Pros/Cons of being an LEO

[Matts00GT]

So I've got an opportunity to join the Atlanta Police Department. I've passed their application/background check and all that's left is to forward them my personal documents and do their "physical fitness" test. I put it in quotes as I'm in the Army and our standards are higher than theirs so it's going to be pretty easy for me.

I guess my real question is, is it worth it? What would the job be like for me for the first 6 months (after the academy)? What's a typical LEO career path look like? Time frames on promotions, etc...

Thanks for your help guys.

 

[BearsFTW18]

you don't have to take a written or oral test? wtf??

and after the academy you will be patroling with FTOs.

promotions come with time in and needs of the department.

and idk about Atlanta, but here in Chicago you just dont "make" sergeant. You have to take a test for that.

Also, coming from someone who's wanted to be a cop his entire life and someone who comes from a police family....this isn't "just a job". It's more than a career. It's a calling.

is it worth it? No one can tell you that except yourself. It depends on how bad YOU want it. This is a job that YOU'RE going to have to want to do. It's not just a "yeah I'll try it out" kind of job.

 

[Matts00GT]

you don't have to take a written or oral test? wtf??

Left that out. Yes Ill have to take that as well. What's that typically consist of? APD doesnt list much info about it on their site.

 

[BearsFTW18]

Left that out. Yes Ill have to take that as well. What's that typically consist of? APD doesnt list much info about it on their site.

I couldn't tell you because every department is different. I have taken 4 written tests(more coming up) and every one has been different.

Really think about what I said though. If this is not a job that you know 100%that you want and would like to keep, then don't do it. Not only is it not fair to yourself, but it's also not fair to the department and your fellow officers.

Here's a suggestion, take a couple ride alongs on different shifts so you can get a feel of what it's like.

 

[Trbo6gn1]

You have to go through a background investigation, physical agility test, written assessment, polygraph, psych evaluation, oral board and final selection. On top of that you have to beat out the hundreds of other applicants that are applying for that same position. It's not as simple as just joining.

 

[FordSVTFan]

So I've got an opportunity to join the Atlanta Police Department. I've passed their application/background check and all that's left is to forward them my personal documents and do their "physical fitness" test. I put it in quotes as I'm in the Army and our standards are higher than theirs so it's going to be pretty easy for me.

I guess my real question is, is it worth it? What would the job be like for me for the first 6 months (after the academy)? What's a typical LEO career path look like? Time frames on promotions, etc...

Thanks for your help guys.

Basically you are still in the application phase. There is written testing, psych, physical, and interviews. You are a ways away from getting hired. So now is the time to decide if you want a career in L.E.

The hours in the beginning will suck. You will do a lot of things you dont want to do. Everyday you wear a target on your back.

Big city policing is no joke. You could be in a sector where everyday there are shootings and one could be you.

Ask yourself why you are interested in L.E.O.?

 

[svtcop]

Basically you are still in the application phase. There is written testing, psych, physical, and interviews. You are a ways away from getting hired. So now is the time to decide if you want a career in L.E.

The hours in the beginning will suck. You will do a lot of things you dont want to do. Everyday you wear a target on your back.

Big city policing is no joke. You could be in a sector where everyday there are shootings and one could be you.

Ask yourself why you are interested in L.E.O.?

+1 on being in the early stages.

I've got a buddy that worked for APD for a few years before moving back to Ohio. You'll earn your paycheck to say the least.

FordSVTFan is dead on when says big city policing is no joke. You're not gonna come out as a new recruit and get put in the gravy parts of town. You're going in the trenches where you're needed.

A large PD has endless possibilities to grow and expand to different roles...If you're capable. Really just depends of what you're good at and where you want to go.

You'll find out real quick if it's not for you. That's when it's time to step away...don't kid yourself. It just gets people hurt.

 

[chris1badL]

I was actually in school for 2 years to become a cop. I then went and interned at the charlotte meck police department here in NC. Glad I did that cause it changed my mind real quick. I would at least go on a ride along program or something to get the feel of being in that police car. They also put me up in the jail for a while and got some interesting threats made towards me. Also, here in cabarrus county when you get hired you will start out in the jail or courts and have to work your way up to being on patrol. This was with the sheriffs department though, not sure about the city cops. One of my buddys was hired in charlotte and was stuck in hidden valley. That neighborhood was on gangland so I agree with being stuck as a rookie.

