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I would suggest working at a larger department. The pay and benefits will be much better. I work for a department with about 110 sworn officers, which is fairly large in this part of the country, and our pay and benefits are much better than the little 5-25 man departments you find in the smaller towns. You can make a decent living at it but you will find the pay varies greatly from one department to another, at least it does around here. It would probably be in your best interest to go ahead and get a degree in something since you already have all this time invested. Even if the degree is not in Criminal Justice it can still help you a lot in obtaining a job with an agency and will give you some other possibilities to explore when you retire. Good luck to you.

Don't go into the job thinking your going to change the world , won't happen and you will get burnt out having to deal with the dredges of society day in and day out. If you can go into the job ok with the satisfaction that you were able to help one person this week, you may be able to make it.

You will get hurt, physically and mentally. I don't know how many times I was in the hospital and also had 3 knee surgeries from street incidents over the years.

The larger the department the better the chances to move around in it and try all aspects of LE. Just being on the street can get tiring, but the ability to go into the detectives, K9, Traffic, air, boats can make it one of the best jobs in the world. Do 5 years in each division and by the time you think your tired of it, its retirement time!!

Do talk to your parents. In this day and age parents have a great fear of what can happen to you with all the (Mis) information on TV and the newspapers. You need to let them know this is the career you want and that your not going in to go all "John Wayne" on the bad guys!

I may sound a little negative about the job, but I was in the game for 29 years before I crashed my motor and had to retire 13 years ago. I often joked I should have made my X on the Fire Dept check box on my application instead of the PD, but I wouldn't change my vocation for a million bucks

So the short of the long..... Finish your degree first, talk to your parents, try it.... don't like it, get out... like it, make it a rewarding career.

Ed
1997 Ranger Sport R80 Black Max 175

Pflugerville, Tx - Somewhere between a Rock and a Weird Place

Quote, originally posted by bgibson53 »

LEO's won't be considered on the level with other professionals until LE agencies stop accepting ANY degree that an applicant has, if they are to be considered as professional, one needs to have a degree relating to LE; not history, music, social studies. You can't become a doctor without a medical degree, nor a lawyer without a law degree. Modified by bgibson53 at 8:07 PM 11/23/2009

Ed
1997 Ranger Sport R80 Black Max 175

You will not make a ton of money, but you will do fine. You'll support your fishing habit at least. There are a ton of politics out there that will be a pita. If you can see through all that and do your best and stay active, you will be fine and you'll have a good time doing it. Good luck to ya.