So I'm strongly considering becoming an officer or taking a job with the army. I understand if and why you disdain both or either. Negative comments are unnecessary, but to be expected.
I am choosing a new career path as i desire a different occupation so i can separate from memories of my ex whom i lived with over five years.
I have a S.T.E.M. degree. Money has never been that important as i am set longterm regardless of my career, I'd rather not get into explaining that. the army is offering about 60k/year plus up to 40k signing bonus. (bonus probably will be half that since im delaying). The army job is minimum of two years and would possibly land me in Afghanistan. The police jobs I'm looking at start at around 56k. My current career is about helping protect public health and would be more lucrative longterm if i just stuck with it while extending my education. However i'm fairly assertive and think I would be an excellent officer. Not to mention i have the most keen sense of smell of anyone I've met. Also either path wouldn't necessarily exclude me from returning to my current path.
So which would you choose in my position? Also which will appreciate my obsession with physical fitness more? (I'm becoming pretty jacked)
I need good advice from those with experience, not confident I'm going to get it here.
if you want the law to support you in being an absolute dick to everyone you meet then go cop if you want the support you being a dick to your subordinates and your superiors being a dick to you, then go army
Matthew Thomas
>S.T.E.M. degree you can go OCS and become a 2nd lieutenant in the army direct pay is not as good as cops but you also get allowances for housing, food, and uniforms which will bring the two about equal
Leo Jenkins
what? no
as someone who did this it was a bad idea
Look into being a Federal agent. Plenty of agencies have a law enforcement branch.
badge and a gun, and you don't have to deal with the dindunuffins' or towelheads, or the idiots in the military who got promoted just because they could run fast
Lincoln Harris
It requires a science degree, talked to a recruiter. Ugh this is the narrow perspective i expected. I don't have to be a dick as a cop. I would actually like to improve community relations. I do expect that the army atmosphere would be more abrasive to my assertive personality type though.
Ryder Peterson
pic related
if you absolutely must join the military join the air force
Parker Smith
>I don't have to be a dick as a cop no but between pressure from your superior officers and fellow cops and having a job that is basically just interacting with the worst of humanity all day every day you will become a massive dick to everyone you meet, wether you plan to or not
Andrew Brown
I appreciate the advice, but i think the position i am looking at would better suit my long-term career goals based on the job title. Can you be more specific about your experience? I'm not looking to be a cop in a bad area, there are many jobs available in nice suburbs. I'm not sure about becoming a fed, sounds like it would take me too far in a different direction. I'll look into it though.
Carson Jenkins
Police can make a bit of money in cyber. Army Intel has a lot of fun possibilities. Classified isn't always new I do. Go for the gold. Police is usually crap pay. DoD opens a lot of doors.
Kevin Wilson
Police or any LEO 100% seriously fuck army you'll be bored as fuck and be a jaded alcoholic within 2 years. Also there's no good wars and shit going on to go to.
Jason Bennett
This. Not to mention the training.
Daniel Gomez
B-b-but ill be different!... I get where you're coming from on that. I'm aware it sounds ideological.
Charles Evans
Cops are a good starting point. Not a career. Military then scum sucking contractor is a far better career.
Nathan Jackson
even in nice area you deal with two types of people >criminals >criminals that instead of dealing with shit on their own decide to call the cops on their fellow criminals no decent human being calls the cops they either deal with shit on their own or call a laywer
Anthony Garcia
Law Enforcement here.
How old are you? If you're young enough, you could do both. Police departments love ex military guys. Having a Bachelors is even better on top of that.
You might want to try getting into private security in a community setting (basically, private police) which isn't easy, but if you can find a place it's good to basically experience the police job without signing onto a department and having them dump tons of $$$ into you for academy training, etc.
Lots of guys can't handle the job, doesn't make you any less manly or anything. Honestly no matter what you're going to have days you think it's just not worth it. But there are also plenty of days you literally save peoples lives and that is a good feeling.
Anthony Ward
LEO is shit. Badge and a gun is fun, yes. But you are worthless outside that.