 

[musclefan21]

There is soo much involved just with hiring process, you are forever away from being hired.

If your intentions are to really make a difference, I think it is a well worth career. That is my intentions, and I hope to get my opportunity someday.

 

[Hangman]

I was actually in school for 2 years to become a cop.

I thought high school was 4 years???

 

[notchstang92]

In a large urban area like Atlanta I would expect to start out doing the overnight shift in the ghetto. Seems like cops always start there. Advancement will depend on what positions are open and if you pass all the tests. Education will factor in to advancement. You are in the Army, but that only goes so far now. As with any job in this day and age employers want education. Also remember that in some depts once you reach a certain rank you are considered management and no more OT.

Read up on what a cops life is like after retirement. Many suffer heart attacks within 10 years of retirement. I have a degree in criminal justice and I remember one of my classes discussing that. Also the stigma of being a cop is usually not positive. They are usually categorized as corrupt and extemely arrogant. Not sure if I believe the corrupt part, but I have found that most cops have that arrogance that is found no where else. Almost like a god complex.

 

[Dsg-shaker]

In a large urban area like Atlanta I would expect to start out doing the overnight shift in the ghetto. Seems like cops always start there. Advancement will depend on what positions are open and if you pass all the tests. Education will factor in to advancement. You are in the Army, but that only goes so far now. As with any job in this day and age employers want education. Also remember that in some depts once you reach a certain rank you are considered management and no more OT.

Read up on what a cops life is like after retirement. Many suffer heart attacks within 10 years of retirement. I have a degree in criminal justice and I remember one of my classes discussing that. Also the stigma of being a cop is usually not positive. They are usually categorized as corrupt and extemely arrogant. Not sure if I believe the corrupt part, but I have found that most cops have that arrogance that is found no where else. Almost like a god complex.

Truck drivers are worse.... >.>


Sent from inside a shipping container.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

I thought high school was 4 years???

Many departments require college for new applicants to be considered. But nice try.

 

[bodge323]

I thought high school was 4 years???

I spoke to a few officers at the community college I was attending and the minimum requirements were 60 college credits. Something was also written about military experience but I do not recall the details.

 

[BearsFTW18]

I spoke to a few officers at the community college I was attending and the minimum requirements were 60 college credits. Something was also written about military experience but I do not recall the details.

some departments require only a high school diploma.
some require 60 credit hours
some require an associates
some require an associates in criminal justice
some require a bachelors

 

[Matts00GT]

In a large urban area like Atlanta I would expect to start out doing the overnight shift in the ghetto. Seems like cops always start there. Advancement will depend on what positions are open and if you pass all the tests. Education will factor in to advancement. You are in the Army, but that only goes so far now. As with any job in this day and age employers want education. Also remember that in some depts once you reach a certain rank you are considered management and no more OT.

Read up on what a cops life is like after retirement. Many suffer heart attacks within 10 years of retirement. I have a degree in criminal justice and I remember one of my classes discussing that. Also the stigma of being a cop is usually not positive. They are usually categorized as corrupt and extemely arrogant. Not sure if I believe the corrupt part, but I have found that most cops have that arrogance that is found no where else. Almost like a god complex.

Maybe I should have specified. I'm a First Lieutenant in the Army. I have a bachelor's degree. I'm a platoon leader in an engineer company. I essentially am management and will receive a master's in engineering management in a couple of years.

I think I'm going to bypass trying to become an LEO--at least in Atlanta.

 

[silver03svt]

Pro to being an LEO - people always think you're a dick.

Con to being an LEO - people always think you're a dick.


BTW OP - Good Luck, it is worth it!

 

[BearsFTW18]

Maybe I should have specified. I'm a First Lieutenant in the Army. I have a bachelor's degree. I'm a platoon leader in an engineer company. I essentially am management and will receive a master's in engineering management in a couple of years.

I think I'm going to bypass trying to become an LEO--at least in Atlanta.

doesn't matter what degree/training you have, you still will have to do all the tests that everyone else does and go through the same steps. Just making sure you understand that.

