Likeliness to get a position?

[cummings16285]

I'm only a Jumior in HS (graduate in '09). I know what I want to do and where I want to go to school and all that. I get great grades, and just took my ACT. I want to get my B.S. in Criminal Justice to be a LEO.

However, I know that the popularity of being an LEO is increasing. I live in a rural area in Central Illinois, and would love to stay around this area.

Basically what I want to know is:

Would getting good grades and having a clean record help my chances of getting a position at a department over the competition?
-and-
How difficult is it to get a job in the law enforcement field? Especially in such a rural area?

[Kimble]

Would getting good grades and having a clean record help my chances of getting a position at a department over the competition?
-and-
How difficult is it to get a job in the law enforcement field? Especially in such a rural area?

Good grades and a clean record will only help. Not a guarantee by any means, as a department that has a college applicant, a few LEO's applying from other nearby departments, and a NCO from the military with several years experience will likely hire the latter two categories before a college graduate simply because they have more life experience that is relevant to law enforcement. Still, getting your degree and keeping a clean record will only help you.

How difficult is the application process? Depends entirely on which department you apply to, how competitive the process is with their department, what the qualifications are with their applicants, what you bring to the table, how your background compares to theirs', how your panel interview responses compare to theirs', how well you complete the physical exam/written test, etc. Too many factors involved to tell you, with any specifics, on how difficult it will be for you.