re: Change of Careers: Police Officer

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Why not be a detective?

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You can't just be a detective. You have to do your time on patrol.

When I graduated from LSU, the economy was down, so the only place I found that was hiring was the sheriff's office. I was able to start out in uniform patrol and worked my way to homicide detective in what seemed like overnight.

They had pay incentives for college graduates and plenty of overtime money via extra duty shifts at Wal-Mart and school board security. I was actually able to pay off 90% of my debt while I worked there.

I actually enjoyed going to the police academy minus being sprayed with pepper spray and being tased. Other than that, it was actually quite easy to pass all the tests and physical exams (at least when I was younger). I met some great people in the academy and I remain friends with them to this day (it was a multi-agency academy)

Now, for the bad. You will see the absolute worst of man-kind every day. You will not have many days off if you want to actually make any real money. You will find yourself not trusting people and always being on the alert no matter if you are at a party for a two year old or pumping gas in the ghetto. You will see things that most people could not handle and you will be expected to "keep it together" in front of the public.

IE - One of my last homicide cases was a grown man who beat a 2 year old to death. I saw more suicides than I care to recall. But, the worst feeling in the world is knocking on a mother's door and having to tell her that her baby is not coming home.

You will deal with things you never imagined, but they make for great stories when you look back. You will have people who hate you simply for putting on a badge, even though they have never met you in person or dealt with you on a call. You will be put on a pedastool and every move you make will be judged accordingly.

It's not a career you get into for the money. You do it to help others, but you realize no matter how much good you do, you are simply out numbered by the bad that surrounds this world. It will make you want to give up on people, but if you only touch one life, that's all that matters.

I had a woman come up to me years after I investigated a domestic abuse call where her boyfriend would beat her on a regular basis and she would bail him out and drop charges - we would literally be at her apartment every other week for him putting his hands on her. I simply sat down and talked with her for about an hour (talk about pissing my shift off because they were taking the calls as I was talking.) Well, she came up to me years later and gave me a huge hug and thanked me with tears in her eyes. She told me I gave her the courage to leave her boyfriend. She said she was so much happier and even got a promotion at work. This was the best feeling in the world next to my children being born and getting married of course.

Rant over - good luck and stay safe.

I went to work with LSP in 1976 after graduating from college. Best times of my life. Retired after 20 and went into the insurance industry. Built up a large book of business and won incentive trips to Europe and all over the US. Had a great second career, but in my mind I will always be a trooper. Do what your heart tells you. If you do go for it, do your job with honor and integrity.

The job is great if you work got a good department that has a lot of good officers. In these departments it is hard to get promoted, but you are surrounded by smart people. If you work for a lower level department then you maybe the smartest guy around, but you won't have great back up.


I would look for a police friendly city or area. Republicans are a lot friendlier to officers than Democrats but politicians are all out for themselves.

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Also, you're second sentence is a run on. Grammar much?

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You can't be fricking up your paperwork like this.

Thank you.

They're definitely looking to hire more officers, but what I've noticed with them is that they're still very selective which is a very good thing.

Think long and hard about it. Again, best of luck to you with this.

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1st year base here in Austin is nearly 60k

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Yeah, that's more than most people make out of college. I gave it some thought.