Need advice!!!

[icu650]

Excellent advice marinepilot I agree 100%--atg1299 you should take his advice, you are STILL young.

[Kimble]

In one breath you say you've grown and learned from your poor decision to give up on your military enlistment, yet several times you also state your decision ruined your life. That statement doesn't demonstrate maturity, nor does getting dropped (even under voluntary circumstances like you describe) from the military.

I don't say this to beat you while your down, but clerk jobs at a store or waiting tables won't make you a stellar police candidate, not when DoD is facing budget cuts were servicemembers who honorably served their commitments will be honorably discharged and also be seeking jobs (many applying for police jobs too). You need to face a few realities: you're not going to be a solid candidate for a police job in the near future, it's possible you may never be hired as a cop (does not mean your life is "over," just that you need to focus on another path for a career), and no career should be the main focus of happiness or self-worth in your life. Not to get preachy (like I haven't already, right?), God has a purpose for all of us, but we also have to live with the consequences of our actions, which sometimes means coming up with a Plan B when Plan A's door has shut. Sucks, but welcome to the world of being an adult.

[retdetsgt]

We want to be judged by our intentions, but unfortunately, we're judged by our actions. Show some responsibility for a few years and give it a shot.

[CPL1897]

I give you "props" for admitting that you got yourself into a line of work (Military) and then realized it wasnt the life for you and backed out...I was never in the military, however 90% of my co-workers are..so I know it can be a lot to handle expecially at 17...As far as becoming a
LEO, i cant answer that one, if you heard my story of how I was hired at 19, many years ago you would think my Dept. was nuts for taking the chance, but they did and as far as I know they havent regretted it and I definately still love it and Im in my 30's now! So every situation is different just like every person and Department is different.. BUT I can say there are a LOT OF STRICTER REQUIREMENTS nowadays and A LOT of competition in LE AS FAR AS HIRING CANDIDATES GO...Dont give up on your dream but your also going to have to work really hard to "Prove yourself" because of your history and age etc.. So you may want to go to school and get a job and do good at it, give it some time and THEN start filling out as
many LE apps as you can...

Best of luck...

[atg12199]

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate the input! The only reason I am hesitant in changing my career path is because they are COMPLETELY different. And I just need to figure out if it's worth pursuing a Criminal Justice degree or not. (don't want to put money into a degree I can't use) so I have a lot to take into consideration. But thank you all so much!

[retdetsgt]

Don't go after a C J degree even if you want to pursue LE later. Agencies don't care what your degree is in and there are others that are even better in the field. Computer science is always a good choice or public administration is good if you think you might want to rise in rank. C J is a degree, but that's about all it is. It carries no advantages and isn't in demand by anybody.

[CPL1897]

Trust me when I say CJ Degrees are over-rated...Most departments honestly
dont look at a CJ degree much different than any other degree...So find A degree you can USE FOR ANOTHER LINE OF WORK and it will still help when getting into
LE...

Guys help me out here...

I have a CJ degree and it has done absolutely nothing for me (got it after becoming LE, and if I were to change carreers (Im not but just saying) it would be worthless, wish Iwouldve gotten something to do with computers or econimics etc...basically something I could use if I HAD To....

[retdetsgt]

The CJ degree was created way back in the early 70's when the feds started pushing college for police officers. For a very few years, LEAA would actually pay full time cops' tuition. Colleges and universities scrambled to come up with something they thought would appeal to police so they could cash in on that. Essentially, all they did was form a hodge-podge curriculum of classes they already offered and called it Criminal Justice or in some places, Administration of Justice. They included some psychology, some sociology, some business classes, etc. Together, they form a weak, soft science education that really doesn't do much of anything.

I admit that when I went back to college, that was my original major and then I realized what it was and switched to a sociology degree. Neither would land me a good job, but I liked sociology more than I liked some of the required classes in the CJ program. Besides, I already had a job so it didn't matter.

The community college here offers an AA in CJ that does have some criminal law, forensics, etc., but none of those classes transfer to 4 year school towards a bachelor's. They rank right along basket weaving for that purpose.

[Joeyd6]

I don't think you have grown from this nor realize the seriousness of what you did. You state many things that not only prove such, but are concerning and show a severe lack of maturity for your age. I only know you, by what you posted. Thus I am judging you on the words you posted and assumption you type as you really speak. Here are some examples.

Approximately3 weeks in, I realized that I didnt want it aI have more desire to be a civi cop than i did an MP.s bad as I thought

So you made it through the Recpetion Batallion and inot Phase One. You were almost one third done with your training, completed the hardest part, and left because you didn't want it. So you only finish what you want and like? What I get it out of this is that if the mission doesn't suite your needs, you give up. You put yourself over the group. I don't want a cop next to me who is going to do that. Everyoen has stuff in their life, but if you can't do something you "don't wan" then you are useless. If you are stuck at work on a BS call of a barricaded emotionally disturbed person and its your six years olds first school play and she is counting on you to be there, are you going to pack up and leave the call? Maybe...maybe not. But its proven once a person does something, the next time they do it it is easier to do, both physically and mentally.

It was a mistake

No it was not. It was a choice. You may no regret it....you may wish it didn't happen, but you made a conscious decision. A mistake is when something occurs you did not intend to have happen...like your hand slipping when painting! You intened to leave and schose to do such. Saying it was a mistake says you have a lot maturing to do.

Everything that has happened has opened my eyes to the "unforgivingness" if you will... of the government.

The government is forgiving. However the people that make up such are not. And nowhere in society does it say you have to be forgiven for bad decisions. Kids today have been brought up with the notion that you can do anything you want, and if you say you are sorry or acknowledge it was wrong, it should be washed off the slate. Life is not that way. There is a thing out there many never knew existed: accountability.

You need a lot of time....and steady work experience. You may or may not overcome this, but I don't see you entering the world of LE for at least ten years!