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I know where you are at. I hung up six years in the Army and after some machinations wound up a Police Officer. Be aware that there are hordes of applicants for every job in Law Enforcement. Many of these applicants have degrees in Criminal Justice. Add to that the fact that many agencies are laying off and you have a pretty grim outlook.
Now that I have rained on your parade, let me tell you what I wish i had done. I would have gotten a Law Enforcement Job with any Federal Agency, to include the Veterans Administration, where Veterans Preference counts for a lot. So all I can tell him is Apply for EVERYTHING Local State and Federal.
I know where you are at. I hung up six years in the Army and after some machinations wound up a Police Officer. Be aware that there are hordes of applicants for every job in Law Enforcement. Many of these applicants have degrees in Criminal Justice. Add to that the fact that many agencies are laying off and you have a pretty grim outlook.
Now that I have rained on your parade, let me tell you what I wish i had done. I would have gotten a Law Enforcement Job with any Federal Agency, to include the Veterans Administration, where Veterans Preference counts for a lot. So all I can tell him is Apply for EVERYTHING Local State and Federal.
Feds have the best pensions, I am sure. Good luck, and thank you for your service.
even if the staties aren't hiring....check out the liquor commission. They have investigative positions that pay in the same neighborhood. roughly $44K.
The state hospitals also have security guard positions that pay in the mid-30's range.
current testing for state police positions are scheduled for Oct. 3rd and December 5th.
First of, congratulations to your family. I am retired military, I know the support a dependent spouse provides. I would not have made it without my STRONG WIFE. I understand what your going through, it takes a strong women to standby her man while he is working his tail off for the country. GOOD JOB!!!
Please take my story with a "grain of salt", it's not the holy grail but maybe something to think about.
Last year, we retired and relocated to NH. I was considering Law Enforcement, I have 12 yrs of LE so my story is about the same so hopefully it helps.
The LE hiring process is really really slow plus there are hundreds of applicants, one of many. This is a very rough estimate, but I would say the hiring process is about 3-6 months, after testing. This was my main distractor. I have 3 kids so time was crucial. That's the stickler, when is the department testing? By the way, go to the local book store Barnes and Nobles or whatever to buy the Police testing guide, can't remember the exact title, it will cost around $20. In the meantime, tell him to apply everywhere, I mean everywhere. Matter of fact, he should be on the computer everyday applying. To help, register at www.officer.com and some other websites like masscops.com, too many to count but they were all very helpful.
Your husband does have the inside track because Nashua PD recently graduated 5 or 6 new hires and those individuals had military experience and college degrees. His vet points will help, coupled with an education he can separate himself from the crowd.
After he's hired, the first year's pay is pretty low, because he will be assigned to the NH academy and getting patrolman certified at the local department. After he completes the patrolman certification, normally one year, the pay will increase. Good news: GI Bill will supplement his paycheck because the academy is an accredited school, thus putting money in your pocket. He should earn around 35-45k (pre-patrol cert)and the GI Bill can add 20K, again all rough estimates.
Personally, I truly miss the LE career field because it was a job that came really natural and I was really good. But, the above factors would not allow my dream to come true. What's the point! My point, have an alternative plan. I have a few buddies just me who ended executing their alternative plan. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." Please have an alternative solution.
Make sure he understands that a 'city' in NH is still a little smaller than what most people think of as a city. For example:
Manchester: pop about 108k
Nahsua: pop 86k
Concord: pop 42k
Rochester: pop 30k
Derry: pop24k
The OP stated that she thinks her husband will want to live near a big city and would get restless in small towns. As you pointed out, New Hampshire really doesnt have any "big cities" and that is pretty muchthe same for Maine and Vermont.
The OP stated that she thinks her husband will want to live near a big city and would get restless in small towns. As you pointed out, New Hampshire really doesnt have any "big cities" and that is pretty muchthe same for Maine and Vermont.
Well, depends on how you thinkin' a big city is. Aaaayyup!
Big city 'round hee-ahs is fowah thousand, aaayyup!!
Thanks Colebrook. I think my husband is going to put some applications in once he gets back from being overseas. NH seems to be really nice and the most important thing to me is that everyone seems to be friendly.
Thank You everyone for caring to reply back to me. We will not put all our eggs in the basket so to speak, so don't worry about that. My husband has a degree in Criminal Justice and one year experience as a Police Officer. I am hoping that if you add all that up along with him being an Officer in the Army, it will give him a good chance to get hired. He will also apply for Texas, since Texas has a lot of job openings. We are also trying to play it safe by getting all our debt paid off so we can survive once he gets out of the Army. My husband loves Law Enforcement, so there is really no other option of another career. We both prefer living in a small town, but my husband would rather work for a city, not a small town, Again, his dream is the State Police/ Highway Patrol. Thank You all for your kindness and support.
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