Would you do it if you were me...honestly please!!

[VLADE11]

Thanks in advance to anyone who responds....My situation is that I am through the entire hiring process and awaiting a response from my backround detective so as she will tell me when the next academy will be starting ,,,,,,,Although this is what I've always wanted to do, I'm in medical sales now and will be taking a pay cut from around 85k a year to around 40k first year...thats pretty substantial....honestly if you were me at 28 years old and you were in my situation would you choose a career which I will easily make over 100k consistently or would you still choose a career as a LEO.....I'm asking what any of you specifically would do if you knew then what you know now.Thanks!!

[mikecrazy]

If you're questioning the salary maybe it's not the "job" for you. I'm sure most of us who do Gods work would have done it for less.

Money is important don't take my statement the wrong way. I got hired at 25k and knew that although it would suck, I'd make due somehow regardless because it was what I wanted to do. Make sure it's what you want to do before you jump in.

[bell4fan]

Exactly as said above. also look at the long term pay increaes. what does the pay jump up to after the academy? after probabtion? after a couple years on?

The pay usually starts out low, but can increase a good amount.

if its what you want to do, you will make the necessary adjustments to your income and do it.

But like said above, I dont think ANYONE ever chose to put on a badge w/ aspirations of getting rich.

[retdetsgt]

Police pay is all over the board in this country. Seattle cops make about 90K a year at top patrolman pay. Some agencies barely make 35-40K. Look around at the agencies around you and possibly think about moving to other areas of the country.

I loved the job, but I wouldn't have done it at all if I couldn't have supported my family and had a decent standard of living. My life consists of more than what I did for a living.

[Hockey9019]

Not sure where you are from, but many agencies employ Reserves (Volunteer-different areas have different qualifications for-and authority), or even a part time officer.

[Mu5afir]

If you're questioning the salary maybe it's not the "job" for you. I'm sure most of us who do Gods work would have done it for less.

Money is important don't take my statement the wrong way. I got hired at 25k and knew that although it would suck, I'd make due somehow regardless because it was what I wanted to do. Make sure it's what you want to do before you jump in.

Amen brother, if you are worried about a pay cut.. Or are doing this simply for money.. this IS NOT the carrier for you. I don't want a partner who clocks in 9-5 thinking this is his JOB. It's not a job, it's an obligation, a service that you give to the community.

[mcsap]

The fact that you are concerned over the paycut tells me that you want the Hollywood treatment but don't want to "pay ' for it.

[retdetsgt]

Amen brother, if you are worried about a pay cut.. Or are doing this simply for money.. this IS NOT the carrier for you. I don't want a partner who clocks in 9-5 thinking this is his JOB. It's not a job, it's an obligation, a service that you give to the community.

I didn't like working with people like you. Sorry, this is a job, not an ordination from God. It's not a service I GAVE to anybody, I earned my paycheck and I expected a reasonable paycheck for the work I did.

People who see this as a high calling tend to think that they are exempt from the rules themselves and look down on people from a lower socio economic level. There's a self righteousness that often goes with that attitude that I find tiresome. If you get the job, it's because you passed a civil service exam, not because you got a vision from a higher power.:rolleyes:

You need to want to do the job, but you need to want to do the job if you're a locomotive engineer.

[retdetsgt]

The fact that you are concerned over the paycut tells me that you want the Hollywood treatment but don't want to "pay ' for it.

It tells me that he has a family to support and is concerned about that. I see nothing wrong with it.

I feel sorry for anyone who's devotion to their job is more important to them than their family. After I retired from the job, the people there couldn't care less about me. If I go back, I get a friendly, "Hi, how ya doin', good to see you, etc" and then they want to get back to their work. But I have a great relationship with my kids and grandkids that I cultivated while I worked as a cop to support them.

When I was an FTO, I used to ask new guys why they became cops. The ones that said something to the effect they wanted to change jobs and this one looked interesting invaribly turned out to be excellent police officers, detectives, etc. and retired still working hard. The ones that said they wanted to be cops since they were 3 years old too often had something to prove that wasn't pretty and usually burned out after a few years because THEY were the ones expecting the Hollywood treatment. Not the people looking at it as a job.

