The Possible Merits of A Law Degree

[swampfox82]

I am 27 and just graduated from law school. I graduated in the top 10% of my undergraduate class, and the top 30% of my law school class. Recently, I applied at a local police department and passed the physical agility, polygraph, and oral test. Additionally, I scored a 96 on my Police Officer Selection Test. Currently, I am on the waiting list.

How will and how much will my law degree help me? Note that I knew I wanted to become involved in LE before attending law school.

[phantasm]

NYPD, as an example, has a legal department, that a law degree would be very helpful. Larger departments would have more of a use for a lawyer than a small department, but if you plan on advancing up the ranks, the degree could help too.

[Joeyd6]

On patrol it won't hep much. Riding a desk or working case going to trial it might help. I have my JD and just took the bar. As a LEO for 12 years, I can tell you cops think one way, lawyers think another. And if you think like a lawyer while working patrol, you or a co-worker are going to end up hurt, injured, killed worried about the ramificatiosn of crap.

Are there times it will come in handy, you bet! But so will being a car mechanic or a firearms enthusiast, etc...

[CityOfChicago]

On patrol it won't hep much. Riding a desk or working case going to trial it might help. I have my JD and just took the bar. As a LEO for 12 years, I can tell you cops think one way, lawyers think another. And if you think like a lawyer while working patrol, you or a co-worker are going to end up hurt, injured, killed worried about the ramificatiosn of crap.

Are there times it will come in handy, you bet! But so will being a car mechanic or a firearms enthusiast, etc...

Gospel

[phantasm]

But so will being a car mechanic

except we're not supposed to touch the cars besides oil.

[swampfox82]

I thought police departments were looking for people with degrees. The point of my question didn't pertain to the advantages of having a JD while on the job; rather, it pertained to getting hired and advancing through the ranks. So, again, how will having a law degree help with the hiring process?

Furthermore, I have never actually worked as an attorney. Thus, whichever department is going to hire me will have the ability to mold my mind to think as a police officer.

[CityOfChicago]

First of all, take a step back and check your attitude.

Of course departments want people with degrees. Use of the provided "Search" function would also tell you that departments dont care what your degree is in - just that you have one. So, a law degree will not be anymore advantageous to getting hired than a degree in, say, physical education.

That said, I think the advice offered BEYOND you question is still good advice that you should listen to. Larger departments have more specialized divisions, and having a degree in a certain area may help you (after you've put in your street time) get into one of those - a Legal Affairs unit for people with law degrees, or at the Academy for the hypothetical person with the phys ed degree.

So, to make sure this is clear: A degree is a requisite with most departments to get hired; your degree is no more special than anyone elses at that stage. It may provide opportunities in a larger department later on though.

BTW - reread you first post. You didnt ask if your degree would help you to get hired. You said you had a law degree and were on a waitlist to be hired. Then you asked how useful your degree could be. Perhaps in your mind these two things were linked, but to those of us who have responded, it was not. It sounded like you wanted to know hoe your degree would help your overall career.

[swampfox82]

So the fact that I have two degrees (BA and JD) won't be viewed any more favorably than a person with just a BA or BS?

[greg72982]

Aren't "merit" and "law degree" antonyms anyway?

[CityOfChicago]

No. You're applying for a civil service position. They only check to see that you meet minimum requirements, not how far you exceed them. That way everything is fair.

Welcome to public service. Sure you don't want to take those degrees and enter private practice, where they matter?

[swampfox82]

I want a career in LE. I wanted one before I even attended law school. I certainly didn't attend law school for fame or money (unlike MANY other people).

[CityOfChicago]

Well, I'm just saying. This is not like the privatre sector, where they look for the best qualified applicants. Police work is public. They set minimum requirements, then everyone who meets them gets (usually) randomly assigned numbers and that's the hire order.

Some smaller departments will score the test and, provided you pass everything else, the test scores set the list.

[phantasm]

I thought police departments were looking for people with degrees. The point of my question didn't pertain to the advantages of having a JD while on the job; rather, it pertained to getting hired and advancing through the ranks. So, again, how will having a law degree help with the hiring process?

Furthermore, I have never actually worked as an attorney. Thus, whichever department is going to hire me will have the ability to mold my mind to think as a police officer.

To get hired, if a department requires 2 years of college, then a law degree JD is just as useful and just as useless as 60 credits of completely unrelated classes.

[Joeyd6]

I thought police departments were looking for people with degrees.

They are, and they don't care if it is in education, chemistry or anything else. Becuase at the end of the day, it won't matter on patrol, just like your JD. As a matter of fact, the only reason they require college credits or a degree is to show you are able to handle an academic environment with complex courses and still manage your time.

The point of my question didn't pertain to the advantages of having a JD while on the job; rather, it pertained to getting hired and advancing through the ranks.

Well then your law school taught you poorly and you better head back for a refund. If you wanted to know that, you should of asked that. Instead you asked "How will and how much will my law degree help me?" Remember the difference between direct and indirect questions? Open ended vs. closed end? Ask what you want to know, not what you assume!

So, again, how will having a law degree help with the hiring process?

No more than any other canidate with a degree. Additionally it has been my experience the younger the kid, the more degres and less work experience post college = lack of maturity, lack of teh ability to use discretition well and a lack of real life experience which is more valuable than any degree when you are a cop.

Furthermore, I have never actually worked as an attorney. Thus, whichever department is going to hire me will have the ability to mold my mind to think as a police officer.

Easy to say.....harder to do. Molding has nothing to do what you have done or know, it is all about ego.

So the fact that I have two degrees (BA and JD) won't be viewed any more favorably than a person with just a BA or BS?

In civil service jobs, not at all!

[swampfox82]

I worked two jobs while in college. After college, I worked for almost two years. During my summers, I worked internships. I think I have decent work experience for someone who just graduated.