INGO LEO

[BogWalker]

I'm considering shifting my career path towards law enforcement, but I'd like to ask some questions if anyone would like to take the time to answer.

Educational requirements. I know that you can be an officer with just a high school diploma, but is law enforcement like many career fields now where a college degree is increasingly necessary to gain employment? What degrees are suggested?

Is law enforcement currently in demand? Is there a lot of competition for job openings?

Indiana LEO pay seems to top off ~$60,000 with the median ~$50,000. Whatever your pay is, are you happy with it? Is it a "living wage"?

Are pensions still common in law enforcement? How are the insurance benefits?

Do you enjoy your work? Do you feel satisfaction from it?

All in all, would you recommend this career field?

Right now I'm in my second year of pre-pharmacy at Purdue, and I just don't think it's for me. It's hard stepping away from a potential six figure salary, but there are things in this world worth more than money.

 

[T.Lex]

I'm totally the wrong person to be the first response, for many reasons.

But a couple observations about the people who are officers.

First, if you're not sure, go on some ridealongs. Talk to officers doing it. Try to connect with what they are actually doing. People can describe it, but until you experience it, you really don't know. If, after some ridealongs, you still aren't sure, then it isn't for you.

Second, figure out if you want to stay rural/suburban or metro. There is a huge difference. So much, that it really isn't even the same thing. Maybe not apples and oranges, but apples and crabapples.

Third, if you've already felt a leaning towards a scientific calling, check out some of the LEO-related fields like that. Some of them pay very well, and you are still part of the team.

After all that, you gotta do what you gotta do. I know an officer that first went to law school. Smart guy. Great student. Spent a semester at law school and decided it wasn't for him. (Told ya he was smart.) He worked a crap job until he made a recruit class, and never looked back. Is looking at 20 years now, and it suits him. And he's darn good at it.

That's my advice from a non-LEO.

 

[natdscott]

Finish the Degree...or A Degree.

Don't not.

-Nate

 

[ticktwrter]

College is not a requirement at many departments but surely can't hurt.

Just search the net about the nationwide police shortage. I know my old department, South Bend PD is about 10-15 short and other departments around the state have that problem as well.
Pay in Indiana varies greatly from north to south. Most jobs start 30-40K and can go up from there. Many departments have take home cars that is an added benefit.
Pensions are very common in Indiana. There is a state
wide pension for municipal departments and many county departments have their own. The common state pension allows you to retire at 20 years but can't draw until 52.
I truly love my career and am very glad I did it. I have made a difference in lives of many I have encountered and have seen stuff I would not want to recount. Make sure it is for you. It is a career that is changing greatly.

I'm considering shifting my career path towards law enforcement, but I'd like to ask some questions if anyone would like to take the time to answer.

Educational requirements. I know that you can be an officer with just a high school diploma, but is law enforcement like many career fields now where a college degree is increasingly necessary to gain employment? What degrees are suggested?

Is law enforcement currently in demand? Is there a lot of competition for job openings?

Indiana LEO pay seems to top off ~$60,000 with the median ~$50,000. Whatever your pay is, are you happy with it? Is it a "living wage"?

Are pensions still common in law enforcement? How are the insurance benefits?

Do you enjoy your work? Do you feel satisfaction from it?

All in all, would you recommend this career field?

Right now I'm in my second year of pre-pharmacy at Purdue, and I just don't think it's for me. It's hard stepping away from a potential six figure salary, but there are things in this world worth more than money.

 

[jsharmon7]

Why LE? This would be the first, and most important, question. Why not the FD? EMS?

College isn't required, but recommended. Most departments are pretty competitive. When I was hired there were 140+ people who applied for 2 open positions. With a bigger department like IMPD or ISP you can expect that number to be in the thousands probably. Any leg up is going to help you. Plus you never know what the future holds and it's always good to have a Plan B. You may hate LE, or get injured, or who knows what could happen.

As far as wages, I'm happy with what I make. I'm not living paycheck-to-paycheck and have money left over for savings, vacations, hobbies, etc. You aren't going to get rich in this line of work so accept that going in. Depending on where you work there is pretty much limitless off-duty stuff you can do for extra pay depending on how much time you're willing to be away from home.

