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A career with the NYPD means receiving a reliable benefits package that includes paid vacation, paid sick leave, and retirement funds. In addition to a salary, compensation includes longevity pay, holiday pay, and uniform allowance, along with opportunities for overtime.
Salary
Starting salary: $42,500
Salary after 5 ½ years: $85,292.
Including holiday pay, longevity pay, uniform allowance, night differential and overtime, police officers may potentially earn over $100,000 per year.
Additional Benefits
27 Paid vacation days after 5 years of service
Unlimited sick leave with full pay
Selection of medical benefit packages
Prescription, dental, and vision coverage
Annuity fund
Deferred Compensation Plan, 401K and I.R.A.
Optional retirement at one half salary after 22 years of service
Annual $12,000 Variable Supplement Fund (upon retirement)
Excellent promotional opportunities
Promotional Opportunities
The Department offers promotional exams periodically for the ranks of Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain. Promotion to detective, as well as all ranks above Captain, are based upon merit. Each of these ranks afford members the opportunity to earn significantly higher salaries.
Military Veterans
The NYPD has a special place for those who have served, and we value the training, skills and management experience of military personnel, which is one of the main reasons we actively recruit veterans.
Additional benefits available to military veterans include:
Veterans can earn GI Bill benefits in addition to their salary during their first two years.
Police Officer Exam scores are kept on file indefinitely. Upon leaving the U.S. Armed Forces, veterans have 6 months to start the hiring process.
Veterans can add 4 years to the maximum hiring age, or 6 years if they served during war or national emergency. This applies only to veterans under age 40.
Veterans can buy back three years of their military time to be applied to their NYPD retirement.
Officers who are active reservists are allowed 30 paid military days per year, in addition to their vacation time.
Educational Opportunities
Joining the NYPD is not only a great way to launch a career, it’s a great way to enhance your education. Here are just some of the benefits:
Full salary and benefits are available on the first day of academy training.
Earn up to 29 college credits from your academy training that can go toward a degree.
Several institutions offer full or partial scholarships to NYPD members.
By far, not even close. My pension would be $75,000 if I retired now. It will be well into 6 figures if I stay to 30. Not to mention the various extra savings methods allowed while I'm on the job with a guaranteed 8.5% interest rate.
You're 16 years away from a pension, and that pension is worth about $2,000,000 if you live to be 80. I can't imagine walking away from that. You won't get anything close to that in the civilian world!
There are no retirement pensions anymore in the civilian world. Keep that in mind. Oh there are 401's Roth's. IRA's etc.
But mostly up to you. And sadly many tap into these for medical or family emergencies later in life.
RIGHT NOW start looking at your options for reenlistment. I was just under a year left when I reenlisted. Find out every AFSC that offers a bonus. Or if there's a field that guarantees a great location. Ferret out every nugget of good. What do you Love? Can you translate that into an AFSC? You do have a bit of an investment. Also E5 in under 4 is nothing to sneeze at.
What about switching branches? Navy nukes are well paid. I'm at a sub base and those guys are babies - they can do no wrong. (Sorry Submariner)
If you decide to get out I'd start applying for a federal job ASAP. Or go reserve and federal and work on 2retirements at once.
DO NOT get out if you don't have a firm career path. There's nothing like the military for comraderie and years flying by. Don't look back and regret it.
... What about switching branches? Navy nukes are well paid. I'm at a sub base and those guys are babies - they can do no wrong. (Sorry Submariner)
No you are correct.
On forums people say that all servicemembers are paid the same, but those posters came from MOS's that only paid base-pay. So they honestly have no understanding of all the bonus pays.
Living inside the sub-fleet echo chamber, bubbleheads assume that all servicemembers are taken care of on the same level. I did 3 years on an auxiliary ship [a tender] where I got to see the opposite side. Navy nukes do act like babies.
I would leave if that's what you want. There's more to life than money and as long as you're not a complete idiot then you'll be able to do just fine in the civilian world.
When I decided to get out I heard every reason from my coworkers and bosses on how I was throwing away my career and future lifetime earnings because of the pension. But, I didn't listen because I wanted to do other things. I just make it a point to save money every month for retirement like the rest of the general population.
Another reason for me leaving was that I always felt the military held back my professional development. The military has a way of making you content with your job and not worrying about the next promotion since everyone is managed by the big promotion system. Your promotion is managed by FITREPS and your career assignments. You don't have to learn to apply to jobs and interview for your next position (in most cases). In the civilian world the sky is the limit on where and how you want your career to play out. In the military you basically check the boxes and do whatever your detailer tells you to do until you reach 20.
