Any Police Officers here? ---------------- Advice needed......... (Quantico: schools, college)

[Thinking-man]

hi,
interested in learning more about what's involved with becoming a police officer in northern VA.

- how long does it take to become one?
- what schooling is needed? (will a masters degree in engineering help or not matter in any way?)
- what's typically the starting pay?
- is there an advantage or disadvantage to being in your early 30s to start pursuing this?
- what's typically the hours for someone who's starting out?


any other info would be appreciated.

[Fundman]

Because governments are cutting spending and the supply of candidates is so great it is basically impossible to get hired in the current environment without military experience. Almost everyone apply for these jobs is a veteran. Spanish fluency is also highly desirable. A masters degree will hurt you because they will feel that you are overqualified and will want to move on to something better. The easiest way to get a job in law enforcement is to get hired by a large urban department like Baltimore which has high turnover because of low moral. Or go to a tiny department were pay is really low.

[Bigfoot424]

OP.

I disagree with Fundman. I'm retired after 30 years as a LEO in NOVA. I just saw on Facebook where PWCPD is hiring. Maybe one third of the hires at PWC are veterans but of course we have Quantico. When I retired we were seeing the command staff backing away from hiring some vets for a variety of reasons. Your age is not an issue as long as you are in good shape. We've had plenty of people start in the 30's after coming from another career. Your age could actually go in your favor for life experiences and maturity. Your Masters degree may help but this is one thing Fundman may be correct on. Will you leave for better and higher paying jobs after a while?
You will undoubtably work and evening or midnight shift to start with. Very few rookies can score the day shift when they start out. The pay is around $50 thou give or take but you can Google that for more accurate numbers.

[VRE332]

I like that show The First 48? How do you become a detective like them?

[ElderPrice]

Originally Posted by Thinking-man

hi,
interested in learning more about what's involved with becoming a police officer in northern VA.

- how long does it take to become one?
- what schooling is needed? (will a masters degree in engineering help or not matter in any way?)
- what's typically the starting pay?
- is there an advantage or disadvantage to being in your early 30s to start pursuing this?
- what's typically the hours for someone who's starting out?


any other info would be appreciated.

If your username is accurate, I'd say you'd be immediately precluded from their consideration! It sounds like you're a bright and motivated person, don't throw away your potential and lower yourself because it might be a quick (temporary) raise.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by ElderPrice

If your username is accurate, I'd say you'd be immediately precluded from their consideration! It sounds like you're a bright and motivated person, don't throw away your potential and lower yourself because it might be a quick (temporary) raise.

Thanks for the insult. Guess my 30 years was a waste of time? My LE career parlayed into a well paying job that couples well with my retirement. I saw and did things in my career that few people ever get to see. Most of the officers on my large department had 4 year degrees with numerous having even more. Quite a few are military vets with a number of them going the 20 years before becoming a LEO. Guess all of them wasted their time as well?

[ChristineVA]

My friend's son got accepted last year and is now an officer. He had a college degree (English), had worked for FEDEX and then was a teacher in Prince William County schools and decided that was definitely not for him. He had tried to apply before (to FFX County but they didn't take him for whatever reason). Prince William did. I don't know if it helped that he was already a county employee with the school system or not. He had no prior military experience.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

My friend's son got accepted last year and is now an officer. He had a college degree (English), had worked for FEDEX and then was a teacher in Prince William County schools and decided that was definitely not for him. He had tried to apply before (to FFX County but they didn't take him for whatever reason). Prince William did. I don't know if it helped that he was already a county employee with the school system or not. He had no prior military experience.

The jobs some of the officers did before coming to PWC always amazed me. Besides some fairly high ranking retired military officers (One Lt. Colonel) I saw one that was in the financial field and paid very well. One owned a const company and one was a school teacher. (Not your friend's son as this was several years)

[Jross98]

Originally Posted by ElderPrice

If your username is accurate, I'd say you'd be immediately precluded from their consideration! It sounds like you're a bright and motivated person, don't throw away your potential and lower yourself because it might be a quick (temporary) raise.

I have to say I don't really post on here but I"m a frequent lurker. This post drew me out as I work with several retired police officers on a daily basis (3 of them from PWC) and I can say without hesitation they are highly intelligent and that I feel privileged to work with them.

I'm not sure why some people feel LEO's as a whole are not smart - from my perspective this is certainly not the case. Also, if you think the OP would be "lowering himself" by serving in a job where he keeps people safe and upholds our laws, well, that speaks for itself.

[tarp]

Because the police forces don't want independent thinkers - they want people who will, without question, follow orders and uphold our unjust laws.