As far as pension, city departments are part of PERF. Health insurance will depend on the city where you work.

I do enjoy my work. I'm not cut out for a life of commuting through traffic every morning at rush hour just to sit at a desk until it's time to go home. I like the variety, the challenges, the entertaining things you get to see and do, and lots of other things that most people don't realize about this job. You're not going to go out every day and save the world, but you get plenty of opportunities to make a difference on an individual level.

As far as recommending LE, I can't really answer that. I think people are called to it or they aren't. If you're really called to it then I probably won't change your mind either way. Especially now there is a lot of negativity toward the police, but I get many, many more people who come up to me with positive things to say. Just realize you're a convenient target for a lot of frustration and hate and don't take it personally. There are days when I want to move to an island and let the world self-destruct, but overall I wouldn't want any other career.

Definitely schedule a ride-along at some departments you may want to work. Unless you have family/friends/etc. in this line of work to temper your expectations I would say there's probably a good chance it's a lot different than what you expect it to be. It's not all chases and excitement. In fact, it's mostly NOT chases and excitement. Those things happen, but you'll spend a lot more time taking reports, mediating arguments, and lots of other run-of-the-mill things.

 

[Snipercop]

20 years ago, it was rewarding. Not so much these days.

 

[TheDude]

Do some reserve time for a while??

 

[Gabriel]

20 years ago, it was rewarding. Not so much these days.

This.

 

[MadMan66]

I applied to IMPD over a year ago, and was notified this past April that I was not chosen to be in their next recruitment class (the one currently at the academy). The whole process was just under a year, and I am not eligible to reapply until 2018. I was told there were over 1,000 applicants for 70 positions at the start of the application process. I would say, for IMPD at least, the process is very competitive. I have participated in 2 ride-alongs and absolutely loved it. I plan on doing a few more ride-alongs, and reapply when I'm eligible. Not sure if IMPD is what you're thinking, but be prepared for it to take a while to get in to a recruit class. I just finished my 2nd degree (not LEO related), and will be working under my degree's field until I can get my foot in the LEO door.

 

[phylodog]

I'm definitely not a good person to answer as I'm about as salty as they come. I can tell you that I would not recommend a career in LE to my son who is currently a senior at Purdue (after paying for a Purdue engineering degree I'd be downright pissed off). I know there are a lot of good people in our society who support LE but these days they are not enough. The pendulum will hopefully begin to swing the other way sometime but the cards are stacked too high against us at this point to make it worth the risk. We have officers getting indicted for doing their best and coming up short. Not for having bad intentions or deliberately breaking the law but for trying to do their jobs and things not going the way they wanted.

 

[Clay]

I would stick with the PharmD thing, but then again, I have family who do that for a living, and I'm a greedy bastard.

 

[HoughMade]

I would stick with the PharmD thing, but then again, I have family who do that for a living, and I'm a greedy bastard.

Well, the second year in is when you start to realize whether you "pack the gear" for that profession, so that may be part of it. My general advice is that if you don't know what to do, finish the semester and get a job until you figure it out. LE or not, a college degree is not for everyone and if it turns out being for you, you can start again. Personally, I squeezed 4 years of college into 5 1/2. It worked out.

I would rather be working...at almost anything, while trying to determine what I wanted to do long term than paying for college not knowing whether it will be of use.

 

[rhino]

I'm obviously not a cop, but . . .

If you're still pre-pharmacy, unless you've been working as a pharm tech, you don't really know what it's like to work as a pharmacist. Also, right now you're just preparing to apply for pharmacy school and if you get accepted, it's not going to be like what you're doing now. Ask yourself why you considered pharmacy in the first place and re-evaluate. I would finish the program (assuming you get accepted in the program). You can always become a cop after you finish school, but you can't become a pharmacist if you do not.

I didn't finish my PhD and I frequently regret it and the limits it put on my potential career.

I'm considering shifting my career path towards law enforcement, but I'd like to ask some questions if anyone would like to take the time to answer.