Justin Adams
Do both be a MP
Matthew Wood
Money isn't the objective. I know that sounds crazy. Ya i know, but I'm not going to likely be in combat. I would be supporting my fellow man in a non violent capacity. I can handle the training of either.
Ian Howard
Stem, then Army OCS. Lot of b.s. for not enough pay- I'm more of a glorified manager than a scientist. Air Force/Navy have more opportunities for actually using your brain than Army.
With the Feds remember that if it's illegal and crosses state lines there's usually an agent that handles it. The FDA has armed agents that bust companies who make tainted pills and a neighbor's daughter works at the Treasury tracking down terrorist money.
Luke Cruz
Got around 3 and a half years of army here. Depending on what MOS you pick, you can open up a lot of doors as others have said. If you go into a job that requires a security clearance and get approved for one, you can use that clearance in the civilian workforce afterward. If you're degree is at least a bachelor's, you can either join as a Specialist (E4), or go straight to OCS. Try to get any medical stuff you want done approved while you're in also. I just got PRK eye surgery last month for free.
Bentley Garcia
I though you had to be in law enforcement for a few years before you could go federal?
Jeremiah Martin
So you're saying army? Or both? I'm a decent human being and I've had to call the cops multiple times. Once i got a junky who was shooting up horse while driving and swerving into oncoming lanes. I'm young enough to do both, but would rather stick with one as my plan for now. If i change my mind down a path ill create another thread asking you. ;) Don't private security usually have police or military experience?
William Murphy
Ok non combat job I think you should try be a loadmaster for a chinook if army or fixed wing aircraft and go air force. Probably one of the best jobs in the military and you actually go and do shit and it looks fun as fuck, plus you get to man the rear gun if needed. I think they get operational service a bit, dropping supplies and stuff to shitty countries.
Christopher Turner
I agree. You have to deal with the lowest common denominator as LEO. I work with a lot of LEO on the FED side. A lot of effort and ego... I can appreciate that. I qualify on the range too. The future (comfort and pay) is not on the street (humint). It's cybint and osint
Carson Hill
That's what I'm afraid would happen. I would feel underutilized if I felt like a manager.
James Russell
Money isn't the objective.... what is? Making a difference? Domestic distutes don't make a difference. Stopping a Russian spook does.
Charles Miller
Officers are just managers and work in offices all day.
Camden Butler
>I'm a decent human being and I've had to call the cops multiple times. did you interact with the cops? if not then you can't count your experience as proof that cops deal with decent people and believe me, it becomes very obvious who are calling the cops bc they want to be "friends" with the cops or want to be a cop themself but are to chicken or broken to do it and it quickly gets annoying as fuck
Ryan Evans
Kinda depends. A lot of them do, but you can get into it without it if you get certified. It's easier to get into it if you have prior experience, sure.
Just sayin', if it's an option, might be worth looking into. There are communities (not many, but they do exist) that have basically private police forces in everything but the title. They operate in a smaller area (think 3-5 neighborhoods) but literally do all the police work that cops would normally do for the area.
It's kinda like training wheels for becoming a cop if you can find a job like that. If you find yourself enjoying it / being able to handle the stress then you can just imagine multiplying that by like 10 and that's what being a cop is like.
Nolan Perry
I know I'm going to get hate for thjs, but i don't like heights. I can handle roller coasters and being on the empire state building, but have experienced no joy from either. Ya that is a legitimate concern. Most calls are about domestic abuse, so I'll likely be talking to shitheads about how their wives are clumsy.
Jose Wood
Unless you go Fed or work with joint task forces, any DoD... Most non Fed LEO may be good at interviewing, but suck at real-world application of life skills.
Brody Cooper
Stop following the government like a sheep. You support killings of innocent civilians. Aside of that. You will get ptsd 100% why not take a safe job faggot. If u want to live dangerously, become an underwater welder. In Europe they get 9k per month bcs of all the risks they get. Just a thought. Fuck the usa. Al qaeda ftw
Anthony Anderson
ITT >Idiots who want to be "Uncle Sam's" little pawns
Keep fighting the good fight, If that's what you're believing...
