I send greetings from Oregon!

[Ezmartini]

Hello everyone, after a bit of lurking I decided to register to participate and ask questions here on RP

A little about me: I currently reside in Eugene, OR, home of the Ducks (taking a break from school, however). I've had an interest in law enforcement since my early high school days, wanting to be a n officer in some way, shape or form. I'll be catching up with my goals here pretty soon, as I take the first step in the recruitment process in about three weeks: the written exam. The ultimate goal is acceptance into the Portland Police Bureau, although I've been whoring out my resume for many departments in the Portland metro area.

After researching all the application steps thoroughly, there's only one thing that's really got me losing sleep at night, and I'm hoping you guys would be able to help me out with it: the background check. Before you start rolling your eyes, I have never been arrested (not even a stern talking to), never smoked pot or other drugs, perfect driving record, etc.

Law enforcement was my plan all through high school, but my parents pointed me towards an Army ROTC scholarship. Knowing them, it was to help pay for college and to shelter me from danger (because supposedly it's safer to be an officer than a Portland cop, that remains TBD ;)).

I applied, and once I realized I had a decent shot at the scholarship, I got pretty into it. Fast forward a few months, and I'm accepting a 3-year full-tuition ROTC scholarship, contractual obligation and all.

Fast forward a couple years, and things are going good in college but I'm really starting to get burned out on classes after three years. I like ROTC a lot, and have been in long enough to go to some real schools and training events, but school is just dragging me down. After discussing options with my parents for a few months, I finally tell my ROTC advisor that I no longer wish to be in the program. Because of the contract that I swore to, my options were to fully reimburse the Army or enlist; I chose to reimburse.

I left on good terms, I'm in the process of paying them back, everything is fine between me and them. What I'm worried about, however, is whether or not me backing out of the obligation will have an affect on my police application. It is something I feel bad about, since my beef wasn't with the program, I was just burned out to the point where my grades were slipping badly.

Any light that you guys can shed on this would be mucho appreciated. Thanks for listening, that was a little longer than I expected.


edit: Oh I forgot to mention something. My work history is littered with seasonal/temp jobs, I have never worked anywhere longer than a year. Granted, I am only 22 and have completed three years of college, but all my jobs have consisted of "move to school, job, move back home, summer job, school w/ no job, summer w/ no job" etc. There are definitely 3 to 6-month gaps where I have held no job. What sort of impact will that have on my eligibility?

[kazz]

G'day from Australia and welcome to RP.

I guess the Dept you want to work for are in the best position to answer your question, sorry I'm not help on US LEO jobs.

But I think it's quite common for people of your generation to experience several jobs and not settle for just the first one that comes along and work at it for 30 years then retire. I think those days have long gone and most employers should be aware of this these days.

Good luck.

[suzanne1020U.S.]

Welcome, Oregon, and the best of luck to you.:D

[nadler20]

Hey, welcome to RP from another Native.

I suggest just calling a BI. I'm sure they'd be willing to help seeing as how your applying there. I wouldn't think it to be a problem though.

Good luck in the process and keep us up on how it's going.

[Silver Fox]

Welcome aboard.

[mcsap]

I dont forsee your choosing to end a contract as a plus BUT , it is not like you simply bailed and fled to the hills. You knew up front that if you didnt complete the contract , you had to repay them which you are doing.

I trust you are still going to finish college ?

For you to drop out now and work at McDonalds would look like you really " quit " on life. To make a decision to step out of ROTC AND be willing ( and actually are doing) to repay ALL of the costs certainly looks better.

You need to make sure that this is all handled smoothly and properly and that you fullfill your contract of now paying them ( and the rest of us taxpayers) back for every cent.

[Ezmartini]

Yes mcsap, I'm going to finish college but I'll be waiting until I'm in a financially stable position first.

And pardon my ignorance nadler, but what's a BI?

Thanks for the replies.

[nadler20]

Background Investigator ;)