The military does pay well but it doesn't pay THAT well. Put it this way, I live in a house in a nice neighborhood that is walking distance to the beach. Would an active duty pension do anything for me? Not really. It would be nice but the pension isn't going to elevate me to top tax bracket anytime soon. An active duty Officer probably makes more than me but it's not like I'm going to be on the brink of being homeless anytime soon.
Also consider the career implications of staying 20 plus years. When you finally do leave then you're starting over in your 40's. To many employers you'll be just another older guy looking for a job. Many of my retired friends lament about how their peers are all way ahead of them in the civilian sector.
In the end it is your choice. Just know that plenty of people get out and make a life as a civilian just fine.
I hope to ultimately land an operations management position. As I mentioned before, I don't really have any disillusions about the civilian world. I've worked in it (albeit at a low level) before.
Operations management is exactly what my spouse does in his civilian career. He also holds a master's and is currently a drilling reservist. He has deployed three times as a reservist, but all three were voluntary deployments.
I'm an E-5 in the Air Force, and I'm a little beyond 4 year initial enlistment. The time is closing quickly when I'll have to decide to hang up the uniform and head back to the civilian world, or re-enlist and do another four.
Wrong. Those are not your only two options and many first term Airmen need to be aware of this.
You have several more options. You have the option to extend your contract by 12 months or more or go to the reserves. "Re-enlist or get out" is the same mindset I had back during the end of my first contract. If I could re-wind time, I would've just extended for 12 months instead of re-enlisting. Doesn't matter now, I got very lucky with the latter choice.
Have a plan, make sure you know your benefits (VA loan, GI Bill) and what you want to do when you get out. If I were you, I'd do a 12 month extension to see if you really want to be there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dmarie123
You're 16 years away from a pension
That's 16 years of no freedom, deployments, TDYs, PT tests, fluctuating income, and constant moving, 12 hr shifts, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dmarie123
and that pension is worth about $2,000,000 if you live to be 80.
Not even close, they also recently changed the retirement to make it worse than the older system.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dmarie123
I can't imagine walking away from that. You won't get anything close to that in the civilian world!
You can't imagine it because you're not in his position. It's not worth it on the enlisted side. Only 17% of servicemen even stick around that long.
Quote:
The military estimates that the net present value of its pension at retirement is around $200,000 for an enlisted soldier and $700,000 for an officer. This is enough for a basic living on its own, or more commonly used to supplement veterans’ earnings in their second careers. But only 17% of active duty members stick around long enough to collect it.
I never got to make the choice you are dealing with. I got severely hurt with only 2 years and 9 months of active duty service. I was medically retired at the age of 22. I thank God that I was active duty when I got hurt. If I had of been in a regular job, I would have been placed on workers comp until I recovered, and then I would have been on my own. I wouldn't have free medical care for life. I wouldn't be receiving a tax free pension. Yes I got hurt in the military, but they do a great job of making you whole, at least today. My heart pours out for all of the Vietnam, Korea, and WWII vets that got nothing.
I understand that you are tired of the military life, and deployments. So was I. I had already spoken to a Coast Guard recruiter just prior to me getting hurt. It does suck when you are doing a job that you don't like. My only suggestion is to check out everything before you make your decision. See if you can switch AFSC. Talk to the CG and see what they have to offer. See if you may be a candidate for an enlisted to officer program.
You never let us know what field you are looking to go into. So our advice is going to be generalized. I also want to warn you that not every government job is going to be like the military. Each agency has it's own culture. In my building, we have the EPA, who basically show up when they want to, the ones that don't work from home, dress like they are going to a pick nick, and all look like they just got back from Woodstock. Even the senior manager has a ZZ top beard, long hair in a pony tail, and wears sandals as long as it isn't snowing. We also have ATF, and everyone of their agents look like a marine corps drill instructors, when I see them in the hallway, they are talking about guns, working out, motorcycles, etc. The FBI agents in the building all look like the nerdy kids that got picked on in school, they are all geeky, tall and skinny, and dressed in designer clothes.
The government is huge, with lots of room for everyone.
On forums people say that all servicemembers are paid the same, but those posters came from MOS's that only paid base-pay. So they honestly have no understanding of all the bonus pays.
Living inside the sub-fleet echo chamber, bubbleheads assume that all servicemembers are taken care of on the same level. I did 3 years on an auxiliary ship [a tender] where I got to see the opposite side. Navy nukes do act like babies.
Submariner,
Definitely remember you writing that nukes getting bonuses above their base pay. I think though that you even went above and beyond that, to the extent that base pay was maybe just 1/2 of your total wage?
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