I work near a county courthouse. The court officers look like they have a nice gig going; no evenings , holidays, county benefits.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have high school age children that say they don’t want to work a desk job then firefighting and police work may be the perfect avenue for them.

If your children seek variety in their day these two professions scratch that itch.

Most importantly, if your child wants a stable, good paying profession that offers excellent health and retirement benefits, AND is shielded from the upcoming AI-pocalypse, firefighter and police officer check those boxes.

The benefit of PSLF should also not be overlooked.

They can study whatever subject interests them and still apply to be a firefighter or police officer. They can attend a state school, save money, get an excellent education, and earn more than many graduates from private schools.

Maybe. Until they turn 25 and come down with an incurable cancer that will kill them in next year from toxins related to firefighting and their health insurance refuses to cover further expenses related to cancer treatment. This story in the New York Times today broke my heart...
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/us/wildfire-firefighter-cancer.html

‘If I Live to 25, I’ve Lived a Good Life’
He started fighting wildfires as a teenager. After inhaling smoke on the front lines for six seasons, he faced an impossible choice

A 36-year-old white collar coworker of mine died of cancer last week. Young people die. Wait for the vape damage to rear its ugly head. Our son had a classmate that died in a car wreck on 81 headed back to school.

Anonymous wrote:If you have high school age children that say they don’t want to work a desk job then firefighting and police work may be the perfect avenue for them.

If your children seek variety in their day these two professions scratch that itch.

Most importantly, if your child wants a stable, good paying profession that offers excellent health and retirement benefits, AND is shielded from the upcoming AI-pocalypse, firefighter and police officer check those boxes.

The benefit of PSLF should also not be overlooked.

They can study whatever subject interests them and still apply to be a firefighter or police officer. They can attend a state school, save money, get an excellent education, and earn more than many graduates from private schools.

Maybe. Until they turn 25 and come down with an incurable cancer that will kill them in next year from toxins related to firefighting and their health insurance refuses to cover further expenses related to cancer treatment. This story in the New York Times today broke my heart...
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/us/wildfire-firefighter-cancer.html

‘If I Live to 25, I’ve Lived a Good Life’
He started fighting wildfires as a teenager. After inhaling smoke on the front lines for six seasons, he faced an impossible choice

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, Federal LE jobs qualify for a full retirement at an earlier point than ordinary civil service jobs do.

NYPD lets you retire after 20 years with 100% of your salary as pension based on your last salary and health benefits for life.

Paid your full salary plus health insurance forever, you can retire at 42.

The value of the bolded text is off the charts. Mic drop!

Project 2025

Cuts pay fur all firefighters and police and EMTs oh and lucky you make a mistake on the job no more protections

Trump stole from
9/11 NY first responders fund millions you are a complete and utter idiot yo think he supports police or firefighters

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:🏹 the chief at the largest municipal police department in Virginia earns a little more than any 26 year old BigLaw first year associate. I think I would stick with law.

Suicide rates:

Law enforcement: 21.4 per 100,000

Lawyers: 66 per 100,000

Stress in the legal profession is pervasive. Lawyers are overworked. It isn’t all rainbows and puppy dogs once you pass the Bar.

Big law here ( albeit I left). It is a miserable life. Shuffling papers, no control over your schedule, expected to work 60 + a week and you are used for billable hours to support what is essentially a glorified Ponzi scheme. Plus AI is making lawyers less and less useful. I don’t need my $1250/hour real estate counsel to review our commercial lease. I can enter it into our ChatGPT and get a summary in 30 seconds.

Thanks for your honest contribution to the discussion.

Anonymous wrote:My son is a police officer.

He makes a nice salary, even better with OT, his health insurance is fantastic, can retire after 25 years of service, gets plenty of time off.

Yes there’s definitely the risk of danger. But I’m very proud of him and thankful for all who take on that risk to keep us safer.

Thank you and your son. So many idiots on here. So many idiots.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:🏹 the chief at the largest municipal police department in Virginia earns a little more than any 26 year old BigLaw first year associate. I think I would stick with law.

Suicide rates:

Law enforcement: 21.4 per 100,000

Lawyers: 66 per 100,000

Stress in the legal profession is pervasive. Lawyers are overworked. It isn’t all rainbows and puppy dogs once you pass the Bar.

Big law here ( albeit I left). It is a miserable life. Shuffling papers, no control over your schedule, expected to work 60 + a week and you are used for billable hours to support what is essentially a glorified Ponzi scheme. Plus AI is making lawyers less and less useful. I don’t need my $1250/hour real estate counsel to review our commercial lease. I can enter it into our ChatGPT and get a summary in 30 seconds.

