Should I. I think so. What do you think?

the egregious

the egregious

Member
Hellllllllo all. Long time no anything.
Anyways to get the ball rolling I have a quick question for you all. Recently my wife and I have moved out here to Oregon from Hawaii, and we're just about settled in now. In any event I found out that one of my friends from the gym is a policeman. We got to talking and I told him I got my AA in Law enforcement/criminal justice, but just didn't pursue it at the time. He told me that they are in need of Officers in the town and that I should look into it.
I've always either wanted to be a teacher, or a police officer. For some reason it just worked out better with the kids growing up and other financial reasons that I became a teacher but now things seems to be looking up for the Local State police. The job pays MUCH better than teaching. Back when I was all into it the median start was around 40k. Now it is up to almost 50k for entry level. Do you think it would be better as far as for the family. I've heard that sometimes its hard for them. I would love nothing more than to pay my children through college. Although at the same time I don't want to cause grief.
What do you think I should do guys :)
Don't think I'll be offended by what you all say, after all it is only a forum
 
jaymz

jaymz

Member
Thats a tough one.
On one hand you can better take care of your family financially. and give your children the future you want for them.
And on the other hand you will be away from the family not having the best hours, sicne you will be a newbie. And also the stress of being out there mixing it up with criminals.
I would take my families toughness into consideration. Are they worrisome and this might stress them out alot? Would the time away throw them off? Maybe its a family discussion type thing.
I would lean heavily towards doing it. Money is money is money.
 
the egregious

the egregious

Member
Originally Posted by Jaymz
http:///forum/post/2765920
Thats a tough one.
On one hand you can better take care of your family financially. and give your children the future you want for them.
And on the other hand you will be away from the family not having the best hours, sicne you will be a newbie. And also the stress of being out there mixing it up with criminals.
I would take my families toughness into consideration. Are they worrisome and this might stress them out alot? Would the time away throw them off? Maybe its a family discussion type thing.
I would lean heavily towards doing it. Money is money is money.
My wife is a "very independent" woman. I'm sure she wouldn't mind me being out late at night or the whole night a few times, but after that..lolol..It would be interesting to see what happens. She says I should do it. My kids keep asking me when am I going to be a policeman. But I have a feeling this is just the initial hype. Once I am gone for a long time or the nights are lonely or I have to miss something for the kids. My sons baseball, or a birthday party, I only fear the worst.
 
socal57che

socal57che

Active Member
FWIW...
I have some family in law enforcement. (I was even McGruff a few times)
You will see the worst of humanity, sweep remains off the highway and be the bearer of the worst news a parent can hear. I know quite a few officers, and some have an excellent family life. Some do not. The stress of the job is hard on a family. I'd give it a shot if I were you, but I certainly wouldn't burn any bridges leaving school.
 
hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
I have to agree with give it a try. I would let them know from the get go that you will be working on midnights for the first year and that you will be tired a lot during the day. A lot families can't handle the hours away. My ex used to be Phoenix PD and I didn't mind it too much. My biggest complaint is that he used the night hours as an excuse to get out of doing any chores...lol. Money can ease a lot of stress though, let me tell you. Also, you my not make it through the background check anyway. Those things are crazy nowadays........lol.
 
the egregious

the egregious

Member
What kind of background checks ? haha
I don't think I should be concerned, I have had any run ins with the law, I've also never had a speeding ticket or even been pulled over for that matter. lol.
 
tangman99

tangman99

Active Member
I did 10 years as a LEO and it can be very rewarding. But stress is high and you will see things that most people never have to deal with in their life. It is very easy to take out stress and frustrations on your family. Shift work will make you an incredible A-hole. The divorce rate for police officers is pretty high. I'm a victim of that myself. The stress is the kind that sneaks up on you and you aren't even aware of most of the time. It becomes a way of life but you have to recognize it and deal with it through stress relief. Most of the guys I worked with didn't do that and many are in their late 40s and early 50s and have already had heart attacks. You MUST take the time to get rid of the stress. It will take many years off your life.
Now on the plus side, I wouldn't take anything for the time I did it. I've never had another job in my life where friendships have been so strong. The rewards can be huge if you take the opportunity to realize that people are human and recognize the ones that a break might be just what they need. Don't be the guy that wears the uniform like a suit of armor and do things just because you can. I used to work with several guys like that and people get pretty tired of you putting them in bad situations because you do stupid things for no good reason. Most people will respect the uniform but it makes your job much easier if they respect the man wearing it.
I say go for it if and make a point to remember to recognize stress. Good luck!
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
I have been the wife of an officer for 20 yrs. Yes it can be stressful, (when he was late or didnt call) but I am very proud of what my husband does. I think the best shift he was ever on was midnights. hehehe He would leave for work at 8:30 pm, and home by 6:30 am. He always had time to eat dinner with the family and help the kids with homework. It also gave me my time to do the things I wanted. He is on days now and its fine too. He also works 4 on 3 off so we always have plenty of family time. Good Luck
TeresaQ
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Hmmm.....I see two divorces in the above posts. Don't know if they are related to the job or not but definitely something to consider. You have to be happy in what you do in your life and that includes being there for the family first and foremost. Money is nice, family is better. I hope you make the decision that is right for you and your family. Good luck in this.
 