[txinvestigator1]

This thread is bizzare;

God's work? huh?

[seeking]

Cutting your salary in half isn't anything to consider lightly. But, honestly, if you were happy doing what you're already doing, you wouldn't have even applied to be a LEO. So obviously there's something dissatisfying there that's making the money you make perhaps not worth the job you're doing.

It is possible to make that kind of money in law enforcement--not straight off of course, but my dad managed to. Of course, he also routinely worked 70/80 hours a week, coming home for a couple hours to sleep before the next project. So, it's a matter of what you're willing to put in.

It's also a matter of what's important to you. You can make the money you make but be dissatisfied in your work. You can cut your pay in half and potentially have a very rewarding career and a balanced life. Or, you can maintain the same pay you're pulling in now but have to sacrifice in other areas in your life to put in the hours that pay would require.

I'm a little younger than yourself, but a department paying what yours will be would actually almost double my salary. And that doubled salary is still less than what I'd make if I would have worked in certain positions that are more relevant to my degree. But I got a taste of those jobs while I was in college, and while I excelled and the money would have been good, it wasn't something I felt driven to continue or like I could have done it for the rest of my life even if the pay were doubled. Law enforcement is something that, while it would be nice to make that kind of pay, I'd still be considering even if it paid exactly the same as what I do now.

[DeltaV]

honestly if you were me at 28 years old and you were in my situation would you choose a career which I will easily make over 100k consistently or would you still choose a career as a LEO

Our senior patrolmen make about $80K per year MINIMUM without any overtime or off-duty work factored in. Many make over $100K. I'll make in the 70s this year working only a minimal amount of overtime, and I'm nowhere near topping out. So while there are departments out there that pay peanuts, there are also departments that pay well. IMO, the job is essentially the same everywhere. Every cop does the same stuff, some just do it at a higher pace than others. Because of that, I'm a firm believer in working for the agency that will pay you the best for doing the job.

That said, taking a 50% pay cut is a big deal. You need to look at your bills and make sure that you can pay them. It's not worth it to take this (or ANY) job if it means that you're going to be getting yourself into debt and ruining your credit. That's going to force you to rely on working overtime and off-duty details and those things can dry up sometimes.

Also, you need to realize that police work is a field with job security. I know how the world of sales works and even the best sales jobs can be feast or famine sometimes. Markets change, products go in and out of favor, and companies have financial problems. You don't need to worry about any of that in law enforcement.

The bottom line is that only you can answer whether or not you should take the job. If you're genuinely happy in your current job and happy with the things that the extra money buys you, I don't know that I'd risk it for an unknown. That said, if you're unhappy in your current job and there's a potential at your agency to make what you're currently making within a few years, I'd go for it. I'd also go for it if you can still comfortably live on the salary you'd make in law enforcement without taking on any undue financial stress.

[suzanne1020U.S.]

Thanks in advance to anyone who responds....My situation is that I am through the entire hiring process and awaiting a response from my backround detective so as she will tell me when the next academy will be starting ,,,,,,,Although this is what I've always wanted to do, I'm in medical sales now and will be taking a pay cut from around 85k a year to around 40k first year...thats pretty substantial....honestly if you were me at 28 years old and you were in my situation would you choose a career which I will easily make over 100k consistently or would you still choose a career as a LEO.....I'm asking what any of you specifically would do if you knew then what you know now.Thanks!!

You actually already have the answer, dear VLAD, you've already made the decision of proceeding with the hiring process In your heart, you wish to be an L.E.O., because you wouldn't have done all that work if your heart wasn't in it.
Go get em, and I wish you the best.

P.S. The only truth of life is to be there for your fellow man, and everything else will fall into place.

[TBuch]

everybody pretty much summed it up already but my 2 cents is if your going to do one thing the better part of your life why not make it something that you enjoy and can go home at the end of your shift happy and not mad at the world because you hate your life. If its what you really want to do then the financial part will work itself out. good luck

[VLADE11]

Hey thanks again to everyone who took the time to write back..i really appreciate it!!!
Thanks