$70k starting salary + 4 day week + car + $20k signing bonus

[Anonymous]

So what jobs would someone get after retiring from MPD in their 40’s? I see this often with military as well where the skills they learned in don’t count for much out.

[Anonymous]

What the starting pay without previous police or military experience?

Still, not a job I’d want to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People need to think long and hard about their childrens' future. Even if your kids don't have college debt, earning too little means a diminished capacity to save for retirement. The time value of money comes into play if your college graduate accepts a job that pays $50k fannually or 40-50 hours per week. In D.C. the MPD pays recruits $66,419 starting in the academy. After the 18 month probation period the salary goes to $72,668(a 9.5% pay increase). Just three years later the salary jumps to $88,327(a 21.5% pay increase). Recruits get a $25k hiring bonus as well. If you work a later shift you get an extra 3%-4% salary bump.

The most important aspect for young workers to consider is the pension and 457(b) deferred compensation plan. This is huge difference maker for young men and women getted started in their careers. At MPD you can retire after 25 years with 62.5% of the average of your best 3 years salary. That's at least $62,500 a year FOR LIFE. If you join at 21 or 22 that means you're retired by 47 and you can work another job. If the 22 year old works to the age of 52 they'd receive at least $80k per year for life. When you couple that with the 457(b) there's no reason why an MPD officer couldn't fully retire by 55-57 with a very nice nest egg.

Police officers don't get downsized. They make very good money once you factor in overtime. They get pensions and deferred compensation plans. They have good healthcare plans, a college saving plan, housing assistance and they're covered by a union. It's highly unlikely you student will get a better, more stable offer when they graduate.

How much are their pensions? My spouse retired from the military at 38, but the pension was under $1K a month not including taxes and insurance so its about $500 or so when all that is taken out. Certainly not enough to live on. The housing assistance is minimal and often its more expensive than other options. Union is hit or miss on if they will actually help, same with other county jobs.

It’s probably similar to what I receive as a retired teacher, although I benefit from having two pensions. Like the pp said I started just prior to turning 22 and retired just before age 52 and now work part-time. I have a 403b. The additional police officer benefits such as overtime pay, housing allowances, and such are nice, but I imagine the added stress and work hazards one has to take on would not be something I could handle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People need to think long and hard about their childrens' future. Even if your kids don't have college debt, earning too little means a diminished capacity to save for retirement. The time value of money comes into play if your college graduate accepts a job that pays $50k fannually or 40-50 hours per week. In D.C. the MPD pays recruits $66,419 starting in the academy. After the 18 month probation period the salary goes to $72,668(a 9.5% pay increase). Just three years later the salary jumps to $88,327(a 21.5% pay increase). Recruits get a $25k hiring bonus as well. If you work a later shift you get an extra 3%-4% salary bump.

The most important aspect for young workers to consider is the pension and 457(b) deferred compensation plan. This is huge difference maker for young men and women getted started in their careers. At MPD you can retire after 25 years with 62.5% of the average of your best 3 years salary. That's at least $62,500 a year FOR LIFE. If you join at 21 or 22 that means you're retired by 47 and you can work another job. If the 22 year old works to the age of 52 they'd receive at least $80k per year for life. When you couple that with the 457(b) there's no reason why an MPD officer couldn't fully retire by 55-57 with a very nice nest egg.

Police officers don't get downsized. They make very good money once you factor in overtime. They get pensions and deferred compensation plans. They have good healthcare plans, a college saving plan, housing assistance and they're covered by a union. It's highly unlikely you student will get a better, more stable offer when they graduate.

How much are their pensions? My spouse retired from the military at 38, but the pension was under $1K a month not including taxes and insurance so its about $500 or so when all that is taken out. Certainly not enough to live on. The housing assistance is minimal and often its more expensive than other options. Union is hit or miss on if they will actually help, same with other county jobs.

It’s probably similar to what I receive as a retired teacher, although I benefit from having two pensions. Like the pp said I started just prior to turning 22 and retired just before age 52 and now work part-time. I have a 403b. The additional police officer benefits such as overtime pay, housing allowances, and such are nice, but I imagine the added stress and work hazards one has to take on would not be something I could handle.

