Yeah but, couldn’t that’s be just because they know you’re coming?
I have a friend who loves to host parties. One of his friends is a cop. On the parties he goes to, nobody smokes weed, on the ones he doesn’t, they do.
I get the above is probably the exepction to the rule; but I’m currious, what would you do if someone pulled out a joint at a party you were at?
No I don’t hang out with anyone who would do that at at party at someone’s home. I have no doubt that some may smoke a joint at a phish concert. We are all middle aged people with kids.
If I was at a party where someone pulled out joint I would tell them I was uncomfortable with them doing that in front of me. Same as I would if I weren’t a cop. I’m not going to arrest someone at a party off duty for something that is only a summons anyway.
My career has in no way changed the way I spend my off time.
Out here in CA, Cops get decent pay- better than teachers, better than I do.
Job can be nasty at times, no doubt.
Retirement is great.
A two year degree (in Justice adminstration or whatever they call it) is a nice thing to have going in. Even better is a “in”. Start networking. Go on ride-alongs.
I think these are the biggest points raised in the thread so far. So i’ll address them.
Shitty hours: It depends. Each department handles scheduling differently. I have never worked on a rotating shift. I would assume that sucks. My department does not have that. I happen to like our hours. After a few years on, for the most part, you can get the shift you want. We have people who like to work at night. We have people who like to work during the day. Most get what they want. Our patrol section works 4 days on 4 days off. So even though you have to work weekends often you get days off every week. Most of the other sections work 4 on 3 off no weekends. Generally you are locked into the shift for a year and changes happen in January. Most of the people here love the schedule. The only bad thing is working holidays. When you are on patrol there is nothing much you can do about it. If a holiday happens to fall on your work day you work the holiday. The senior guys will take off and everyone else can’t.
Low Pay: Not where I work. We make good money. Offset by the fact that the cost of living is very high here. In other parts of the country the pay can be much lower.
Forced to work with people you hate: This is not the only job I’ve worked at. I don’t think the percentage of people I don’t like is any higher than any other job I’ve worked at. And since most of the time I’m on my own its even less of a problem. As long as they back me up when I need it.
Tons of politics: Only if you choose to play. If you really don’t care about promotion it doesn’t matter. In civil service departments it is less because the lower level promotions are done by test. It varies greatly from department to department. Unfortunately its something you probably can’t tell before you work there.
People will act weird when you tell them you’re a cop: I don’t know about weird. You do hear the same stuff over and over. I wasn’t there so I really can’t tell if your deserved your ticket. No different than other jobs. I’m sure nurses hate looking at people’s rashes when they meet them.
Some people can leave work at work. Others can’t. I have no problem with it. You do see some bad things. But I don’t think it has effected me negatively.
I got out (well, not completely out, but went into a side-career) because of something that surprises most people, but not most cops: boredom. As a patrol officer, in many locales, your day becomes repetition after about two years.
I don’t regret for a moment my choice to get in (or out), because it was something I knew I wanted to do since I was very young. And I miss it - but when I think of the endless hours taking auto burglary reports or wrestling drunks or just killing time checking doors, I miss it a little less.
Not a cop, but know a few and used to work with some.
Couple of things that have not been addressed…
Who are YOU? What type of personality do you have? Do you like interacting with people? Are you patient? How will you take it when a significant amount of people you speak to downplay or lie about their involvement in something? How would you react if you partner tackled someone and it seemed to be an overly aggressive move? What about working with someone whose style or manner is different from yours? Can you see blood? Are you willing to step in between drunks punching each other at closing time? How do you relax? What has caused stress in your life? How do you cope with stress?
What is the jurisdiction like where you want to work? So much depends on this. Mostly domestic violence calls? DUIs? Robberies? Traffic details? Long stretches of sitting in a cruiser?
The city cops I know love their jobs. They walk, bike, hang out at local ball games between calls and eat wherever they want. They need to deal with a fair amount of assaults and a few shootings but generally seem not too overworked and definitely not bored.
Retired LEO and current Academy Instructor here. You might want to check into what is called “Alternate Route” here in NJ. Basically, you pay your own way through the academy ($3500 +/-) and then look for a job when you’re done (assuming you make it through). We require 60 credits, two years active duty military or some combination of those. There are written and physical tests and then you get put on an academy-specific list. In other words, that fact that you’re number one on Union county’s list doesn’t mean squat in Cape May county. When you graduate the academy six months later you can then market yourself as a street-ready candidate. It can be very attractive to departments. They save six months salary and have no worries that you’ll fail the academy. You still need go through whatever hiring process the town has, be it Civil Service or whatever. The program is no limited to NJ residents for application purposes but you need to prove NJ residency on the first day of the academy.
As far as a career - my only uniform experience was in the Marine Police enforcing boating laws. Not exactly high-drama crime fighting. I spent the next 20+ years in a prosecutor’s (D.A.) office working narcotics, violent crimes and homicide. No regrets. Especially working homicide. So, not all law enforcement jobs require the things normally associated with riding in a patrol car. That’s a good start, though. Decent pay and pension and a variety of experiences that you’ll not match in any other job that I can think of.
I thought alternate route was still suspended because of the layoffs.
I have a friend (college roommate) who is a police officer in the DC Metro area. Over a few beers one night I asked him “Sum up your job in one sentence.”
His answer: “Marriage counselor with a gun.”
I imagine his job is as misconstrued by the public as mine is.