LEO Career Advice

[nextgenjewelz]

I need advice badly.. I cannot seem to figure this one out for my self and everyone I ask always seems to give the same answer( "Whatever you think is right"). I always seem to get good info from here so here it is.... Ill try and make it short.

I am looking to start the police academy in June of this year. I am sponsoring myself so i can apply to one of the small departments that dont pay for your academy. Right now i am working part time at a college and might become full time soon which means i can go to school for free but only for a maxium of 9 credits a semester. Not alot of people can say they can get free college education.

Should I put the police academy on hold to try and get my associates through my job.

Being a LEO is my dream and i prefer not to postpone it, but college tuition is getting more pricey and I do not have to worry about student loans.


Just as a another note if i completed the academy i get 36 college credits towards a degree.

I appreciate any feedback.. thanks

[Exbiker]

I need advice badly.. I cannot seem to figure this one out for my self and everyone I ask always seems to give the same answer( "Whatever you think is right"). I always seem to get good info from here so here it is.... Ill try and make it short.

I am looking to start the police academy in June of this year. I am sponsoring myself so i can apply to one of the small departments that dont pay for your academy. Right now i am working part time at a college and might become full time soon which means i can go to school for free but only for a maxium of 9 credits a semester. Not alot of people can say they can get free college education.

Should I put the police academy on hold to try and get my associates through my job.

Being a LEO is my dream and i prefer not to postpone it, but college tuition is getting more pricey and I do not have to worry about student loans.


Just as a another note if i completed the academy i get 36 college credits towards a degree.

I appreciate any feedback.. thanks

IMHO get the degree first. My nephew got the degree then did the academy and it still took a while to get the full time job at the department he wanted. The degree gave him an edge on those without it though.

[Kpdpipes]

Take it from experience, it is INCREDIBLY Difficult to work full-time as a cop and try to go to school full time to get a degree. Unless you're still living at home with your parents you'll be forced to go part time, around your Schedule, which invariably will be the Opposite of what you need to go to school, and, especially if you pursie a CJ degree, the Utter Idiocy of your professors in comparison to the real world will drive you insane.

[chrisjames_71]

How is 9 credits a semester full time?? When I was in school full time was 12 or more creds.. I work with plenty of guys who are finishing up their degree while working as a cop. They do it online and take 2 or 3 classes a semester. By going through the academy, you'll receive 36 credits in 6 months. You won't get them that quick by just taking 9 a semester. Also you'll be working part-time, less than 30 hours a week, still time for school. Oh and thats if you get hired. Were you accepted into the academy yet and which one you looking at??

Either way good luck.

[LM4300]

IMHO get the degree first. My nephew got the degree then did the academy and it still took a while to get the full time job at the department he wanted. The degree gave him an edge on those without it though.

Agreed. I don't know how old you are, but go for the College degree. Many departments around here (SE PA) are looking for applicants with at least an Associates Degree. There are plenty of small PD's that don't but a degree certainly doesn't hurt. Some PD's require a degree of some sort to be promoted to the higher ranks, so that's something to consider also. You wouldn't want to be denied an opportunity to be promoted just because you didn't have a degree. (This may not sound fair, but it's a fact in some PD's)

Plus, if being a cop doesn't work out for you, at least you have something else to put on your resume besides HS diploma and Police Academy.

Good Luck

[Paradigm]

How is 9 credits a semester full time??

I think he's saying that he's going from part time to full time at his job. Once he's full time, he's eligible to get tuition reimbursement from work, but his employer only allows up to nine credits at a time.



Get your degree. You'll have that leg up and it won't be hard for you to continue toward a bachelor's degree when that time arrives. If you just have a chunk of credits, they eventually "die off" making them worthless. The degree is forever.

Once you become a cop, you'll likely get the midnight shift, which may work well for you. Take that job and apply at a local college as a part-time student. When you get off your shift, you can go to an 8:00 class or two to gradually earn your bachelor's degree.


In short:
- Get the associate's degree
- Go get that full-time cop job
- Take one or two classes a semester (if possible) at the nearest school to eventually get your bachelor's

[Bmarshall91]

The academy at Beaver County Community College gives you an associates degree in criminal justice after you complete the course. I know this cause that's where I'm going right now.

Plus once you graduate, and recieve your act 120A you can do ANY NUMBER of jobs... not just police man. If being a cop doesn't work out for you, you could always go into something like parole officer. good luck in whatever you decide though!

[Robert Kayland]

Degree... Degree... Degree... not even a debate.

[dman]

IMHO get the degree first. My nephew got the degree then did the academy and it still took a while to get the full time job at the department he wanted. The degree gave him an edge on those without it though.

Ditto !! Don't know how old you are but,get as much as you can while you can. Life is blind corners,you just can't see around every bend. Anything that you can do to increase your options toward the future is to your advantage.
Get your degree,then move on !! Quote,"The degree gave him an edge" !!

[Dredly]

Degree... Degree... Degree... not even a debate.

yup I agree completely! A bachelors opens a LOT of doors that an associates doesn't. Most gov't police agencies require a bachelors and a huge number of companies have gotten to the point where they want a bachelors to even interview you.

If there is one thing that isn't going to vanish... its police jobs.