Anonymous wrote:Your BIL made $240k taking every overtime hour available and never saw his family. I made $500k sitting at a desk and picked up my DC's from school every day. Call me crazy, but I think that I won.

Np. What do you do? Very very few jobs pay 500k for a 9 to 5 gig. And if it’s the corporate world, it’s for a fairly rare few with little to no job security which means you can be laid off at 45 and never work again with no pension.

People are stupid stupid stupid if they don’t realize that Union jobs are good things and we all should want some protections. Workers are contributing to these company’s bottom lines but seeing a smaller and smaller portion of the upside.

Anonymous wrote:🏹 the chief at the largest municipal police department in Virginia earns a little more than any 26 year old BigLaw first year associate. I think I would stick with law.

Suicide rates:

Law enforcement: 21.4 per 100,000

Lawyers: 66 per 100,000

Stress in the legal profession is pervasive. Lawyers are overworked. It isn’t all rainbows and puppy dogs once you pass the Bar.

Anonymous wrote:🏹 the chief at the largest municipal police department in Virginia earns a little more than any 26 year old BigLaw first year associate. I think I would stick with law.

Perhaps if mom and dad are paying for school, and the child has a realistic shot at “BigLaw.” All the lawyers I know are overworked.

This seems like an odd topic for you to check in on. What’s the motivation?

Anonymous wrote:The Fairfax County Police Chief has a Bachelor’s in English from Towson and earned a Master’s in Management from Johns Hopkins while serving as a police officer. He’s also a graduate of the FBI National Executive Institute. He made $276,000 in 2024, a $17,000 raise (6.6%) over his 2023 salary.

The beauty of law enforcement is that they take any and all degrees. FCPD is the largest municipal police force in Virginia. They offer several specialized units that allow life long learners to enjoy several progressions throughout their career. Some examples are the Marine Unit, K-9, SWAT, Explosives Removal, the Specalized Response Unit, Underwater Search and Recovery, and the Helicopter Division.

FCPD offers a $15,000 hiring incentive. The starting salary is $71,864, but with a college degree that goes up to $75,457.

There aren’t many recent grad English or Poli Sci majors starting at $75k.

🏹 the chief at the largest municipal police department in Virginia earns a little more than any 26 year old BigLaw first year associate. I think I would stick with law.

The Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department earned her Bachelor’s in Education from the University of Arkansas. She got a graduate certificate in criminal justice from UVA. She also graduated from the FBI National Academy.

Her first job was as a seasonal park ranger in New York. Then she was a social worker on Staten Island in the foster care system. From there she transitioned to the New York City Department of Probation where she worked with juveniles. Eventually she made the jump to corrections officer in Manhattan. Sixteen years and the four previously mentioned jobs after graduating from college she became an officer with the U.S. Park Police in the San Francisco office. At some point they transferred her to the NYC division where she became a K-9 handler in the explosives detection unit. She became the first female to lead the New York division as its Major. Next she made the jump to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia as a senior instructor for the driver training program. With the Park Police she eventually rose through the ranks to become the acting Chief in 2020. She was sworn in as the Chief in 2021 and retired in 2022.

She retired with a pension in her early 50’s. Think about that.

In May of 2022 she joined the MPD. In early 2023 she was promoted to Assistant Chief of Police. Before the end of 2023 she was sworn in as the Chief of Police.

Think about the path an English major from Arkansas followed. Now she commands 3200 officers and 600 civilian staffers. She makes $270,000 a year in her retirement job.

Anonymous wrote:Also, Federal LE jobs qualify for a full retirement at an earlier point than ordinary civil service jobs do.

NYPD lets you retire after 20 years with 100% of your salary as pension based on your last salary and health benefits for life.

Paid your full salary plus health insurance forever, you can retire at 42.

If you have high school age children that say they don’t want to work a desk job then firefighting and police work may be the perfect avenue for them.

If your children seek variety in their day these two professions scratch that itch.

Most importantly, if your child wants a stable, good paying profession that offers excellent health and retirement benefits, AND is shielded from the upcoming AI-pocalypse, firefighter and police officer check those boxes.

The benefit of PSLF should also not be overlooked.

They can study whatever subject interests them and still apply to be a firefighter or police officer. They can attend a state school, save money, get an excellent education, and earn more than many graduates from private schools.