To Protect and Serve. Police Officers fulfill this motto through a variety of roles, duties, and actions. Opportunities exist to join this force and make a difference. Read on to discover the intricacies of this shield of blue.
Protect the public - Someone has to get those bad boys. This is an opportunity to make a difference by serving the public and helping see justice served.
Promotion Opportunities – In as little as 6 months, police officers can become eligible for promotion. Written exam scores and on-the-job performance determine eligibility. Continuing training, readily available through training centers and academies, can also increase chances for promotion. An officer can work up the ladder to corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, and captain, as well as become a detective or specialize in a specific area of police work that holds an interest.
Cheap Education – The pursuit of a degree in criminal justice, police science, administration of justice, or public administration may be financially covered. Officers willing to work toward these degrees are often rewarded by partial or full tuition coverage by agencies. In addition, a college degree is not usually required to enter the force, proving to be a cheaper option than many careers.
Benefits & Retirement – Common benefits include paid vacation, sick leave, medical and life insurance, and uniform allowance. Many officers are eligible for retirement with 30 or fewer years of service. It is common to retire after 20 years of service at half-pay. Keep in mind, though, that these may be 20 years of long hours and difficult tasks. Retirement will definitely be well-earned.
Why not?
The Risk - Interactions with criminals creates danger in the life of any police officer. This is going to involve more risk than pursuing an accounting job.
The Drain – Violent crimes, long hours, physical demands. It will take all kinds of endurance to fulfill the duties required in this career.
So who should be brass? This career is not for everyone. A police officer must have certain qualities to meet the challenges of the beat.
Law enforcement jobs can be extremely stressful and require a certain type of personality. If you want to work in law enforcement, you’ll have to have
As a patrol officer or in any entry-level law enforcement position, you’ll be dealing with the public on a daily basis, and you’ll usually be dealing with people who are not at their best. Law enforcement can give you a detailed look at the seedy underbelly of people’s lives, and it takes a lot of psychological stamina to stop that view from making you cynical about life and the people around you.
Even though many people go into law enforcement to contribute to the common good, and to do something that benefits society, rarely do those accomplishments come to the public light. In fact, one officer put it this way:
“Knowing you do the best job you can is the only reward you should expect. If that’s ok, go apply. If you want parades, it might not be for you.”
Law enforcement can be a job with little recognition and few rewards for protecting your fellow citizens. That’s one of the reasons that potential law enforcement officers should get rid of any notions of fame or recognition for their work.
Police work is not only physically hard at times, but also psychologically hard as well. You’ll be dealing with traumatic moments in people’s lives, and often people won’t like you or insult you based on their past experiences with law enforcement officers. This psychological beating can take its toll and will often affect the personal lives of officers.
As such, police have a high rate of divorce and are more likely to abuse alcohol than average citizens. So it’s important that, if you want to become a police officer, you understand the personal risks and develop positive coping mechanisms that will help you deal with stress in productive ways.
Becoming a law enforcement officer has its ups and downs. There is a lot of stress and psychological toll that can wear on officer’s personal lives, but there are also benefits to being a law enforcement officer.
Many people may like working a 9-5 job, sitting in a cubicle, but that is not the life of a law enforcement officer. Each day you may be faced with a different task or duty, and you’ll deal with a wide variety of personalities and people almost everyday. Although you will be faced with a lot of paperwork, a lot of your job will require you to be outside the station or agency headquarters patrolling, investigating, and more.
Law enforcement work is also very active. It requires you to interact with the public every day and accomplish tasks that keep people safe, tasks that—at the end of the day—you can be proud of. Law enforcement work can also be a lot of fun as you build deep personal relationships with the other officers in your agency and work together to serve the public and keep it safe.
Law enforcement can be difficult, stressful, filled with paperwork, and not at all glamorous at times. But, overall, law enforcement work can provide a deep sense of duty to a larger cause and the knowledge that what you are doing saves lives and keeps us all safe.
If you are interested in earning a degree in Law Enforcement, click here to request more information.
