Becoming a LEO

[carlson1]

Some departments make you work at the jail first problem is that jailers around here make next to nothing. If I went through the academy and got my license I could not afford to take that job. I could be a jailer now without going to the academy.

To work in the County Jails you will also have to attend the Academy to become a certified Jailer.

[nightmare69]

Ok. I know that to be a sheriff deputy you have to work X amount of time at the county jail.

[gigag04]

Ok. I know that to be a sheriff deputy you have to work X amount of time at the county jail.

Unless you have prior patrol experience, yes that is usually the case.

[nightmare69]

Ive been calling around and I may be better off putting myself through the academy then going to work for a smaller department. These bigger city depts require a ton of testing and other stuff just to be eligible to be in the pot to be hired. Once I get out of the academy I will need a job asap. Once I have a job I can then afford to go through all these bigger depts hiring process.

[carlson1]

Don't forget you can work during the day and attend classes at night. That solves worrying about income. You work 8 to 5 for income and you work 5 to midnight for success.

[nightmare69]

Don't forget you can work during the day and attend classes at night. That solves worrying about income. You work 8 to 5 for income and you work 5 to midnight for success.

That would not work for me, no time to study unless I dont sleep. I would not be at my best for class fighting to stay awake.

[gigag04]

Ive been calling around and I may be better off putting myself through the academy then going to work for a smaller department. These bigger city depts require a ton of testing and other stuff just to be eligible to be in the pot to be hired. Once I get out of the academy I will need a job asap. Once I have a job I can then afford to go through all these bigger depts hiring process.

Going to the academy on your own is a last resort IMO. There are too many depts that will pay you well to train. That felony will haunt you though, so be prepared for a lot of rejection.

I still think you're best bet if you can't get hired directly as LEO trainee and put through the academy is to join as a jailer. Jailer school is much shorter, and you will be paid to go. Prove yourself there and move up.

I know alot of people that were not appealing enough to departments to get hired and then sent through the academy. These folks put themselves through the academy ($3-5k) out of pocket, and then still find they are not appealing to departments. Proving yourself in the jail is a good way to go, and the hiring standards for jailers are lower than LEOs (either printed or perceived).

Keep in mind that these jobs are competitive: and you will be competing for limited agency spots with folks that have college degrees, clean backgrounds, good credit, stable work history, and are in great physical shape.

[Excaliber]

I have been in law enforcement as my career of choice since 1975. Every time I left it for something I thought would be better, I missed it quickly and wanted back in. I honestly think the best job in the world is being a patrol sergeant in a medium to large size department (though small towns are also fun in their own way).

There are two basic ways to get into police work. You can go to a large department that pays for your academy training. Every city the size of Waco or larger (and many smaller ones) needs officers and is set up this way. That has the advantage of better pay and benefits and being paid while in the academy, along with a job when you graduate. It has the disadvantage of the department being able to be much more selective in hiring because they get a much larger pool of applicants.

Or you can go to an academy on your own and then join a smaller department. This has the advantage of your choosing the school and being more flexible in how you go to school. It also means that the background requirements are looser since the departments are more desperate for employees. It has the disadvantage of being much harder to work through, lower pay and benefits when you get started, and that there is no real guaranteed job when you graduate the academy. I am confident you will get hired somewhere, the question is where and when.

The advice you have been given on skills needed is pretty good, so I will give you some advice on choosing which way to go. Go talk to the departments in your area that you think you might like to work for. Talk to both patrolmen on the street and to some one in the office in administration. Ask them about their requirements, what they look for, which local academy they recommend, etc. Always ask if they hire people who put themselves through the academy and if they have any openings they know of coming up when you think you might be graduating. You might find a chief who will let you start the application while you are in the academy and may even help with the academy tuition, even if they can't pay you a salary while in training.

If you do go through an academy on your own, remember Article 2.12 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It lists who are peace officers in Texas and some of them are fairly obscure agencies. You might be able to get hired by the state in such positions as the Dept of Insurance, Veterinary Medicine Examiners, Pharmacy Board Examiners, Water police, etc. It may not be what you wanted but it is a way to break in and you might find you like it more than you expected.

As a last ditch way to help, you might also consider the military, either active or reserve. Each branch now has their own full time police department that you can enlist for. which reminded me that there are also a lot of federal agencies with police departments that you might have forgotten to consider. National Park police, V.A. police, and others like that.

Good luck. We need more good people in law enforcement.

My favorite assignment was burglary squad commander. Lots of challenges to keep you from getting stale, all kinds of room for initiative and creativity, and very little admin.

Second best was patrol division commander. All of the same advantages as burglary squad commander, but the admin took up about 40% of the time and was not the part of the job I really enjoyed. The front line street is where almost all the fun found.

[LAYGO]

It seems like these experienced LEOs are giving you some sound advice. I would definitely take heed.

On the other hand, there's a lot these guys haven't mentioned that you may or may not have considered as part of perils of LEO line of work:
- burn out due to feeling like everyone's lying to you
- burn out due to seeing people's stupid choices/mistakes paid for with their or someone else's life
- you take the job home with you, you're never NOT a Police officer, if something's going on, you're going to get involved
- knowing day in/day out, you're life is on the line

Are you mentally tough enough to handle that?

