I don’t think being a police officer is a good role for a woman or smaller man due to he fact you need to get physical with violent offenders. If I was a big strong man I might consider it

check out www.theblueline.com and you can see all the police jobs and benefit packages available.

Anonymous wrote:That's good for year one, but it's not like they will get significant raises in the future like you will in private sector.

The example in the first post showed a guaranteed 3.5% raise per year. Then there is overtime. People don’r realize that in many cases any time spent in court is overtime. When they are at training it is overtime. They make an additional $50-$70 per hour for those things. Then they can work actual overtime shifts on top of that.

A recent college grad can easily make six figures as a police officer.

Which other careers offer a pension AND a deferred compensation plan with a match?

Cops get a lot of discounts as well. They don’t pay for that morning coffee. Most retailers offer 10%-20% discounts for first responders.

Anonymous wrote:I think the take home car is likely more a burden than a benefit. You are likely restricted from using it other than to and from work and you probably can't install a car seat in it so don't plan on doing pick up or drop off on the way to work. You have to find a place to park it and you may need a second car since you can only use the car for to/from work (i.e. two kids in different activities). Maybe the take home car is optional though.

Police officers also have a personal car, usually something nice like a BMW or a Range Rover.

How would a take home car be a burden? They don’t pay for gas, insurance, maintenance or body work. How far do other people drive to and from work? That’s all on the police car. Their personal car ends up with a lot less mileage on it.

Anonymous wrote:I think the take home car is likely more a burden than a benefit. You are likely restricted from using it other than to and from work and you probably can't install a car seat in it so don't plan on doing pick up or drop off on the way to work. You have to find a place to park it and you may need a second car since you can only use the car for to/from work (i.e. two kids in different activities). Maybe the take home car is optional though.

Some take their car and leave it at a closer fire department or other county owned property (with permission).

Anonymous wrote:I recently interviewed with Montgomery County. Not for a police officer position. They told me upfront that my previous years of experience in my field didn’t matter. Most of the interview was geared towards asking how I demonstrate diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Blah blah blah

4 days a week are 12 hour shifts -- sometimes it's two 12-hour days, 24 hour break, two 12-hour nights and four days off, rinse and repeat. Keep in mind the 12 hours does not include the pre-work all hands meeting or the clock out at the end of the shift (let alone finishing reports). The only other career I can think of that can retire late fourties is military personnel.

That's good for year one, but it's not like they will get significant raises in the future like you will in private sector.

Anonymous wrote:I think the take home car is likely more a burden than a benefit. You are likely restricted from using it other than to and from work and you probably can't install a car seat in it so don't plan on doing pick up or drop off on the way to work. You have to find a place to park it and you may need a second car since you can only use the car for to/from work (i.e. two kids in different activities). Maybe the take home car is optional though.

Right! I was wondering this too. Not sure how I could make that work in my family. Don't most spouses rotate pickup or drop off? And dh usually drives from work straight to coaching the kid's teams, or gets groceries on the way.

I think the take home car is likely more a burden than a benefit. You are likely restricted from using it other than to and from work and you probably can't install a car seat in it so don't plan on doing pick up or drop off on the way to work. You have to find a place to park it and you may need a second car since you can only use the car for to/from work (i.e. two kids in different activities). Maybe the take home car is optional though.

Comparing a cop to an engineering student is ridiculous. People are not choosing between those two careers. But you are underestimating how much police officers can make and over estimating how much engineers make after ten years.

Cops work 4 day weeks so working overtime could be equivalent to a five day work week. They are paid generously for overtime.

Everyone on this site complains about working extra hours for white collar jobs, cops can work those same hours and get paid.

You don’t need a college degree to be a cop.

You can retire after 25 years. I don’t know any engineers or white collar workers unless they are really wealthy who can retire at 47.

Anonymous wrote:Police deserve to be paid well.

- a public school teacher

Anonymous wrote:I agree. They also work hard just to be stereotyped and insulted, like in the post above yours.

Anonymous wrote:+1. Far more likely to be killed in a car accident than shot actually.

You rarely see 3 posts in a row here that are on topic, succinct and intelligent.

Thank you!

Anonymous wrote:This is not much money given the extreme risk factor of the job.

While I agree ☝️ they are underpaid, they make significantly more than many college graduates both to start, and throughout their career.

I wouldn’t want to be a STEM major right now. Basically every white collar job is going to experience pain from AI integration over the next decade. Forget CS degrees. The educational cliff is already coming for colleges and universities and the shrinking economy is going to create a bottleneck for the next four graduating classes.

At this point graduates should look at healthcare, teaching, law enforcement, and other professions unlikely to be upended by AI.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you mean becoming disabled. Are you hoping to be shot?

You understand that 62% of police officers aren’t shot, right?

Let’s take a deep breath. There are roughly 750k police officers and patrol deputies in the U.S. Between 2014-2019 there were 1,467 state and local law enforcement officers shot. That’s equals 0.2%. It is reasonable to project that +/- 1% of all state and local law enforcement will be shot during their career.

Anonymous wrote:It’s a good enough start similar to other early grads. By 5 years though everyone is speeding past you as they are making 6 figures easy. At 10 years they’re at minimum 150-200k in corporate america

Your salary projections for corporate America employees seem very optimistic.

Bankrate's projected starting salary for 2025 graduates with a business degree is $65,276.

CNBC's take on the top 16 majors that pay the most show only finance and business analytics in that cohort, and the mid-career(35-45) median salaries are $100,000 - $104,000.

Even with COL adjustments your assertion that everyone makes $150,000+ when they're 10 years out of college doesn't hold water.

In this area the Class of 2025 and 2026 will be competing with adults that have experience in their field, but have recently been laid off. Corporate America is also restructuring. There are very few rainbows and puppy dogs ahead for business majors.