Finishing school?

[bd327]

I'm in school currently for my Bachelors in Criminal Justice. I will be starting my core classes (not generals) in Feb. I have heard that if you have your degree before you apply with a dept. it looks better. However I'm 28 and was hoping to start applying in June or July. I will have my degree in 2.5 years. My question is should I wait to apply till after I have my degree or should I go ahead and apply when I planned?

[Citicop]

I'm in school currently for my Bachelors in Criminal Justice. I will be starting my core classes (not generals) in Feb. I have heard that if you have your degree before you apply with a dept. it looks better. However I'm 28 and was hoping to start applying in June or July. I will have my degree in 2.5 years. My question is should I wait to apply till after I have my degree or should I go ahead and apply when I planned?

Take it from someone who has BTDT...

It is WAY easier to handle school if you aren't working full time as a cop at the same time. It can be done, but you'll wish you had finished up first.

-Citicop.

[Safety Steve]

I agree with Citicop. I worked with a guy that had a wife, kid, full-time job, and still took 12 to 15 hours of college each semester to finish his degree. I always told him he must be super smart or his college was super easy. Of course he would agree he was super smart, then the debate would begin! . Get that piece of paper! It can open up other opportunities for you if you change your mind. Be Safe.

[corporal716]

Finish school first. Shift work and school don’t mix.

[retdetsgt]

I got my bachelor's and masters working graveyard uniform and taking a minimum of 12 hours during the bachelors program and 6 to 10 a semester on the masters. It can be done, but trust me, work and school is all you will be doing. Well, sleeping now and then, but it really helps to be crazy (and I was).

[bd327]

Thanks for the advice however I am a single parent so I still work full time while I'm in school. It is very difficult but we do what we have too. Some people have told me that if I apply, sometimes the dept. will help with school. I just want the best chance of getting hired on. So with now knowing that, what would be the best course of action to have a better chance of getting hired?

[retdetsgt]

Thanks for the advice however I am a single parent so I still work full time while I'm in school. It is very difficult but we do what we have too. Some people have told me that if I apply, sometimes the dept. will help with school. I just want the best chance of getting hired on. So with now knowing that, what would be the best course of action to have a better chance of getting hired?

The best chance of getting hired is scoring high on all the tests. That's the beauty of civil service. Unless the dept. specifically requires a degree, it's not necessary and it probably isn't going to be of that much influence.

Most depts hire you on the basis of the scores from your written and then oral board. Different depts give different weight to each, I think mine is 60-40. Everything else, including the physical are pass or fail. They don't really look all that hard at the individual accomplishments of each candidate with the exception of military experience which awards veteran's points. All the scores are tabulated and they start hiring from the person with the highest on down.

I found that degrees come in handier later when you're going for promotion.

Some depts do help with school tuition. Mine refunds a certain amount upon completion.

[corporal716]

You can get the best of both worlds if you become a reserve and continue going to school. When I comes to being hired full time, you will have you will have more going for you than someone with no degree and no experience.

[retdetsgt]

You can get the best of both worlds if you become a reserve and continue going to school. When I comes to being hired full time, you will have you will have more going for you than someone with no degree and no experience.

The OP is working full time already and going to school. I suspect doing free reserve work would be pushing it.

In smaller depts., perhaps prior reserve experience would be helpful. From what I understand, some twist it so that people have to work for nothing before they can get a job. But at larger depts., prior reserve isn't going to mean that much.

[GoDirectly2Jail]

As someone with a young family, working a full-time job AND take a full-time undergrad class load myself, the OP should not try to go for the trifecta.

[bd327]

Thank you for your advice. I currently work as a security officer for a local company. I have my unarmed license and have been certified in both baton and handcuffs. Hopefully soon I will be certified in OC Spray as well. I'm a single mom (sorry didn't specify that earlier) and have been in school for just under a year. I don't have the time to do reserve although I would love too. I have applied to do ride-alongs with several of the local depts. I have always dreamed of being an LEO. However with my situation I won't be able to go through POST unless I get sponsered. Thats why I want the best edge possible.

[corporal716]

at larger depts., prior reserve isn't going to mean that much.

I disagree, I think prior reserve experience would be very helpful in how someone would answer questions during an oral board. I’ve seen more than one candidate with a college education and great written test scores not have enough points to continue in the hiring process after the oral.

[retdetsgt]

I disagree, I think prior reserve experience would be very helpful in how someone would answer questions during an oral board. I’ve seen more than one candidate with a college education and great written test scores not have enough points to continue in the hiring process after the oral.

Maybe. I've sat on a few oral boards and we looked for common sense answers more than technical experience. I seriously doubt reserve time would be all that great in answering the questions we ask since they aren't geared for experienced officers. And we have a lot of people from all segments of society who score high on written and low on oral boards. That's not limited to people with college educations.

But then again, I despise reserve programs so I have some prejudice. I would mark anyone down that would be willing to do my job for nothing. For every 40 hours of reserve duty assigned a week, that's one real cop that could have a job. But that's been beat to death here.

[Samuel]

IMO, LE is NOT going to be good for your family, ESPECIALLY if/since you're a single parent... It would only be marginally better if you were Already in LE and Then became a parent... YMMV

[retdetsgt]

IMO, LE is NOT going to be good for your family, ESPECIALLY if/since you're a single parent... It would only be marginally better if you were Already in LE and Then became a parent... YMMV

Cops shouldn't have offspring?!?

Having spent time as a cop and a single parent I do have to say that child care can be tough sometimes. She needs to have a good plan plus a couple of backup plans.

Now my dept has a 24 hour child care facility in the main police station. Wish it had been there back then. I was lucky in that I had a couple of aunts who lived here that I could call when there was an emergency. But I didn't use them as full time for my girls. But getting and keeping good babysitters was always on my mind while I was single.

Just as a sidenote, I noticed over the years that women officers who came on the job married to non police quite often got a divorce within a few years. I always suspected that the job gave the "little woman" enough self confidence and independence that it changed the dynamics at home.