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[quote=Anonymous]I would not dissuade my kid from going into law enforcement. Our family has a long history of serving our country and community in various ways, and I would be proud of them for wanting to take on such an important role. However, it is a risky and demanding job, so I would ask them to do two things first:

First, find out more about the profession. Talk to some people in law enforcement. Some places have outreach programs like ride along, though I don’t know if these are open to teens.

If they are academically inclined, get a college degree first. While a degree isn’t necessary to be a cop, it is often a requirement for leadership positions, which are generally safer. Plus, four additional years of maturity and exposure to other experiences can only be a plus.

We have a family member who is a police officer, and he has found it both rewarding and incredibly emotionally and physically draining. He has seen the worst and best of humanity. Sometimes the job is incredibly boring, like just sitting outside a Walmart on a holiday to dissuade looters, and sometimes he has chased down and wrestled criminals. He has been injured many times, including stabbed. It’s been tough on his wife, who has had to do a lot of childcare on her own as he deals with shifting schedules. It has been tough on his kids, who have a lot of anxiety about his safety. But he’s an action-oriented person who would not be satisfied with a desk job. We’re all just hoping he makes it through the next couple years unharmed, and then he can retire at 45 with a good pension.[/quote]

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