Lucas Carter
I guess i am not aware enough of the spook issue.. All of them? Im pretty muscular and fit so i hope they would find me something more suitable I was referring to your statement that "decent people never call the cops". Certified as a private security? I wasn't aware there is such a thing.
Eli Bailey
non combat job without heights I'd go MP then cops after 4 years, or a medical job.
Robert Rodriguez
I respect the hell out of LEO... I am glad I didn't choose to go to the academy and get a post... I hate people. Work is shit. Family life sucks. Pay sucks. Training for non confrontation sucks. When you leave or retire, you get fucked... at least in any military service, you can branch out. Hell, even be a Chaplin of you want. You dont usually have to deal with US citizen crap all day.
Neither independent ops so after corrupt cops and feds
Grayson Morgan
But in Cali, you have to deal with being a fagot... They don't like being anything.
In Dade County, cyber gets over 145k a year
Liam Russell
Different states do it differently, but usually you have to get some kind of basic training (20 hours) and then another 20 hours for Firearms training, total of 40 hrs
Then you get a permanent employee card for your state, and you'll be issued a firearms card whenever you get hired at a private security firm. Can't get it without working for someone.
Usually you can get the training at a local community college or seek it out privately. A lot of firearms/private detective instructor type people offer that kind of stuff.
Aiden Wood
Doesn't change come from within? You think things will improve if we just wear black and say "fuck you", grow up.
Joshua Kelly
jobs are for plebs user why work if you don't have to? Army will discretely give you steroids and fuck you up long term.
Being a cop will fuck you up long term and you will be doing steroids with your buddies intentionally.
choices hurt people fincially = cop hurt people physically = army
Hudson Perry
WTF does sense of smell have anything to do with it? Planning on sniffing out crime?
Ethan Watson
...
Cooper Turner
cop unions have been working for decades to make it so that anyone on the inside in a position to change things has been so indoctrinated that they no longer want to change things
Nolan Rodriguez
...
Levi Baker
...
Carson Mitchell
Snap... 40 hours of training! Damn... It should be 2k hours ( 1 year). At least a year... Better knowledge of law, should be common skills, and weapons training.
Julian Collins
Interesting. Ill definitely look into it and speak with someone in the field. I do feel like the potential of being in a courtroom situation would be better if i were a cop than private security though.
Wyatt Barnes
...
Cameron Williams
Look out this guy talked to the recruiter. Fucking guys will tell you anything to get you to sign on,
Anthony Cruz
...
Kayden Kelly
Some agencies ban perfumes due to scent sensitivities
Jonathan Martinez
...
Ian Sanders
Ah! I remember when I was 13...
Kevin Ortiz
For one, it's a good move. I was going to choose between being a barber, or law enforcement. Hair will always grow, crime will always be an issue. BUT cops as well as officers in the military are paid shit. So I took an alternative route. Now there are hard-asses who work for private military organizations, I am not one of them. I went the watered-down version. All I do is work on a military base, as an armed civilian, and search commercial vehicles for explosives, drugs, contraband, etc. I do this for $38 an hour, full time, with PTO and health benefits.
Now is it rough-neck back-breaking work? Yeah. But I get to work outside, the faces change, and I get to carry a gun and shit... and bro, it's so god damn easy to find things in people's trucks. Luckily I've never had to deal with any terrorism stuff, but I've found plenty of weed, meth, coke, etc. Why? Because people are fucking idiots and want to bring it on to a federal base.
So my suggestion? Look into fringe law enforcement fields. Pays more, don't have to deal with as much political mumbo jumbo. And if you are good, you get offered those risky positions overseas. I never took any chance with it, I am a huge gaping walking vagina.
Grayson Lopez
Graveyard of Empires:Afghanistan. Your decades of spending billions of dollars and receiving back your soldiers in bodybags did nothing. Look at the fucking map. Just pull out your penis out of the middle east and go for a peace treaty. No one gets hurt. Is it that difficult??
