Quote:
Originally Posted by 79T/A
Also, don't limit yourself to civil service departments. There's a lot of competition to get on The Job these days, so the best course of action is to prepare yourself ahead of time.
Since you're in college now, save up a few grand and then apply to a few police academies to enroll in the Alternate Route program. I know that Essex County College Police Academy, Somerset County Police Academy and Morris County Police Academy all have an Alternate Route program. What that entails is enrolling yourself in a police academy at your own cost. The academy will still require you to take an entrance exam, medical exam, physical agility exam, psycological evaluation and interview to get in, but most recruits who go through this program get hired by a police department before they graduate the academy.
The reason I recommend this approach is that a lot of the towns that aren't on the civil service list are hiring police officers based on resumes. It saves the department a lot of time and money because they don't have to wait six months for you to graduate on their dime. A little departmental in service training and you're out in the field.
Someone mentioned being a Special I. This definitely helps, but if you can, get into a Special II program somewhere. I don't know where you live, but if you're in south Jersey and you can get hired by a shore town as a summer employee, they have a habit of hiring Special Is for a summer (Full police powers when on duty ONLY, no gun) and then sending them for Special II (Full police powers when on duty ONLY, armed) or even a full-time academy during the off season. They seldom keep their summer hires, but the summer hires go on to get hired by other departments because they are already trained. I know that the Essex County Sheriff's Department has a Special II program (Deputy Sherrifs) also.
Keep in mind that with the war going on, soldiers are coming home and getting hired off the civil service list, so the competition these days is harder than ever. Give yourself all the advantages you can.
Now, more importantly: Are you SURE you want to be a police officer? It's not like you see on TV. Depending on where you end up working, a shift can be a half hour of excitement and seven and a half hours of boredom. A lot of people hate you (Just look at what happens when someone posts up that they got a speeding or tint ticket) and a handful love you. You miss holidays and family commttments and it takes a LOT out of you sometimes. Oh, and you can get hurt and maybe even killed. It's not the job for someone who just wants a good job with benefits. You really do have to want to do it and do it well or you burn out fast.
I've been a police officer for almost eight years and I still love coming to work every day, and not just to go out and lock a bunch of people up and give out tickets. If you have the right mindset, it can be an awesome career. Just do some soul searching and make sure you're positive you want to do it so that you don't burn yourself out or waste precious years of your life.
Good luck!
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Couldn't agree with you more! My father was a person that joined the force for the benefits and pay. He hated every minute of it, and was constantly in a bad mood. Although he never got physically hurt, I think psychologically he did feel some pain...especially in Jersey City.
To the original thread starter:
Having said that, if it's something you really want to pursue, then go for it, but always keep your options open. I tried and failed in going for Jersey City police, my class was sent to Somerset Academy, and I'll tell you that place is extremely tough, those guys mean business and they know what they are doing. I would say they rival Seabright as most difficult, that's an opinion of course I could be wrong. I believe you said you were about to complete college, isn't there any career you can get with a degree that would be better? I myself have gone back to college and I'm about to graduate with a degree in History and teacher certification...a job just slightly more pedestrian than Police Officer...lol