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| *Ostroff, Fair and Company>>>Law & Legal |
I want to be a police officer when I turn 21. Is it worth it? |
I am 19 years old now. I have two more years before I can apply for the job. I know that everyone keeps saying that it doesn't pay well, but is it enough to enjoy lifes pleasures? I would like to be able to afford the things that I want. They also say that it is a rewarding job. What is so rewarding about it? Are they trained to say things like that when asked? Is it a hard job, or is it actually easier than most? Please give me your detailed answers! Thank you in advance. I think the answer you should be asking yourself is are you prepared to be a police officer. You need to be physically and mentally ready and have high endurse to work long hours and stress. Being a police officer is not just a job, its a career that is with you for the next 20-30 years of your life. Your lifestyle will change completely and you will see and do things that most people are afraid of. You need to ask yourself if you can you take someones life away and deal with being hated by the community because of the media. The pay is actually pretty good and includes medical, dental and retirement benifits. You will not be a poor cop but you wont be a rich one either. You can actaully get hired at 19 1/2 as a deputy sherriff that is if you dont mind working the jails. The benfits of being a police officer is knowing you've made a difference in someones life. You'll be dealing with all types of people, rich and poor, violent and passive, criminals and law abidden citzens. Most people won't thank you of course but alot of victims will. Those are the people you're doing it for. If you are serious about going into law enforcement, try going on a few ride alongs at your local police department. Alot of police departments are hurting for people and would love to see young new faces join the department. There are also programs which are like a cadet position and they pay you to work inside the police department. Talk to alot of cops too, well the ones that are willing to share their time with you. Get a feel for where they're coming from and the goods and bads of the job. No one can tell it like it is other then the guys who are doing it. Good Luck to you and we really do need some good hardworking cops protecting our streets. Yes it is worth it because we really need police officers. And if thats really what you want to go for it. I'll look up to you. Good luck on your Career. Good for you! Any 19 year old who knows that he wants to be a cop when he turns 21 is bound to be a good decent person. Perhaps you won't earn that much to start but I once knew a man that served 20 years on a major department and became deputy police chief, at that rate he earned big money. Then he retired from that department at 80% of his salary and took a police chief job in another big city earning twice as much, starting a second career. So you can make it financially rewarding as well, depending on if you are more motivated to directly help the people on the streets or if you are motivated to help the people who help the people on the street (cop or police administrator). I once attended a large demonstration protesting the police. I carried a sign that said "Cops are okay" (and in small print: they risk their lives to protect us everyday). I was jeered and heckled. To me a police officer is as much of a hero as the soldier fighting at war. I also will look up to you, be safe and thank you! It's 5am. It's really cold. I'm 21. Last look it's 10 degrees F and I am standing in half a foot of snow in my best suit. My breath and the breath of all the others is white and visible. It looks like 50 scared recruits ingested tear gas and are now regurgitating smoke from our mouths. 5:05AM large men exit the building we are standing in front of and starts screaming at us. Next thing I know, I am on all fours doing push-ups on a white blanket of snow in my best Sunday suit. What am I doing here? Fast forward 13 years. I have saved lives, taken life, delivered a child, brought the best news a family has ever heard or the most devastating news a family has ever heard, put some of the scariest people on this earth in prison, lived through 9/11 and many more. Was it worth it? YES. If you want to be rich do something else. If you want a career that gives back and you can remember with honor later in life then join us. Four bits of advice: Start early, retire early. I will be out with a very good pension and a second career at 41. Never stop learning. Get your college degree, then get your masters or a law degree or both. Don't get it in criminal justice, study finance, business, psychology anything but CJ. Get a degree that you can use in your second career or if you get hurt and have to get out early, you will have other job skills. Make sure you get involved in investigations. This will make you extremely desirable to many private corporations since they need investigative folks. Uniform work usually translates to security guard work. Last, make sure you have fun and don't get snagged by politics and other career distractions. Do your job well and you will be rewarded even if you don't think you will. Take care and good luck I work in the profession and I believe that it is very rewarding in all aspects. First of all the pay in most decent size departments is well above average pay or middle class pay. Yes you may start at a lower pay just like any other job but after about 2 years you should be making a very decent salary. Now, attached to that salary is probobly going to be some very nice benifits like comptime, vacation time, overtime and sick time not to mention what ever the pension is you will be paying into. If you are thinking of applying at a department that doesn't offer these things, which I feel are pretty standard than maybe you should keep looking. Now on the other side of things the idea that the job is rewarding in other ways is true at least for me. I feel helping people in what ever way possible to be very rewarding. That may be putting away a child molester or even just talking to some old lady that didn't really need your assistance but called 911 just to get you to her house, to find out the she was just depressed and needed a ear to listen to her. Not everybody is cut out for a job in law enforcement, it takes a special person that can be thrown into any situation and be able to make the best of it and go home every night to his/her family. as long as you realize everyday will be somthing new and exciting (depending on the department) you will have fun and hopefully make some money doing it. i wish you good luck and a long wealthy one as well. |
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