Mason Edwards
"discreetly give you steroids" Do you actually know this or are you just talking shit? I actually have always suspected that steroids are popular among army guys. Lol. I could smell people smoking speed from a block away. Ya that's the cynical attitude i used to have. I hope that i can overcome such odds, but i realize it sounds idealistic.
Colton Gray
Look into courtroom security. Our local court security is through the sheriffs department - you work for the sheriff's dpt, but you're not a sworn officer and don't go through the normal academy.
Kind of a middle ground, again.
Angel Reed
Go into the military if you enjoy that kind of bullshit.
Both of these careers are shit jobs. The difference is that if you go into the military you will get decent training and end up with a future afterwards.
If you succeed in the military then you have the option of progressing, making really excellent money in the private sector, or going into politics etc if you're into that sort of thing. If you don't find yourself to be very successful then you could still go into police work after.
Most police forces are full of ex-military guys anyway. Mediocre, ex-military of above average intelligence should be running most local police forces.
Robert Carter
security guards rarely do anything that could bring them to court and when they do it rarely results in them actually going to court every time a cop makes an arrest they have the potential of being required to go to court and for every hour spent making an arrest or issuing a ticket expect to spend 2 hours in court
Asher Walker
How can you tell an I trovert from an extrovert at the NSA...
An extrovert looks at other people's shoes.
Julian Stewart
US army,navy a/f, warts and all the people giving them orders gave not always done the right things,are what prevented totalitarians from ruling the whole planet,totalitarians with nukes,,the presence of the US prevented stinkhole statists from overrunning the globe ever since truman decided we have to end the war,if we make a hundred thousand crispy fry to save another 2,000,000 of their own slanteyed citizens in invasion with our guys,we have to do it.
military service is something worthwhile,pursue it,do as well as you can,it may not pay what private employers can offer,that service ought to be reward enough for most
Cameron Roberts
I agree with you wholeheartedly that there needs to be a LOT more training.
They only make you do 8 hours a year remedial shit I believe.
Depending on what job you work, you might learn what you need to know on the job. But that's the problem with it..... some security jobs literally do police work - and they need a LOT more training. Some security jobs just stand around and literally do nothing except look pretty all day.
Security is a weird field that needs more regulation.
Easton Barnes
Lol ya i definitely got that sense, but parts of it were in writing. Thank you for the advice, ill look into that.
Alexander Sullivan
>Ya that's the cynical attitude i used to have. I have it from talking with 5 of my friends who are cops and 6 of my relatives the politics of cop unions destroys any possibility of breaking down the blue line although none of them have specifically talked about a blue line it is very obvious from what they say about the union's political platform and how they feel about civilians they meet on the job there is very much an "us versus them" attitude in law enforcement
Liam Phillips
While I am unable to give you the name of my current employer. There are many names of these types of organizations. Paragon is one of them. I'd look into Paragon.
Zachary Parker
Testifying In court is easy. Just time consuming... that is why I charge double... The judge is out of date, the attorney is stupid, and the jury is the lowest common denominator...
Hudson Watson
Either way you are gonna kill innocent people, while perpetuating a system of violence and suppression of the freedom of mankind.
Liam Thompson
I'm thinking of doing military as well but since I'm getting old and am out of shape I figure I start with security. Getting experience as unarmed then moving to armed. In the meantime I'm going to be working out and maybe hit up the national guard since it wouldn't be a full time job with them.
Camden Harris
Interesting, never would have suspected that. Always thought they were cops. I don't really do well with people yelling at me. I'm fairly assertive so I'm concerned i would be confrontational. No desire for politics. They never show up for speeding tickets though, that's how I've got tickets dismissed before.
Samuel Murphy
Physical security is more of a deterant and not a corrective access control. Unless you see a crime, you can not detain. Illegal detainment and a violation of rights. So, yes... pretty decorations. I would hate that job.
Evan Sanders
:( I will research it, thank you. No..