Educational requirements. I know that you can be an officer with just a high school diploma, but is law enforcement like many career fields now where a college degree is increasingly necessary to gain employment? What degrees are suggested?

Is law enforcement currently in demand? Is there a lot of competition for job openings?

Indiana LEO pay seems to top off ~$60,000 with the median ~$50,000. Whatever your pay is, are you happy with it? Is it a "living wage"?

Are pensions still common in law enforcement? How are the insurance benefits?

Do you enjoy your work? Do you feel satisfaction from it?

All in all, would you recommend this career field?

Right now I'm in my second year of pre-pharmacy at Purdue, and I just don't think it's for me. It's hard stepping away from a potential six figure salary, but there are things in this world worth more than money.

 

[FWJK]

Stay in school. You will have more options with a degree - whatever it is you decide to do.

 

[KG1]

I'm obviously not a cop, but . . .

I'm glad you cleared that up. I always thought you we're a cop. I'm obviously not a cop either.

 

[rhino]

I'm glad you cleared that up. I always thought you we're a cop. I'm obviously not a cop either.

It's surprising how many times I've been accused of being a cop BEFORE I ever owned a gun.

 

[68NOVA]

I love my chosen career path.

But I will go above and beyond to sabotage my kid if they pursued this line of work.

 

[BogWalker]

Thanks for the insights, both positive and (maybe even more importantly?) negative into the career. I'm definitely finishing this semester at college; it would be silly not to since I'm already paid up on it. I worked as a pharmacy technician for three months over the summer, and while the work wasn't bad I just don't know if it's what I'd want to do everyday for decades. I already felt the rut forming at only three days a week part time. I know LE isn't all COPS all the time, but there is variety in your work. There is very little day to day variance in pharmacy.

When it comes to a degree helping you break into LE, does it matter what? I could tack on another year and have a bachelors in pharmaceutical science.

Question I forgot, what are eye sight requirements like? With corrective lenses I'm 20/20. Without.... not so much.

I hate that pharmacy is so potentially well paying. Makes it hard to ask yourself if you'd really be happy with the job or if you just want the money. Even when mind-numbingly bored every day at work does that extra income make it all better? I don't know.

 

[phylodog]

On a more broad perspective, there are people whose profession defines them and there are those whose profession is simply a means to an end (desired lifestyle). I believe there is more to it than what someone simply wants, I've been envious over the years of people who work jobs that they don't really care about, that they don't take home with them but that allow them to prioritize other things like family, church, charity work or whatever else they enjoy. For many cops, at least for many years, the job defines who they are, or who they become. It did me for a very long time but not anymore, I've moved over to the other side and have never been happier.

A great quote from the movie Bruce Almighty was when Morgan Freeman (playing God) said "People underestimate the benefit of good old manual labor, there's freedom in it. Some of the happiest people in the world go home stinking to high heaven at the end of the day." That job as a Pharmacist may not sound too exciting but long term it may just be a better option. The pay is significantly better, the hours are definitely better and the long term health consequences don't even register compared to LE. Those will become bigger priorities as you grow older, have a family to support as well as a desire to spend as many years with them as you can.

 

[FWJK]

On a more broad perspective, there are people whose profession defines them and there are those whose profession is simply a means to an end (desired lifestyle). I believe there is more to it than what someone simply wants, I've been envious over the years of people who work jobs that they don't really care about, that they don't take home with them but that allow them to prioritize other things like family, church, charity work or whatever else they enjoy. For many cops, at least for many years, the job defines who they are, or who they become. It did me for a very long time but not anymore, I've moved over to the other side and have never been happier.

A great quote from the movie Bruce Almighty was when Morgan Freeman (playing God) said "People underestimate the benefit of good old manual labor, there's freedom in it. Some of the happiest people in the world go home stinking to high heaven at the end of the day." That job as a Pharmacist may not sound too exciting but long term it may just be a better option. The pay is significantly better, the hours are definitely better and the long term health consequences don't even register compared to LE. Those will become bigger priorities as you grow older, have a family to support as well as a desire to spend as many years with them as you can.

Sage advice.