Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

Hi everyone,

Before I start I want to thank those who serve and protect citizens.

I'm 31 years old and I have been in the US for five and half year. During this period of time I got three moving violation tickets, one of them is recent; the others are in 2007 and 08. My credit is not good- owe around 4 negative accounts, a total of $2,500 in debt.

I got my GED and signed up for Valencia Police Academy. I'm taking this step hoping I would get a job as LEO. I fluently speak Arabic, French and some Spanish. Good job history.

Do you think I have a good chance of getting hired after sponsoring myself and getting through the academy?

Thanks a lot.

Are you a US citizen? If so, I'd say you have a pretty good chance. If not, zero.

Are you a US citizen? If so, I'd say you have a pretty good chance. If not, zero.

In addition to whether or not you're a US citizen, what countries have you lived in prior to coming to the US?

Also, what are you doing to pay off the $2500 in debt you have?

I came from Morocco. I plan on paying my debt after I'm done with the academy. I am a US citizen and I want to use my language skill to benefit this country since it gave me the opportunity to come here to work and live a good life. I dont want to work for the feds because thats not what I want to do.

As long as you don't get behind on your debt payments, I see no problem. Hope it works out for you.

(I didn't want to work for the feds either)

I actually could see only having a GED down here as a huge problem. By state law, you do meet minimum requirements, however I haven't seen anyone hired with just a GED since I've been in Law Enforcement (not long, just 5.5 years). I would suggest getting a college degree first, or serving in the Military.

Most of the applicants we hire have a four year college degree if they don't have prior experience at another agency. Most of the ones with prior experience have some sort of college education too. The GED is going to be a huge negative and I really think it could prevent you from getting hired. Three tickets in five years is also a big problem. The debt isn't as big of an issue as the others as long as you are working on paying it off, however if you're not working on that then it's an issue.

The job market down here in Florida is very competitive right now, and way more people are putting themselves through the academy than there are job openings. The only real positive that you bring to the table is your foreign language expertise, however there aren't that many people down here who speak French and Arabic, and Spanish speaking officers are a dime a dozen in most places. They aren't going to overlook the other issues just because you speak multiple languages.

Tell me about this "GED" you have.

Did you get it here in America?

What was your education like before you moved? Did you complete the usual schooling residents of your country do?

Generally a GED means someone dropped out of high school, but realizing you grew up elsewhere it's possible that you're equally or better educated than a typical American who only has a GED.

Regardless, start getting some college education. Too many candidates bring to the table exactly what you do, plus a four or six year college degree.

I got the GED here in US. My education background is pretty good back home. I have a high school diploma as well as some college education, but the issue is that some employers dont think that my high school diploma is equivalent. So, I decided to get a GED. I will work on my college degree here when I finish the police academy.
How long is a police certificate good for here in FL?

Take it from someone who has BTDT... get the degree first.

Trying to finish school while working as a cop is no fun at all, and there's no point in getting the training to just then not use it for a few years while you go to school.

School first, academy after.

Trust me on this one.

-Citicop.

I got the GED here in US. My education background is pretty good back home. I have a high school diploma as well as some college education, but the issue is that some employers dont think that my high school diploma is equivalent. So, I decided to get a GED. I will work on my college degree here when I finish the police academy.
How long is a police certificate good for here in FL?

I know foreign born police that got GED so that they would meet the "High School Diploma" requirements for both being a police officer and also going to college. It's a check box item for them and it didn't reflect negatively as they completed all the required schooling elsewhere. Some countries finish "high school" at age 16 so it's tough to compare. The GED levels it out. Totally different than dropout who gets GED. Transcripts were still required when available.

College won't hurt and is a minimum requirements in some places.

I got the GED here in US. My education background is pretty good back home. I have a high school diploma as well as some college education, but the issue is that some employers dont think that my high school diploma is equivalent. So, I decided to get a GED. I will work on my college degree here when I finish the police academy.
How long is a police certificate good for here in FL?

Go to school first and get a degree first, it will help you more.

Based on your circumstances you might have a chance with a small department. However, it is still a "small chance". Get your degree first.

Also, if you graduate the Academy, you have four years from when you start the academy, to get a job in Law Enforcement. If you don't, your certification expires and you have to retake the entire academy. The academy you want to attend is not easy by any stretch. It's akin to boot camp. Extensive physical training and yelling every morning. It's hard. You will not want to repeat it a second time. I went, and I wouldn't.