Police get paid overtime for being in court. They also get overtime when they do different additional training. In most departments there is a minimum number of hours you have to be paid in overtime per occurrence. That means if you work 45 minutes of overtime the department is required to pay you for 2 or 3 hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:National Association of Colleges and Employers projected compensation for 2025 graduates by major:

Engineering = $78,732
Computer Sciences = $76,251
Math and Sciences = $69,709
Social Sciences = $67,316
Business = $65,276
Agriculture and Natural Resources = $63,122
Communications = $60,353

The ROI for college gets worse and worse each year.

College majors with the highest unemployment rates:

Anthropology, 9.4%
Physics, 7.8%
Computer engineering, 7.5%
Commercial art & graphic design, 7.2%
Fine arts, 7.0%
Sociology, 6.7%
Computer science, 6.1%
Chemistry, 6.1%
Information systems & management, 5.6%
Public policy and law, 5.5%

I don’t doubt these National figures. You obviously have never seen the compensation reports inside a F500. Are there business majors and engineers in podunk country, working for a middling 500 person firm? Absolutely, and they probably make nothing. Hence these numbers. All I can say there are millions. Millions. Of people working inside F500 companies who with salary bonus and stock are easily making 150-200k a year. And that’s just individual contributors and early management. You can say they are tethered to a phone, okay, but they also are racking up business class air miles, traveling the world, flexibility to WFH (yep it still exists), some companies are only in office 2 or 3 days a week, some companies have in house day cares. It’s lame to pull some generalized list of stats and claim this. This is the money and life you’re competing with. That’s not reality. At all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:National Association of Colleges and Employers projected compensation for 2025 graduates by major:

Engineering = $78,732
Computer Sciences = $76,251
Math and Sciences = $69,709
Social Sciences = $67,316
Business = $65,276
Agriculture and Natural Resources = $63,122
Communications = $60,353

The ROI for college gets worse and worse each year.

College majors with the highest unemployment rates:

Anthropology, 9.4%
Physics, 7.8%
Computer engineering, 7.5%
Commercial art & graphic design, 7.2%
Fine arts, 7.0%
Sociology, 6.7%
Computer science, 6.1%
Chemistry, 6.1%
Information systems & management, 5.6%
Public policy and law, 5.5%

I don’t doubt these National figures. You obviously have never seen the compensation reports inside a F500. Are there business majors and engineers in podunk country, working for a middling 500 person firm? Absolutely, and they probably make nothing. Hence these numbers. All I can say there are millions. Millions. Of people working inside F500 companies who with salary bonus and stock are easily making 150-200k a year. And that’s just individual contributors and early management. You can say they are tethered to a phone, okay, but they also are racking up business class air miles, traveling the world, flexibility to WFH (yep it still exists), some companies are only in office 2 or 3 days a week, some companies have in house day cares. It’s lame to pull some generalized list of stats and claim this. This is the money and life you’re competing with. That’s not reality. At all.

Do they start at that? Either way it sounds like a lot of work hours spent for $150k. Traveling the world gets old. BTDT. Those are all work hours BTW. From the minute you leave for the airport until you return home it’s not your time and these people don’t make overtime. What’s the hourly rate when you divide by all the extra time the company owns them for?

Then there’s the pension, early retirement and insulation from AI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What the starting pay without previous police or military experience?

Still, not a job I’d want to do.

From previous posts in this thread the starting salaries are accumulated below.

MoCo PD: $70,056 + $20k hiring bonus

SCOTUS PD: $83,362 + $50k hiring bonus

US Capitol Police: $83,362

VA State Police: $75k in NoVa

DC MPD: $66,419 as a recruit in the academy then it goes to $72,668.

[Anonymous]

I looked for other salaries offered. I didn’t dig any deeper to find information about salary bumps for degrees, relocation bonuses, language proficiency salary bumps or take home vehicles.

Alexandria PD: $64k + $3k hiring bonus

Arlington County PD: $72k + $25k hiring bonus bonus bonus + 37.5 hr work week

Fairfax County PD: $69k + $15k hiring bonus

Herndon PD: $67k

Leesburg PD: $65k

Loudoun County Sheriff: $67k + $6k hiring bonus

Metro Washington Airport PD: $65k + $10k hiring bonus

US Secret Service Police: $75k

Vienna PD: $67k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what jobs would someone get after retiring from MPD in their 40’s? I see this often with military as well where the skills they learned in don’t count for much out.

Real estate agent, buy properties and make them airbnbs, start a moving company, do private security, buy an already existing small business. Those are just examples I know.

