Police overtime budget cuts (Boston, Cambridge: hotel, to live in, legal)

[Bettafish]

Originally Posted by massnative71

For one thing the average salary of a Framingham police officer is barely half what you are claiming, based on most sources I could find. Secondly, there are all kinds of jobs in the Boston area (accounting, various finance, some engineering) that pay $100K+ and are probably considerably easier then than being a cop in any local town and less hours put in on average to earn that.

We are not talking about salaries only. We all know cops make a big chunk of money from OT and details, not base salaries.
Other professionals need to work over time too, but for "free".

[id77]

Originally Posted by msRB311

For people it would be. I have known engineers and finance people throughout my career who's jobs were very easy for them. They were smart and well organized, could easily crunch numbers and figure out code.

If being a cop is so easy why don't more people do it? We've already confirmed that the pay is pretty darn good if you're doing overtime...so why aren't there more cops? Why are people choosing careers like janitors, bus drivers, carpenters, construction workers, I could go on.

Overwhelmingly, people don't choose to be bus drivers, janitors, or construction workers unless you mean they choose to be a bus driver or construction worker instead of a janitor. Those are the types of jobs that people who do them cite as reasons why kids should pay attention in school so they can grow up and be smart and get those engineering jobs instead of picking up trash off the street for a living.

Police officers are a rung above that on the ladder. It can be a respectable job, but there is a bit of a problem with it being overrun with ex-military grunts who very much want maintain a similar tough guy role at present. Cleanse the forces nationwide of people who are just in it for the control and domination and it will be respectable again.

None of this is about physical difficulty or danger, though. Doing construction is even more dangerous than being a cop, but it pays less unless you're a foreman, crane operator, or other specialized job. If you're asking why physically demanding jobs are rarely ever on par with mentally demanding ones in terms of compensation, it's because there's always more physically-able people than mentally-able ones. As I said previously, if you paid cops the same as engineers, you'd typically get 1000 applicants for every opening whereas engineers typically get 0-5 for every opening, even at that pay. Why? There's a lot more people who can risk their lives and bodies to do something physically demanding than there are people who can do advanced mathematics or sciences. Same logic applies to those crane operators, too -- there's not many who can do that, so they demand higher wages.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by massnative71

In some cases. Obviously one's mileage can vary tremendously across both professions (especially "engineering" which covers a very broad realm), and they each come with their own set of challenges.

In what case? You are claiming the AVERAGE policemen has a job more difficult than an average software engineer. I am not talking about the commissioner, or even detectives.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by id77

Overwhelmingly, people don't choose to be bus drivers, janitors, or construction workers unless you mean they choose to be a bus driver or construction worker instead of a janitor. Those are the types of jobs that people who do them cite as reasons why kids should pay attention in school so they can grow up and be smart and get those engineering jobs instead of picking up trash off the street for a living.

Police officers are a rung above that on the ladder. It can be a respectable job, but there is a bit of a problem with it being overrun with ex-military grunts who very much want maintain a similar tough guy role at present. Cleanse the forces nationwide of people who are just in it for the control and domination and it will be respectable again.

None of this is about physical difficulty or danger, though. Doing construction is even more dangerous than being a cop, but it pays less unless you're a foreman, crane operator, or other specialized job. If you're asking why physically demanding jobs are rarely ever on par with mentally demanding ones in terms of compensation, it's because there's always more physically-able people than mentally-able ones. As I said previously, if you paid cops the same as engineers, you'd typically get 1000 applicants for every opening whereas engineers typically get 0-5 for every opening, even at that pay. Why? There's a lot more people who can risk their lives and bodies to do something physically demanding than there are people who can do advanced mathematics or sciences. Same logic applies to those crane operators, too -- there's not many who can do that, so they demand higher wages.

I know people who entered the corporate world thinking they would make it big and they didnt. They're making 75k a year at non profits, universities, even tech companies. I have friends and family who wish they had just become a cop to be making the 150k a year.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by Lampert

It's quite telling how all the defenders of police overtime pay often use personal attacks in their posts.

Try again. There are no personal attacks in the response.

[id77]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I know people who entered the corporate world thinking they would make it big and they didnt. They're making 75k a year at non profits, universities, even tech companies. I have friends and family who wish they had just become a cop to be making the 150k a year.

I’d take that as more evidence that those “easy” high paying engineering jobs aren’t quite so easy, even if they require little physical effort.

[msRB311]

I dont see any personal attacks either. It seems to be a cop vs white collar job thing. I don't see anyone complaining about what firefighters make (my cousin is a Boston firefighter and makes 200k a year). People just have a disdain towards cops and want to see them struggling and making nothing it seems. Not sure how any of that would make their own lives better but I guess in some way they will feel vindicated?

I mean strippers, hookers and bartenders can make a lot of money in one night and some of them have an 8th grade education. I've heard of some making 1000 a day or even more. And I really don't care! Not that i'm comparing cops to hookers/strippers, but people make what they're worth at the end of the day. If a cop puts in the hours he could be worth 200k a year.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by id77

Police officers are a rung above that on the ladder. It can be a respectable job, but there is a bit of a problem with it being overrun with ex-military grunts who very much want maintain a similar tough guy role at present. Cleanse the forces nationwide of people who are just in it for the control and domination and it will be respectable again.

We have a winner!

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by Lampert

The police chief is not a policeman. All right.

Yeah he has a badge and gun and can arrest people, so technically he's still a cop. But you don't get to be police chief without politicking. You don't get to be police chief without serving and pleasing your masters, be they the Board of Selectman, Mayor, Town Manager, or City Council. These are people who usually play more politics than law enforcement. I'm not saying that's always a bad thing--it can actually be a good thing if the chief uses his political capital to the benefit of his mission--but this is not your average "cop." I kinda doubt he got the job because he was the best law enforcement professional they could find. And here's a guy who won't take furlough days when his own town is in a financial pickle. Sounds more like he's in it for himself, than his community. That's not what most law enforcement officers are about. Typical self-serving politician. At the end of the day this is fault of the Methuen city government for giving him this contract. This guy is making over $325K and he can't take furlough days? This is leadership? No, this is a hack.

[msRB311]

In it for the control and domination of what?

Most of cops I know who are vets are older (like 40 or above). I dont know any millennials joining the military these days, they're too good for that.