I too considered LEO when I felt like I was burned out doing web development. I enjoyed my time working in Psych Hospitals waaaay back in the day, feeling like I was helping/contributing. My problem now is, I actually LOVE web development, cush job, 6 figure pay, plenty of weight to be gained sitting at your desk most of the day exercising the brain muscle. ;) And knowing I don't have to deal with all that mental anguish . . .

[texanjoker]

I have been in law enforcement as my career of choice since 1975. Every time I left it for something I thought would be better, I missed it quickly and wanted back in. I honestly think the best job in the world is being a patrol sergeant in a medium to large size department (though small towns are also fun in their own way).

There are two basic ways to get into police work. You can go to a large department that pays for your academy training. Every city the size of Waco or larger (and many smaller ones) needs officers and is set up this way. That has the advantage of better pay and benefits and being paid while in the academy, along with a job when you graduate. It has the disadvantage of the department being able to be much more selective in hiring because they get a much larger pool of applicants.

Or you can go to an academy on your own and then join a smaller department. This has the advantage of your choosing the school and being more flexible in how you go to school. It also means that the background requirements are looser since the departments are more desperate for employees. It has the disadvantage of being much harder to work through, lower pay and benefits when you get started, and that there is no real guaranteed job when you graduate the academy. I am confident you will get hired somewhere, the question is where and when.

The advice you have been given on skills needed is pretty good, so I will give you some advice on choosing which way to go. Go talk to the departments in your area that you think you might like to work for. Talk to both patrolmen on the street and to some one in the office in administration. Ask them about their requirements, what they look for, which local academy they recommend, etc. Always ask if they hire people who put themselves through the academy and if they have any openings they know of coming up when you think you might be graduating. You might find a chief who will let you start the application while you are in the academy and may even help with the academy tuition, even if they can't pay you a salary while in training.

If you do go through an academy on your own, remember Article 2.12 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It lists who are peace officers in Texas and some of them are fairly obscure agencies. You might be able to get hired by the state in such positions as the Dept of Insurance, Veterinary Medicine Examiners, Pharmacy Board Examiners, Water police, etc. It may not be what you wanted but it is a way to break in and you might find you like it more than you expected.

As a last ditch way to help, you might also consider the military, either active or reserve. Each branch now has their own full time police department that you can enlist for. which reminded me that there are also a lot of federal agencies with police departments that you might have forgotten to consider. National Park police, V.A. police, and others like that.

Good luck. We need more good people in law enforcement.

My favorite assignment was burglary squad commander. Lots of challenges to keep you from getting stale, all kinds of room for initiative and creativity, and very little admin.

Second best was patrol division commander. All of the same advantages as burglary squad commander, but the admin took up about 40% of the time and was not the part of the job I really enjoyed. The front line street is where almost all the fun found.

For me the k9 unit. There is nothing like the hunting of an armed man...take the action out nothing like working child abuse and nailing some child abuser or baby killer during an interview by obtaining their confession.

[texanjoker]

It seems like these experienced LEOs are giving you some sound advice. I would definitely take heed.

On the other hand, there's a lot these guys haven't mentioned that you may or may not have considered as part of perils of LEO line of work:
- burn out due to feeling like everyone's lying to you
- burn out due to seeing people's stupid choices/mistakes paid for with their or someone else's life
- you take the job home with you, you're never NOT a Police officer, if something's going on, you're going to get involved
- knowing day in/day out, you're life is on the line

Are you mentally tough enough to handle that?

I too considered LEO when I felt like I was burned out doing web development. I enjoyed my time working in Psych Hospitals waaaay back in the day, feeling like I was helping/contributing. My problem now is, I actually LOVE web development, cush job, 6 figure pay, plenty of weight to be gained sitting at your desk most of the day exercising the brain muscle. ;) And knowing I don't have to deal with all that mental anguish . . .

That is all true and EVERY time you go to a party, you have to hear about some persons ticket that they shouldn't have received, the cop had an attitude, ect.

[nightmare69]

Trying to get with a department to pay for my school but its alot to go through, tons of tests and I would have to take quite a few days off work in order to apply. I can pay for the school myself, its 1,200 tuition. Im going to focus on getting into the academy right now otherwise thinking about all these tests find a job ect is starting to make me feel overwhelmed. One step at a time.

[nightmare69]

I've only know of 2 police departments so far that pay for your school. Both are not taking applicants right now. I'm going to continue to call around and hopefully I can find a department that will help me out. If not then I will be paying for this on my own.

[KRM45]

I agree with the recommendations to find the job first. I got hired on in the DFW area, and they not only paid for the academy, they paid my salary while I was there.

If you want a good list of departments that are hiring, check out the TML web site:

http://tml.associationcareernetwork.com ... ?cabbr=TML

[nightmare69]

I agree with the recommendations to find the job first. I got hired on in the DFW area, and they not only paid for the academy, they paid my salary while I was there.

If you want a good list of departments that are hiring, check out the TML web site:

http://tml.associationcareernetwork.com ... ?cabbr=TML

Thanks for the link, only jobs I saw are for towns I have never heard of. I will continue to try to get on with a dept first but I really don't want to move to a big city, that is just not me. Im going to stay around east Texas.