For former military, everyone I know got another job or bought a small business. I know people at consulting firms, federal government, state government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what jobs would someone get after retiring from MPD in their 40’s? I see this often with military as well where the skills they learned in don’t count for much out.

Many people have a distorted perception of law enforcement officers as low I.Q. knuckledraggers. Many are entering the profession with college degrees. Others are earning their B.A./B.S./M.A./M.S. while on the job. Those that enter from the military might have intelligence backgrounds, flew helicopters, were combat medics, or explosives detection and disposal technicians.

Many departments have continued specialized training that comes with advanced certifications and real world experience. There are local and regional task forces of all kinds(drugs, human trafficking, search and rescue, cybersecurity, homeland security), especially in the D.C area. Officers gain emergency management experience, crisis intervention training, and critical incident command and control exposure. S.W.A.T. operators receive the tactical and operational training that is applicable beyond law enforcement.

Fairfax County Police have several specialty units.

Canine Section

Special Weapons And Tactics(S.W.A.T.)

Explosive Ordinance Disposal(EOD)

Marine Unit

Special Response Unit

Underwater Search and Recovery

Search and Rescue

Tactical (TAC) Medical Unit

Helicopter Division

Threat Assessment and Management Unit

Criminal Intelligence Unit

Financial Crimes Unit

Digital Forensics Unit

The experience they accumulate, and the local/state/federal cross-agency contacts they develop can be leveraged in the civilian world as they transition to the private sector.

[Anonymous]

For fun I just Googled the salary information for the town employees where I grew up. The top earner in 2024 was the police chief. I graduated high school a year before he did. He makes $321,407. The town isn’t dangerous.

[Anonymous]

This is a good job if you are like 20 and never worked before. This is not what someone in their 30s wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a good job if you are like 20 and never worked before. This is not what someone in their 30s wants.

You mean, unless they need a job because they chose a profession that AI downsized.

In at a department by 35 and retired by 55 with a 65% pension. If they retire at 60 it’s an 80% pension. Or they could get in the unemployment line with the hope that they get to peck at a keyboard five more years before they get downsized again.

[Anonymous]

Since the beginning of the year the media has consistently reported about the doom & gloom of the job market that awaits college graduates. The landscape seems to further deteriorate by the month.

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/13/nx-s1-5462807/college-graduates-jobs-employment-unemployment

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/job-market-report-college-student-graduates-ai-trump-tariffs-rcna221693

I have to wonder how hard these young adults are trying to find an applicable and appropriate entry level job. It’s been widely reported that their expectations are overly optimistic for people with little to no work experience.

Why, if they want a good salary, and excellent benefits, would they disregard the law enforcement profession? There is a constant need for new, young officers. It’s a profession actively trying to recruit females and URMs. There aren’t many jobs that start at $65,000+ that a person with ANY college major can apply to.

I’d tell my kid you ain’t tryin’ hard enough if you haven’t applied to the local, county or state police.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what jobs would someone get after retiring from MPD in their 40’s? I see this often with military as well where the skills they learned in don’t count for much out.

Many people have a distorted perception of law enforcement officers as low I.Q. knuckledraggers. Many are entering the profession with college degrees. Others are earning their B.A./B.S./M.A./M.S. while on the job. Those that enter from the military might have intelligence backgrounds, flew helicopters, were combat medics, or explosives detection and disposal technicians.

Many departments have continued specialized training that comes with advanced certifications and real world experience. There are local and regional task forces of all kinds(drugs, human trafficking, search and rescue, cybersecurity, homeland security), especially in the D.C area. Officers gain emergency management experience, crisis intervention training, and critical incident command and control exposure. S.W.A.T. operators receive the tactical and operational training that is applicable beyond law enforcement.

Fairfax County Police have several specialty units.

Canine Section

Special Weapons And Tactics(S.W.A.T.)

Explosive Ordinance Disposal(EOD)

Marine Unit

Special Response Unit

Underwater Search and Recovery

Search and Rescue

Tactical (TAC) Medical Unit

Helicopter Division

Threat Assessment and Management Unit

Criminal Intelligence Unit

Financial Crimes Unit

Digital Forensics Unit

The experience they accumulate, and the local/state/federal cross-agency contacts they develop can be leveraged in the civilian world as they transition to the private sector.

I remember a court case maybe 20 years ago or so where the court ruled the police department rightfully excluded someone because their IQ was too high under the theory they would become bored with police work. I think the guy had a 125 which is high but not exceptionally high so I can see the basis for this belief.