hlcroghan

hlcroghan

Active Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2766227
Hmmm.....I see two divorces in the above posts. Don't know if they are related to the job or not but definitely something to consider. You have to be happy in what you do in your life and that includes being there for the family first and foremost. Money is nice, family is better. I hope you make the decision that is right for you and your family. Good luck in this.
Yep, we ended up divorced but actually while he was working with the PD we were doing better. Yep it can be very stressful. It depends what kinds of things you are used to dealing with. If you ever did a stint in the military, it is very similar to that especially from the day to day aspect.
Background goes pretty far now, at least out here in Phoenix. Here even any bad credit can hold you up. With Phoenix PD if you have any unpaid debts or late payments on your credit report, they require that they are all paid and that you have your current bills paid on time for 6 months before you get hired. It's kind of crazy. One of the other questions is have you ever had intercourse with a minor. They try to trip you up with that because they mean even if you were 18 and she/he was 17 at the time. Another serious one is drugs. With Phoenix, if you have EVER done any illegal drugs past the age of 21 then you are not eligible to be hired by them. My ex and I luckily do not do that so he was eligible but I know that most people are not. Every city is different though so I say go for it.
 
stdreb27

stdreb27

Active Member
I'd say go for it. Especially if the wife is supportive. I have family that used their law enforcement experience, to land a significantly better job, training overseas. If you know where to look there are a lot of jobs, in support of law enforcement, with the right experience. The downside is you get to see the scum of the earth, first hand. Until then.
 
rylan1

rylan1

Active Member
It all depends on the kind of life you want... teachers get paid well considering all the vacation they get... and as far as routine and being off at a relativiley early time..3:30-4pm... pretty good.. you'll probably need to go back to school to get a masters.. this job is rewarding
Police there is probably more room for growth... is rewarding if you are community oriented.. job has varoius hours you work... can be exiting... but less routine
 
reefereric

reefereric

Member
Rylan, better do some homework on that vacation stuff. Any decent teacher will tell you that they get paid about minimum wage for the number of hours they ACTUALLY work. Imagine working 7-5 every day and then grading papers for hours on end over the weekend. Yes, it varies, but the ones that you hear about making a difference in a kids life aren't the ones who take 3 months off in the summer and go home when the bell rings. ALSO, as a teacher, something to consider, you dont get paid for summer vacation. They take the 9 months you work and stretch the pay over 12.
In the end, do what makes you happy. We all love money, but what good is it if you don't enjoy what you spend the moest time doing? At least a little bit, anyway/
 
stdreb27

stdreb27

Active Member
Originally Posted by ReeferEric
http:///forum/post/2766505
Rylan, better do some homework on that vacation stuff. Any decent teacher will tell you that they get paid about minimum wage for the number of hours they ACTUALLY work. Imagine working 7-5 every day and then grading papers for hours on end over the weekend. Yes, it varies, but the ones that you hear about making a difference in a kids life aren't the ones who take 3 months off in the summer and go home when the bell rings. ALSO, as a teacher, something to consider, you dont get paid for summer vacation. They take the 9 months you work and stretch the pay over 12.
In the end, do what makes you happy. We all love money, but what good is it if you don't enjoy what you spend the moest time doing? At least a little bit, anyway/
Ugg my mom moans about this too, look, you get a month or so off during the summer, week for thanksgiving, week for christmas, half of spring break. And still get paid around 40 g's a year. That isn't bad, I'd like to see a cop get that many days off, and holidays too. Sure you work loong hrs during the school year. But you get good vacation time too. It is a trade off.
 
tangman99

tangman99

Active Member
I did get divorced also, but there was a lot more to it that just being a LEO. Don't let that stop you. And midnight shift rocks! All the nuts are out.
You will have to take a psychological exam and they will do an extensive background check. Also, most law enforcement requires proper color preception which is what kept me from joining the Florida Highway Patrol. Check on that first and you can do some Ishihara tests yourself to see if you are colorblind. I had to take a very extensive and very personal polygraph exam. I would doubt they allow that level of questioning today due to civil rights and diversity. I was asked outright if I had every participated in any homosexual acts which I thought was pretty personal but didn't bother me as I am not. Then I was asked if I had ever had --- with an animal. I looked at the guy and asked him if he was "you know whating" me. He didn't even crack a smile and simply said he required a yes or no answer. My polygraph lasted over 2 hours.
 
the egregious

the egregious

Member
Well I guess I could go into a little more depth here.
As a teacher for the roseburg high school teaching history, I get paid around 34 thousand dollars a year, spread for 12 months during the actual school year schedule. It's not great really but it's ok. As stated before there is LOTS of work to be done outside of class when I am at home. Teaching high school is not like teaching 2nd grade. When I grade papers its not like I can sit down and have the classes papers done in 20 minutes. Sometimes I can spend 20 minutes on one student's essay.
In any event, From what I have gathered I would start at around 49 and a half thousand dollars a year through the PD. Yes more hours, but It doesn't really bother ME persey, my wife and kids might be another story.
Right now our children's bed time is 8pm, so If I am working graveyards then I will not be missing my children at all because they wouldn't even be awake by the time I got home.
I think my wife MIGHT have a long term grievance with the hours, but right now she says all is good.
One of the main things I am concerned about is the stress. My buddy from the gym says that he had to really get used to releasing his stress, by always going on trips with his family on his days off.
In many respects, it could bring my family closer together.
I really appreciate all of the input you guys have given me. It's awesome.
PS.
About the back ground check. That's pretty crazy. I was curious if they proctored one or not. I don't think I have anything to worry about really. I've actually never done drugs, in fact, I have never even experimented with them, Due to a death in the family from drugs.
I've never been pulled over, I have never received a ticket.
I guess if they look into credit. That could be a slight problem, maybe. My credit isn't that bad but I do have around 16,000.00 dollars in debt from student loans etc.
 
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