Elijah Rodriguez
Under 37, do military or Fed. Start the retirement
Cooper Hill
As far as I am concerned, if you join the Military or the police force, you are the peoples enemy. You will not work for the good of mankind. Increased police and military presence always leads to increases in crime, drug, and homicide rates. The more the system tries to control the people, the worse the people become. You do have a chance to make a positive difference instead by becoming an instructor, a motivator, an engineer or a entrepreneur.
Jeremiah Hill
Fagot to the nth degree... I've caused the death of dozens of dumbasses in my job. It's called evolution. Don't raise a glock against a dozen fully armed spec ops. Don't have a stash of RPGs near a logistics route. Do I sleep well, yeah... except when I remember footage of some idiot planting an IED getting lit up by a gunship, then I get hard.
Nicholas Green
It's ok to be retarded. We accept you as you are.
Jaxson Clark
There is a high likelihood USA was directly responsible to the escalation of violence in whatever region you are referring to. Am I wrong, jackboot?
Jaxon Hall
actual police here. this is beyond accurate.
everyone goes into the job thinking they will be the gung ho action hero. police are the bottom rung of societal control. we deal with 95% of the shit that goes wrong in any given community. you will become a dick, regardless of your intention. this job doesn't burn you out, but it does give you thick skin.
that said, pay is good in affluent communities and you won't have trouble making six digits if you work overtime. one of the last pensioned careers out there too.
Samuel Nelson
Military takes an oath to protect the constitution and America from enemies both foreign and domestic. If a 3 star general told you to kill law abiding civilians, it is your duty to say fuck you and not do that. The 3 star is an enemy. Constitution trumps fagot management.
If you are the turd that violates that oath, there are plenty of servicemen that will slit your thoat. Then you have to look at the rest of the "enemy combatants "
Joseph Roberts
Yes, you are wrong fagot
Caleb Perez
>army is offering 60k to start
yeah this is utter bullshit. i have three friends that just became JAG officers. they start at the same 2LT rate as everyone else.
they don't even start their doctors at 60k. it doesn't work that way. you're a fucking idiot if you believe that shit.
Adrian Turner
Idealistic nonsense.
Ryder Miller
army are known for huge fag orgies
Adrian Fisher
You deal with the lowest common denominator... Good friend was racist for the statistical anomaly that commuted violent offences in his jurisdiction. He took a job in the middle East for a few years... his respect changed. He knows where the ppl in the states stands. He understands. Lazy lying fucks over there he can't deal with.
Leo Bennett
Why not just suck dick like the faggot you obviously are?
Jackson Lee
Op here As far as im concerned your thoughts are angsty and not based in reality. Ive already done some of the good you describe. The way i feel now i need a change of pace and scenery. Maybe eventually ill start an npo or go back to my current path. What if im close with lawyers and other powerful people? Why can't i be different? Im very resourceful and I'd like to believe i can improve the system.
Ian Russell
Intellectually accurate oath. I know many lifers and retired that will take up arms.
Aiden Gomez
Now you are just being stupid...
John Rodriguez
you can't improve the system because you will be alienated by other police. if you're willing to report on an officer in your department nobody will trust you. therefore, nobody will have your back.
change only happens at an adminstrative level. unless you get an MS in criminal justice and police administration you will never get that job.
Jacob Gray
>wanting to be a cop to change things for the better and make the world a better place Same. I'm going into academy in 2 months, let's tear shit up my guy
Connor Howard
It is easy to dismiss as angsty, and opinions like mine mean very little - unless I am in a position of power. Then my opinion holds weight. There are a lot of us now, and we are working very hard to clean up the mess that has been left to our generation. But military, and law enforcement in most developed countries have become a barrier that needs to be overcome if we are to move ahead further as a species. We do not need you anymore.
Samuel Cox
we all know that cops are friends of powerful people
Parker Peterson
You can't make a difference. Honestly. I thought the same when I first went into the DoD. Unless you are top of the totem pole, union leader, or a 3rd party consultant, you are just an employee... Sorry, but real world...
Ryder Brooks
You'll be taking bribes and shooting niggers on sight within the year.