is the "application" process for several agencies in the state.  http://www.mtletc.org/?p=home

The second approach is to search state LEO jobs (i.e Highway Patrol, Motor carrier, probation/parole, state DOJ, etc) - http://mt.gov/statejobs/default.mcpx

The third way is to go to the Montana job service and search "protective service" under industry.  This will pull up lots of middle of nowhere county LEO jobs as well as also listing most of the state jobs above.  http://wsd.dli.mt.gov/mjshome.asp

I will say this, the more rural you go, the easy it'll be to get on.  Some of the rural deputy Sheriff positions are really hard to fill.  The pay isn't the best (though cost of living in certain rural areas isn't that bad), the deputy is required to purchase the majority of all of their gear, etc.  If you are able to pass the background check and a medical screen, you will most likely be selected.  

Best of luck.

You just missed a Cascade County opening.


A lot use the "Consortium" for testing, Cascade did not this time. I heard they are hurting and didnt' want to hire from detention staff either.

Missoula Police department is hiring a few, testing is in a few days. However, Missoula PD tends to not hire (no matter your experience) if you don't currently live in Montana or Missoula. Ive seen some people with incredible resumes fail because they didnt live in Montana. They will also not hire you unless this is your 2nd time through the hiring process. Kind of some unwritten unspoken rules.

Missoula County Sheriffs Dept also has a lot of openings 5+ however no announcement has been made on when they will be testing, but check the MSCO website because it will be very soon. (Within the next few weeks I imagine.) They tend to hire the most qualified, preferring people over the age of 30. They are probably your best bet.

If you want to get here fast with a decent paying job, until you get hired on the streets. Look into the Missoula County Jail, they will pick someone with your resume instantly. MPD and MCSO hire out of the jail constantly, I'd say 80% of the time. Its a good way to get up here (what I did). Starting pay is $16 an hour and is great pay for Montana, just don't live in Missoula.

Current Montana LEO