Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

Hope I picked the right place for these questions, and I hope you got a minute, cuz this is a long one... I tried to do a search first as I'm sure most of these questions have been asked by hundreds of people before me but none are in the same place, and most replies are high school kids and young 20 somethings that are looking for a break from the 9-5 grind or trying to figure out what degree plan will give them the hollywood version of a CSI job. I appreciate any comments and replies, and i'm sure the 18 year old that has the world figured out is well intentioned, but I'm really more interested in hearing from people that have military and/or police experience. Anyway, so here's the backstory:

I joined the Air Force in 2003 when I was 21 years old and been in ever since. I am now 29 and currently a SSgt (E-5). I am an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, as well as various other south american and middle eastern countries. Its an awesome job and I've been around the world a few times, but to be honest, I'm burned out from the deployments. From September 2009 - December 2010 I spent 10 days at home. I came home for 6 months and they tagged me for another month of training and a 7 month deployment.

I will say, I probably have the coolest job you can have as an enlisted guy, but I can't keep this up forever. The retirement carrot is the only thing keeping me in. I've almost made it half way, and I really have enjoyed my time in, but I'm not sure if I can keep up with this deployment cycle for another 12 years. I've watched my sisters grow up and my parents grow older. My little nephew comes up to my chest now and this all seemed to happen overnight while I was 7000 miles away. I have job offers to come back to afghanistan doing my exact job i'm doing now as a civillian making 6 figures easy. I have a top secret security clearance, and military experience. Add a degree and I'm a shoe-in for the FBI or any other 3 letter agency. This is all well and good, but now that I have a little bit of it, money isn't everything, and I just want to go home.

Being a cop isn't necessarily my dream job, but after my military experiences, there's NO WAY I'll ever be able to work a desk job, or a normal 9-5 where I come into work, make a bunch of widgets for 8 hours and then beg my boss to let me work overtime so that I can perform more mindless work. I need a "mission"... Something that gives me satisfaction of a job well done, and a sense of pride that my actions that day had a part in a larger picture of making things better. More than that even, I also want to move back home to Michigan. Anywhere in the southeast part of the state will do, but in a perfect world, a southwestern Detroit suburb where I grew up would be ideal. A police officer seems to be the only thing that comes to mind that can offer me all of these things.

So here's the plan I have figured so far: I have a fairly large bank account saved up from being homeless and deployed all these years. I also haven't touched my GI bill yet. So I would like to go to school full time and get a CJ degree with my GI bill. But before I do anything drastic and turn down my orders to my next assignment im curious about a couple things first:

1. After researching average wages for police in the areas I am interested in, they don't make a lot. In fact in my 8 years of enlisted service, I make more than the average police officer's salary for my area (a lot more). Now with that being said, do police officers get housing/cost of living allowances? are my salary figures based off a "base pay"?

2. Are police typically paid by the city or the state? Should I avoid a poorer city with job openings, but cannot compensate them as well as the neighboring town or city? Do I have a choice what city I work for? What about benefits and retirement packages?

3. How are police promoted? Is it a weighted system like the military? Time in service + written test scores + decorations = where you fit among your peers for promotion. What about promotion rates? If you're in a smaller town or city with fewer officers, does that restrict your promotion eligibility? Whats the typical time in rank before getting promoted? Do you get annual or bi-annual raises for associated years of service?

4. Is there any way to skip a rank? In the military for example, most services will instantly give you 2 stripes for having a degree, signing up for a longer contract, or participating in high school/college ROTC. I understand everyone's gotta put in work and "pay their dues", but i'm more interested in investigative work than handing out traffic tickets...

5. How do you get selected for special duties such as k-9 units, SWAT, and other "non-beat cop" type positions. In a really perfect world, I would like to be a helicopter pilot. I've done my research on this matter as well. The best way into that one, is be a military helicopter pilot with a few thousand hours under your belt, and then join the ranks of the patrol officers. Hopefully someone notices you after a few years, and then MAYBE you'll get a shot at it. But that's an ambition of mine too, and whatever I can do to get it will be a never ending goal I'll always have.

I'm sure I'll think of more stuff, but my eyes hurt from writing this thing, as I'm sure yours do from reading it. Thanks for your time

O yea... What's the average age of an entry level police officer? Will I be the low ranking "old guy" in my early 30s hanging around a bunch of guys in their early 20s? Or is it typical for someone to join at my age who took a little longer to get their degree and put in some military service in the meantime?

I always pictured the police academy as a boot camp type atmosphere, but apparently my local community college offers it as a 17 week class... So I guess i'm kind of confused of what to expect from the entry pre-requisites

IME, around my neck of the woods (YMMV!!!):

Major in something other than CJ.

1. Depends on the department/agency. For me - No housing/cost of living allowances. Small salary increases based on time served and POST certificates. Job flyers or bulletins should give you a salary range.

2. Depends on the department/agency. Some are state, some are county, some are city. Varies. Go research some departments around your area.

