Layoffs in the private sector keep coming by the thousands due to AI. Is your child’s major and potential career path safe?

https://bmmagazine.co.uk/news/mckinsey-layoffs-ai-advances-consulting-jobs/

Anonymous wrote:The Arlington County PD is raising their starting salary to $90k next July.

The average starting salary for a college graduate with a BA is $69k. The vast majority of those grads won’t have a pension in their benefits package.

Arlington’s increase announcement is already putting upward pressure on the salaries at surrounding departments. Many will need to react to retain current officers and maintain the pipeline of new recruits. “A rising tide lifts all boats.” It’s a good time to go into law enforcement in Northern Virginia.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is that good or bad? Seems like a whole lot of nothing.

It’s a better package than most engineering majors get fresh out of college. When you factor in overtime it’s not even close.

Yes. But after 5 years an engineer will be at 90k and more without overtime.

But the engineer works an extra day. Rookies start on the overnight shift. MoCo offers a shift differential between $4k and $8k. That should raise a rookie salary to $75k+. Because the officer only works 4 days a week it makes it easy to pick up a 5th overtime shift. If one of these rookies picked up an extra shift per week their compensation grows to $102k in year one. Yes, they’ll work a 50 hour week. I don’t know many established engineers that only work 40 hours a week.

If you make $42M in the NFL would you become a police officer in retirement?

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6798459/2025/12/02/laveranues-coles-police-officer-nfl-jets/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if you think law enforcement can't be automated you have no idea how much software can do.

How does patrol get automated?

You can do targeted patrols. Targeted patrols are cheaper and require less people. You can find the targets using software.

They’re already doing this. They still don’t have enough officers.

I still haven’t heard any automation, just supplementation. There will always be police officers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if you think law enforcement can't be automated you have no idea how much software can do.

How does patrol get automated?

You can do targeted patrols. Targeted patrols are cheaper and require less people. You can find the targets using software.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Arlington County PD is raising their starting salary to $90k next July.

The average starting salary for a college graduate with a BA is $69k. The vast majority of those grads won’t have a pension in their benefits package.

This salary is higher than the average engineering major starting salary in VA, plus Arlington County offers a $25,000 signing bonus.

Sure but you work long hours, top out at a very low salary, never work from home and have bad working conditions.

Most people will have a 4 events in their life that can cause PTSD, cops average 210.

An engineer will be making $250K in 10 years working from home.

Engineer boosters love to throw out salaries well above the documented norms. Whatever, no big deal.

Salaries for DMV law enforcement 10 years after joining the force may fall slightly behind the engineering average(not $250k) but the overtime at $70-90 and hour makes a huge difference.

PTSD is a valid concern, but most police are wired differently. Those 4 events for people like engineers are probably more traumatizing than the 210 for police.

Working from home is for slackers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Arlington County PD is raising their starting salary to $90k next July.

The average starting salary for a college graduate with a BA is $69k. The vast majority of those grads won’t have a pension in their benefits package.

This salary is higher than the average engineering major starting salary in VA, plus Arlington County offers a $25,000 signing bonus.

Sure but you work long hours, top out at a very low salary, never work from home and have bad working conditions.

Most people will have a 4 events in their life that can cause PTSD, cops average 210.

An engineer will be making $250K in 10 years working from home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if you think law enforcement can't be automated you have no idea how much software can do.

How does patrol get automated?

NP and there is AI software put there that can analyze body cam footage and write a pretty good report in minutes. It doesnt eliminate the core patrol function but if people spend less time writing reports you need less people overall.

How does AI know the thoughts of a patrol officer? It can’t scour the internet to get inside a patrol officers mind for on a specific call.

Departments are chronically understaffed and computer generated reports aren’t going to fix that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if you think law enforcement can't be automated you have no idea how much software can do.

How does patrol get automated?

NP and there is AI software put there that can analyze body cam footage and write a pretty good report in minutes. It doesnt eliminate the core patrol function but if people spend less time writing reports you need less people overall.

Anonymous wrote:And if you think law enforcement can't be automated you have no idea how much software can do.

How does patrol get automated?

Anonymous wrote:Both my parents are retired cops. I'll never be a cop. The stress just isn't worth it and it affects your family..

And please let us stop recommending law enforcement to people who aren't interested and just want to join because the benefits are good etc. it's not a sector for people who are clueless what they to do

Law enforcement and nursing are the new CS until wall street and private equity find a way to depress wages in those sectors as well. And if you think law enforcement can't be automated you have no idea how much software can do.

Both my parents are retired cops. I'll never be a cop. The stress just isn't worth it and it affects your family..

And please let us stop recommending law enforcement to people who aren't interested and just want to join because the benefits are good etc. it's not a sector for people who are clueless what they to do

Anonymous wrote:The Arlington County PD is raising their starting salary to $90k next July.

The average starting salary for a college graduate with a BA is $69k. The vast majority of those grads won’t have a pension in their benefits package.

This salary is higher than the average engineering major starting salary in VA, plus Arlington County offers a $25,000 signing bonus.

I think we’re in a sweet spot for law enforcement hiring. Departments are all understaffed and scrambling for recruits. They’re offering good starting salaries and hiring bonuses. When one department raises their starting salary surrounding departments have to react or risk losing their officers to lateral transfer. All the while the profession is evolving to better address quality of life and mental health. There may not be a better time to make the jump to law enforcement.