Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

I am interested in a career as a police officer, I just have a question of whether my resume is enough or whether i should pursue college first. I am currently in the army, on a combat tour in Afghanistan. I am NOT and MP, I am a combat engineer. I will be separating the army in December of next year, I will be 22 when I get out. The only thing I have on my criminal record is I got charged with a misdemeanor when i was 18 for vandalism under $500. Other than that my past is clean with only a little bit of marijuana use in highschool and thats it.


My question is, whether i should use my GI bill right after I get out and go to college, or will my current background suffice?

Use your GI Bill. You may qualify, but you will not likely be competitive with most departments. While noble, the military experience is not enough to set you above the crowd. Many of us have it. Unfortunately, you also have an arrest... and a fairly recent one at that. You would be far better served getting a degree and putting some time between you and that little incident. :)

FYI, study something you like. If it is NOT CJ, even better, as you will have a springboard to another field in case LE doesn't work out (you don't get hired, decide you don't like it, or have to medical out). A degree and military experience are very similar in the sense that most all departments could care less if your degree is CJ and your military experience is MP... you get no extra credit for it. :)

I agree with Switch.

On an LE application it only asks if you are prior military it doesn't ask what you did. In fact in the office I work, it's split 50/50, prior military or degree. Most of us who are prior military (I was an MP) have a handful of college credits but no degree. So it is possible to be hired without a degree but the combination of a degree and prior military is very appealing to departments.

On the topic of what kind of degree, CJ or other... again in the office I now work and with my prior agency the degrees vary. There are a handful of CJs, but there are also those with a law degree, psychology and one sociology degree.

Ok thank you this really helped on making a decision, I dont ever like to mention my misdemeanor, but in this case its better to be honest. But on a side note, I was never physically arrested as i admitted to the crime because at the time i was living with a cop, and they all knew I was envolved
But anyways thank you

We offer Veteran preference points to any Honorably Discharged Vet regardless of their job in the military. Whether you were A SEAL or a cook , it doens't matter. All vets get 10 points added to their final score. A degree will make you an even better candidate but consider a degree ( as has been said) that will afford you a backup plan in case the police thing doesn't work out.

I would add that while in, try to knock out some of those college credits you can get through colleges who work with the military. I've been out for a while, and bet that it has evolved quite a bit. Not doing more of that has been a regret for me, because it is so easy and cheap to be had.

I agree that college does help, but the combination of some college and military does help out. Departments like Texas DPS (State Trooper) have a min 90 college semester hours, but they waive some or all of those for military experience. Also, keep in mind that you can use your GI Bill toward a lot of police academies and training. Whatever you do, make sure you USE THAT GI Bill.

The military doesn't count as much as it should or used to, but you can still use that as a spring board. If you are a Combat Engineer, I'm guessing you have some EOD training. That counts a lot with some of the bigger departments. I would capitalize upon that stuff.

Also, contact the recruiters of a few departments you are interested in. Most are very helpful and will field questions. You will be surprised how much a lot of them will help you, and it will be a starting point.

Good luck, and thanks for serving!

2-3 of my Troops have gotten out in the last 5-6 months and are having issues with just MP time alone trying to get work in the LE field. 2 are going back to school on GI Bill and the other said she's going to look for to use her GI Bill to go though an academy then try to find a job.

My advice would be to go to school and knock out your degree then go look for work. You're still young enough that when you finish there will be jobs out there and with the degree you would have to option to look at not only local stuff but State and Federal LE jobs.

I don't know about you but, if I didn't do it right after I got out, I probably wouldn't have. It has taken a lot of motivation to go back and deal with obnoxious civilian hippies and the general turd youth of the country but, it was the right choice. I graduate this December and start the academy in January. It's super competitive right now. While your military will certainly help, why not add to your arsenal? You have an awesome opportunity to better your chances as well as yourself. You've earned it, don't waste it. It will help you transition back to civilian life as well. IMHO, you're best to get your education now while you don't have any other responsibilities. It only gets harder the longer you wait. Plus, putting time between you and your past issues is always a good thing.

I'll leave the judgment on your chances to the certified and experienced officers. Just remember, what you consider to be a "little bit of weed" may not be what the agency considers a "little bit."

Go to school, keep your nose clean, get your degree, put time between you and your infractions and maybe sponsor yourself through the academy. Then apply and see how things go. Best of luck to you. Stay safe over there.

Armydiver
I noticed you are from (in) Melbourne, Florida? Im originally from Satellite beach and have considered moving back to that area to apply for LE, of coarse i dont want to go back to exactly where i lived because of that fact I know too many people. Im wondering, since there is a low presence of any army veterans, if that would be a good place to start. Im not trying to flaunt the fact im a veteran but my real motivation is to get into LE and if i can do so without college I would. I have a friend at the Satellite PD and he said I shouldnt have too much of a problem there considering my misdemeanor.

Armydiver
I noticed you are from (in) Melbourne, Florida? Im originally from Satellite beach and have considered moving back to that area to apply for LE, of coarse i dont want to go back to exactly where i lived because of that fact I know too many people. Im wondering, since there is a low presence of any army veterans, if that would be a good place to start. Im not trying to flaunt the fact im a veteran but my real motivation is to get into LE and if i can do so without college I would. I have a friend at the Satellite PD and he said I shouldnt have too much of a problem there considering my misdemeanor.

From what I understand, there will be at least two other vets with combat experience in my academy class in January. (Total of 30 people) I'm sure there will be more than that, those are just the ones I know about from speaking with my BI. I know that departments in Brevard County give veterans preference but so do many others. I'm not sure if you'd get a better look here or other places. It helps to be a veteran just about everywhere.

I understand your desire to skip the whole college thing and just jump into L.E. but, why not use your GI Bill? You earned it. You can come home, go to BCC for a few classes and then go to the academy here in Melbourne. It will count toward your degree. You could have your AS after 1 year of classes. It only helps. Many of the people going through are either laid off from the Cape or another job and have degrees. The others are 19 year old kids. Your military will certainly help but it might not be enough to put you over the top.

Look around at a couple departments that might interest you and then E-Mail the recruiter and see what they have to say about it. If they're good with your military and don't care if you have college, then you're good to go. Just remember, you'll need at least an AA in order to get promoted. It will only be harder to go to class once you've started working.

On a side note, there was a murder and an OIS in Satellite Beach yesterday. Might want to check in with your buddy and see how he's doing. There's a 25% chance it was him.