Suggestions based on your experience...

[armydiver]

Hello,
I am currently deployed to Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne. I'm stop-lossed for the duration of the deployment and will ETS upon returning stateside. When I started looking into what I was going to do after I got out, I found myself drawn toward law enforcement. I joined the military straight out of high school. I attempted to get college in while stateside but didn't have much luck due to being in the Infantry and constantly being in the field or deployed. I have 8 years of service and multiple combat deployments. My question is this:

Should I just go ahead and apply after getting out, or would it be a better idea to go to college first?

I only ask because I will be 26 years old when I get out and don't want to be behind the power curve due to my age. I understand that I would be a better candidate with college AND military service. I just don't know if the benefit of the degree would be overshadowed by the age factor. (being 30 when applying as opposed to 26) Would you suggest applying and doing college on nights or online while working? Or would it be easier and more beneficial to just get it done and over with prior to applying?

If you had done one or the other, in your personal experience, do you wish you would have gone a different route? IE college before applying or visa versa. Would being a reserve officer while attending college be that much more beneficial or would I be better off just focusing on school and applying strictly as a full time officer?

Sorry for the long post. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!

[Johninaustin]

Age won't be a problem. 30 is a perfectly good age for a police recruit.

Personally, I'd apply first. You gotta work SOMEWHERE while going to school. ;)

[Super Six 5]

Regardless of the order of what you do, take advantage of the money the government will put towards your education. Afterall, you've earned it.

[Legoate]

As long as you meet the minimum education requirements for the department that you are applying for, I'd go for it and apply.

I've had a bit of military experience and my best advice would be this: Apply for the job, but at the same time apply for college. Start taking courses towards a degree that interests you (don't do CJ unless you really just have to). Police departments can easily take a year to hire you even if they are interested. If anything gets held up during the process during testing of your background, it can grow to 2 years. By that time you'd be well on your way to completing a AA degree, and halfway to a BA/BS.

Use that GI bill, I survived through college just using my GI bill and working on weekends. I wasn't living the high life, but I had enough money for a place with a decent roommate, and seem to remember being able to purchase plenty of beer along with way with the leftovers.

[DeltaV]

You won't have much of a problem getting hired with only your military experience unless you have background issues. That said, anyone who has worked full time as a LEO and gone to college part time will tell you that it's no easy task. If you go that route, I'd suggest finding an accredited program on the internet and getting your degree online. You don't need college to be a cop, however not having a degree will hurt you in the long run if you ever decide that you want to get promoted.

[cobravenom1]

If you had done one or the other, in your personal experience, do you wish you would have gone a different route? IE college before applying or visa versa. Would being a reserve officer while attending college be that much more beneficial or would I be better off just focusing on school and applying strictly as a full time officer?

Sorry for the long post. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!

I would have not changed a thing. Maybe finished college earlier in my military career would have made it easier on my personal life.

Your decision depends on which department you want to work for and what the requirements are to get in. Then it depends on how commited you are to get the degree if you want to wait until after you get the job.

On-line courses are good for the wait time in-between job application/s and a solid academy date. Just make sure the on-line courses are transferable. After you start working, the learning curve is steep and you may not have the time to attend a traditional college (day/night classes). On-line classes may allow you to continue your education at a pace consistent with your schedule.

As things go in any job market, if you want the job now, you gotta be the first one in the door yesterday. IMHO, get out there and get the job with a department you would be happy with to start that retirement clock. You can be very well established by your mid thirties vice still learning the ropes.:D

Whatever you do, definitely use that G.I. Bill. That is cash in pocket earned by sweat and blood.

[Piggy]

Don't overlook the Feds side of thing. You can have the Federal Gov't buy out some of that military time toward your retirement, go to school and get your degree and work your way up the ranks. There are plenty of jobs open right now.

[North Patrol]

Check out the Border Patrol Web site. It's good work and good pay. I would say that you more than qualify with your experience.


http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/careers/c...order_careers/


And if you go Border Patrol use my name so I get the recruitment bonus! :D (I'm not joking)

[armydiver]

Thank you for all the suggestions so far. I have had no issues while in the military. No negative counsellings or Article 15's. My background is also very clean. I have checked with many of the PD's that I would be interested in applying to and I meet or exceed their standards. I've just been reading a lot of posts stating how competitive the hiring process is and wanted make sure I stood a fighting chance, especially since combat vets are getting increasingly easier to come by now.

Piggy,
I never really put much thought into the federal side of things. I've always thought of it to be more of an investigative desk style job than a pro-active enforcement type. Do you have any insight on the type of job that is done by agents? Is it anything close to the style of law enforcement done by a civilian police force? I just lament the idea of living a monotonous and droning work life. I've enjoyed the constant changing and unknown situations that the Army has given me and feel that is the reason I'm drawn to police work. No day is ever the same. Would the fact that I already have a security clearance and a decent amount of S2 (intelligence) experience help much? Do you recommend a certain acronym to look into more than another?

North Patrol,
I've spoken with a few Border Patrol agents that come by the base often to do recruiting. While it seems like a rather interesting job and the pay is a definite bonus, I don't know if spending my first three years in some BFE town in Texas is that appealing.

I will be using my GI Bill to its full extent while going to school/the academy. I am hoping to move to FL when I ETS. I know that most departments in FL no longer sponsor people to go to the academy and I will have to do this out of pocket. This will be 6 months of completely different training that will not have anything to do with the degree I would be going for. (I took the suggestion of many officers on here and will not be doing CJ) And would put me even farther behind if I did it after getting my degree. That is why I was wondering what experiences officers had while trying to get their degrees while working. Do any FL officers have suggestions on academies that I could do while getting my degree? I've seen multiple posts about the extended night class academies but I'm not sure if they're looked at as highly as the normal 6 month academies.

Sorry for the novel again. Thanks for your time.

[chewy]

Check out the Border Patrol Web site. It's good work and good pay. I would say that you more than qualify with your experience.


http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/careers/c...order_careers/


And if you go Border Patrol use my name so I get the recruitment bonus! :D (I'm not joking)

I saw on the Intranet site that they may be doing a special Northern Border program... I'm planning on applying for that when it starts up, I'll use your name but I what half of your bonus!! :D

[phantasm]

Also most departments will extend the maximum age for active duty military. If the max age is 35, many will extend the max age by 4-6 years, raising it to 39-41.

[mcsap]

You may want to check for and apply at PD's that give the Veterans Preference points. That sure can help a LOT towards getting hired.