3. Depends on the department/agency.

4. Depends on the department/agency. Typically no skipping ranks.

5. Depends on the department/agency. Get hired, be a good street cop, apply. You MIGHT get to a specialized unit/assignment faster depending on needs and what you bring to the table.

6. Age depends too. I've seen guys/gals 20 1/2 to in their 40's. Whoever just graduated will be the FNG's no matter what age they are.

7. IMO, paramilitary but typically easier than military boot camp. Length of academy depends on academy and state POST requirements. Depends on the academy.

Like Samuel said, it's different everywhere. Decide on where you want to settle down and check the websites of the various agencies you're interested in. Even the culture of the job is different from place to place. The job with NYPD is going to be a whole different day to day than one in a small town where everyone knows your name and where you live. Pay too is all over the board. Top pay can be as low at 35K up to 6 figures a year.

I was 25 when I started and was one of the older in my academy. It consisted mostly of vets like me or people right out of college. My academy wasn't all that military, academics and training was important, not some jerk off screaming at you. But that varies too, some people here have talked about some very military type academies.

For me, I chose a larger municipal agency because I didn't want to be transferred from hell to breakfast anymore. I had enough of that in the Army. I grew up in a small town and didn't want to be as well known as the cops I grew up around. I also am someone who reads the menu from right to left. I wanted something with decent pay, I wasn't that dedicated to the idea of being a cop. I made enough to support my family well and get my kids through school and into careers.

But everyone is different and that's good. Look for something that you think you will be comfortable in and start applying. Good luck!

I don't really have anything to add, but I will say thank you for your service and good luck in your endeavors.

You're looking for a government job in a location hit hard by unemployment. Most governments are seriously looking at hiring freezes (if they haven't already implemented them). Local LE will typically pay less than federal, however, federal has a long hiring time, is very competitive, and some agencies will not give you much of a choice where you live. Personally, I would look into areas that you think you'd like to live and see if they are hiring. If you can get on with and agency there, do your time until you can move to your dream location.

Think long and hard about getting out of the military. I served 10 years before finally calling it quits. I would have retired earlier this year and been able to take a mindless part time job to make ends meet. Instead I am still working full time wishing I'd done things differently. A long time ago I was talking to a man in Saudi Arabia. He work for one of the contractor, I think it was McDonnell Douglas. He had gone over for a year or two to get some money after his time in Vietnam. 20 years later the only time he has left the country was to go on vacation. His words: I barely graduated high school, so I went into the Air Force to keep from being drafted into the Army. They taught me how to fix F-5s. My youngest of two daughters just graduated from Harvard two years behind her sister. I paid for their education without taking out any loans. Not too bad for a mechanic with only a high school education.

Almost forgot, some departments/retirement packages will allow you to "buy back" your military time. You pay a certain amount spread out over time through pay check deductions and, for retirement purposes, your military time then counts towards your total service time...

Almost forgot, some departments/retirement packages will allow you to "buy back" your military time. You pay a certain amount spread out over time through pay check deductions and, for retirement purposes, your military time then counts towards your total service time...

Yea I researched going to the Fed's a lot too and how the retirement carry-over works. I would really like to go the special agent CID route, but that's a gamble and a half. I would literally have to get out of the military so i could go to school full time in order to finish my degree in a reasonable amount of time while i'm still young enough to do start from the bottom. and then HOPEFULLY get a degree that they want, and then pass those crazy reasoning exams, and roll the dice again for the special agent slot.

I have an associates degree, but it's from the community college of the Air Force, which means its pretty much worthless anywhere else. Which brings up another question... What's been your guys experience (local or Fed) of online degrees and getting hired and promoted? I can knock out an "underwater basket weaving" bachelors degree in a year or 2 through any number of so called "accredited" online schools. but the only positive outcomes I've seen anyone use those for is for enlisted member who want to commission as an officer. "Good enough for government work" as they say, but I would think those degrees would just be extremely expensive pieces of paper and nothing more for a civilian or 3 letter agency application

Also, does anyone know if I can apply to a federal position while i'm still in the military? or do I have to finish out my enlistment before i can apply/be hired?

The dept I retired from is hiring now, they lost a few of their best to local agencies, and all of us old baby-boomers are hitting retirement. Political correctness makes any police dept eat it's own, so the police culture has fundamentally changed. Budgets de-fund several specialty (detectives, pilots, etc.) spots. Govt. retirement plans are taking a beating right now, (1) most were invested in the stock market, and (2) politicians want to "borrow", (steal is a better desccription) from those public and private funds. They have bankrupted social security. It doesn't take a baker's dozen of lawyers or one village idiot to figure out who is getting screwed there. Congress has their own plan, one term and vested for life with head-of-the-line status at the hospital. They feed first at your table, and will be first in the lifeboats and to hell with everyone ese.