Overall, law enforcement job growth is projected to grow as fast as average, by about 10%, through 2018. Much of the turnover in law enforcement will be due to retirement of older officers or officers leaving public service for private security jobs.
Applicants with college degrees, bilingual skills, and military training are most likely to get jobs in law enforcement, especially at the federal level.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, law enforcement pay can range anywhere from $30,000/year to over $100,000/year depending on training, position, and years worked. Here are some average salary ranges for law enforcement jobs.
Within a police department, here are average salary ranges for different ranks:
Keep in mind that many officers will actually make more than their stated salaries because of overtime or bonus pay.
Although many law enforcement agencies do not require any formal schooling past high school, state and large local agencies may require some college coursework or a degree, along with specialized training in order to become an officer or to be eligible for promotion. If you wanted to get a degree many officers earn bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice, law enforcement, or public administration before applying to the police academy.
Note: Most agencies simply want future officers who are educated and know how to work hard, focus, organize, and follow directions. And a college education in just about any disciple can provide that background.
Advanced degrees, like a master’s in psychology, criminal justice, public administration, and more, can help prepare a future officer for advancement into supervisory positions or consideration for high-level agency-head jobs, like police chief.
In order to be eligible to become a law enforcement officer, most agencies will require an initial application, a background check, a psychological profile, a physical requirements test, and then—if all other tests are passed—graduation from a police academy or similar law enforcement training course provided by the agency or civil service.
Put your future in order. With your Bachelor of Arts in Law Enforcement Administration earned online from Ashford University, you will build leadership skills and evaluate guidelines for policing today's communities.
Law enforcement agencies have become increasingly sophisticated and need educated staff with communication, critical thinking, and technology skills to accomplish their mission. Learn to analyze criminal behavior. Develop the character traits you need to be a responsible and ethical leader. This degree program empowers you to manage and direct police and other law enforcement teams. Your online courses include a wide variety of topics, from race and individual rights to crime and social policy. Now you can both serve and protect – earn your Bachelor of Arts in Law Enforcement Administration.
Engage your education. With your Bachelor of Arts in Military Studies earned online from Ashford University, you will embody the character traits you need to be a leader.
If you work for the US Armed Forces, then this online degree program, which you can complete from anywhere in the world, is for you. Study politics, the role of the military in international relations, the military in peace time, and the cultural and philosophical aspects of a well-rounded university education. Many service members seek convenient online degree programs in order to potentially earn promotion. Choose this program for a degree that matches your career goals.
If you are ready to get started in the field of Law Enforcement, an Associate's Degree in Criminal Justice will get you ready to serve your country and community. In this specialization, you will study investigation techniques and how to efficiently work with other officers and coworkers.
Examine the roles, responsibilities, issues, and trends related to contemporary law enforcement organizations. Explore evidence and proof. Study trial proceedings, constitutional concepts, and criminal case law. As a graduate, you may qualify to pursue advanced positions within police departments and other law enforcement agencies.* *Kaplan University's programs are designed to prepare graduates to pursue employment in their field of study, or in related fields. However, the University does not guarantee that graduates will be placed in any particular job, eligible for job advancement opportunities, or employed at all. Additional police academy training may be required for law enforcement jobs.
The Master of Science in Criminal Justice Degree with an emphasis in Law Enforcement is designed for students seeking to expand their understanding of the law, social order and justice. This program is particularly suited for law enforcement personnel who wish to advance in their field, as well as corrections, probation, and parole officers; law clerks; and other decision makers who address questions of public policy, social research and administration of justice in the public sphere.Prospective students must hold a bachelor's degree prior to enrollment.
The AIU Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice (BSCJ) degree program combines the required General Education courses that can provide liberal arts foundation with specialized coursework designed to give students a professional education in the criminal justice field, with particular emphases in policing, courts, criminology, corrections, juvenile justice, homeland security and the field of forensic science. By studying key topics in Law Enforcement to complete the upper division’s core specialization requirements, AIU gives you the opportunity to focus your interests on the acquisition of industry-specific knowledge and skills common to industry-current criminal justice professionals.
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