 

[TonyUMD]

I don't see me doing anything else! :rockon:
I became an officer because i felt it was my calling, not because it was better than being somewhere else doing something else.
You're on 24/7, you wonder if the car driving by your house late at night is someone you've "met" earlier.... Those are a few of the reasons people will label you as a DICK, but you need to keep in mind the main reason you become a police officer is to help others.

This has been going around FB now.

"WHAT DO I MAKE??

...I make holding your hand seem like the biggest thing in the world when someone just tried to hurt you. I make 5 minutes seem like a lifetime when I am fighting a suspect while waiting for back up. I make those annoying sirens seem like angels when you need them. I can make ...your children breathe when they stop. I make myself get out of bed at 3am to risk my life to save people I've never met. I make it possible to keep back the chaos everyday. I make going to work for your family's safety a duty that I will die for. I make myself work holidays, nights, during snow storms, disasters and terrorist attacks. I make myself RUN TOWARD GUNFIRE to save complete strangers lives. Today I might make the ultimate sacrifice and give my life to save yours. I make a difference, what do you make?"


As seen on Police Officers, Cops & Law Enforcement | PoliceOne

P1 Humor Corner: 25 signs that you're a cop

When do you really know that you are a police officer? Is it when you realize that you find humor in other people’s stupidity? Or is it when you know for certain that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, “Boy, it sure is quiet tonight.” Is it when you’ve left more meals on the restaurant table than you’ve eaten, or when you come to the knowledge that discussing human dismemberment over a meal is a perfectly normal thing to do? Maybe it’s when you feel good when you hear someone say, “These handcuffs are too tight.” Here are 25 ways you can be pretty reliably sure that you’re really a cop.

1.) You have the bladder capacity of five people combined.

2.) You have restrained someone and it was not a sexual experience.

3.) You believe that 50 percent of people are a waste of good air.

4.) Your idea of a good time is a “man with a gun” call.

5.) You conduct a criminal record check on anyone who seems friendly towards you.

6.) You believe in the aerial spraying of Prozac and birth control pills.

7.) You disbelieve 90 percent of what you hear and 75 percent of what you see.

8.) You have your weekends off planned for a year.

9.) You believe the government should require a permit to reproduce.

10.) You refer to your favorite restaurant by the intersection at which it’s located.

11.) You have ever wanted to hold a seminar entitled: “Suicide: Getting it right the first time.”

12.) You ever had to put the phone on hold before you begin laughing uncontrollably.

13.) You think caffeine should be available in IV form.

14.) You know anyone who says, “I only had two beers” is going to blow at least a .15

15.) You find out a lot about paranoia just by following people around.

16.) Anyone has ever said to you, “There are people killing other people out there and you are here messing with me.”

17.) People flag you down on the street and ask you directions to strange places...and you know where it’s located.

18.) You can discuss where you are going to eat with your partner while standing over a dead body.

19.) You are the only person introduced at social gatherings by profession.

20.) You walk into places and people think it’s high comedy to grab their buddy and shout, “They’ve come to get you, Bill.”

21.) You do not see daylight from November until May.

22.) People shout, “I didn’t do it!” when you walk into a room and think they’re being hugely funny and original.

23.) A week’s worth of laundry consists of five T-shirts, five pairs of socks, and five pairs of underwear.

24.) You’ve ever referred to Tuesday as “my weekend.”

25.) You’ve ever written off guns and ammunition as a business deduction.

 

[silver03svt]

"WHAT DO I MAKE??

...I make holding your hand seem like the biggest thing in the world when someone just tried to hurt you. I make 5 minutes seem like a lifetime when I am fighting a suspect while waiting for back up. I make those annoying sirens seem like angels when you need them. I can make ...your children breathe when they stop. I make myself get out of bed at 3am to risk my life to save people I've never met. I make it possible to keep back the chaos everyday. I make going to work for your family's safety a duty that I will die for. I make myself work holidays, nights, during snow storms, disasters and terrorist attacks. I make myself RUN TOWARD GUNFIRE to save complete strangers lives. Today I might make the ultimate sacrifice and give my life to save yours. I make a difference, what do you make?"

I've seen this many years ago and it's probably one of the greatest things I've ever read. The public will never have any idea what we (LEO, FF, EMS, Military) sacrifice everyday.