Those who can, extend their retirement dates, so the force gets older. The mandatory max. age for sworn officers is higher now. The big item is healthcare, another broken promise, the retiree pays all the healthcare premium, not the 15-20% while working and the dept/employer picked up the most of it. It gets up to about 1000 bucks a month, much more ahead to pay off the graft and crony lawyers with Obamacare or Hillarycare. Politicians, cronies, and lawyers will always do well.

If you like the military, stay put, and overseas isn't that bad. Only downside is your voter ballots will be "misplaced". Deployments iare ncreased as staffing goes down and the operational commitments remain at the same level.

I work for the gov't too, so you're preaching to choir. I've submitted absentee ballots from war zones with no confirmation it ever go to its destination or if it was ever counted in the first place. But If I can have a $100k savings account making $40k a year as a single enlisted dude workin the line, i'm pretty sure I'd be ok with a $15k-$30k pay bump and that would cover any extra associated healthcare and retirement costs. I don't have a 401k, no one matches my retirement, and I don't expect social security to be around when I go to collect. I would rather give an "opt out" option to social security than for me to keep paying into the ponzi scheme. They're gong to run out of investor (tax payer) money to pay the retirees at some point. I take care of myself, make smart investments, and have back up plans to back up plans for my retirement. (TSP, IRA's, Mutual funds, ect..) The only thing I expect from the gov't is compensation for my service and time away from my family on their behalf. But political disparities aside, I digress...

I like the military; overseas isn't bad if you're talking Europe or the far east, and as long as you don't live a room with 6 other dudes while incoming rockets explode next to your bunk while you sleep. And even that is kind of a neat story to tell after its over with, but as your last statement suggests:


Deployments iare ncreased as staffing goes down and the operational commitments remain at the same level.

^^ There in lies my issue with the military right now. I'm ALWAYS deployed. 6 months on, 6 months off. Every year. Plus a month or 2 TDY for training in the middle of that when I do get to come home. I haven't quite hit the half way mark of 20 years, and I turn 30 next summer. I need at least 2 years but most likely 3 of full time schooling to get my bachelors degree. This enlistment is up in August of 2012, so the the clock is ticking for me to make any major career changes. If i'm going to pull the ejection lever, it needs to be soon, because I'm not able to get a degree, raise a family, or have any form of a normal life while I'm doing what I'm doing right now. I figure I can roll over my retirement to a Fed job for 10-12 years, establish a seemingly normal life, have an exciting line of work, retire at 20 with a bigger paycheck than I would from the AF, and live happily ever. Start a car wash or rent out some property for the rest of my days or something to that effect.... That's how it all works out in theory in my mind anyway...

The local LE option is just something cool that I've always been interested in and seemed like a fairly easy transition from the military. Plus, I finally get to live where I want. (although after reading through these forums, getting exactly what I think I want, even a local level, is a bit more involved than I initially thought)

I am probably going to shoock you with my opinion. I know you think you are a "shoe in" for a three letter agency. In fact, you are not. The applicant pool is over flooded right now in the federal world with folks fluent in certain languages and master degrees. Lawyers and CPA's are filling the pool. And many of these folks.....all veterans. Thus, you have no college, and even a 4 year CJ or any other degree still puts you in the bottom half of teh canidate pool.

You want a job with a mission? No desk? Something where at the end of shift you definately know you made a difference? Want to go a shift without being worried about being sued? Start taking tests for a fire department and become a firefighter. The pay is better in most places than a cop, and if that does not influence you, their working schedule should, because most work about 1/3 less shifts than a cop. Plus, ever since 9/11 women dig them more.

Trust me on this......you will be much better off there and likely to get a job a lot quicker!

I am probably going to shoock you with my opinion. I know you think you are a "shoe in" for a three letter agency. In fact, you are not. The applicant pool is over flooded right now in the federal world with folks fluent in certain languages and master degrees. Lawyers and CPA's are filling the pool. And many of these folks.....all veterans. Thus, you have no college, and even a 4 year CJ or any other degree still puts you in the bottom half of teh canidate pool.

You want a job with a mission? No desk? Something where at the end of shift you definately know you made a difference? Want to go a shift without being worried about being sued? Start taking tests for a fire department and become a firefighter. The pay is better in most places than a cop, and if that does not influence you, their working schedule should, because most work about 1/3 less shifts than a cop. Plus, ever since 9/11 women dig them more.

Trust me on this......you will be much better off there and likely to get a job a lot quicker!

Yea, I figured the FBI special agent position would be a little harder to get into. I guess I assumed with all my friends jumping over to the NSA straight out of the military, moving to some other gov't agency wasn't a hard process. Then again, a TS clearance and military experience being a crypto linguist probably gives them a few more marketable credentials than I have.

O well.. I'll keep the local LE option in my back pocket for now, and I guess I never really thought of a fireman. I grew up in a small town where our fire dept was all volunteer, so I guess it really didn't cross my mind as a viable career. At least not with me having such a late start in something most people start working toward in their late teens. I'll check it out! :) Thanks for the replies everyone. Sorry for asking so many questions. Still trying to figure out what i want to be when I grow up ;)

Good luck, stay safe and don't disappear.