I want to become a LEO

300Busa

300Busa

Chillaxin...
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I come from a family of police officers and I have always wanted to become one. I for some reason decided that I wanted to be different than everyone else in my family and go to college to become an engineer. I ended up dropping out of college prior to completing my second year and landed myself a decent job back home. I have since accepted a couple of promotions and make a decent buck, but I am not happy with the road that I have taken. I have dedicated my life to my job for the past 7 years and everyday I think about where I am at in life and where I will end up. I am now 27 years old and have decided to take the road that I regret never taking and do my best to become a police officer. The thing that I feel is going to stop me is the fact that I don't have a degree or any military background. The department that I am going to apply for does not require either one though. Any idea on how many people that do have a degree and/or military background would apply for a department that doesn't require it? How many people that get accepted to the academy are in my shoes and do I even stand a chance at this? ???
 
Sounds like my stepson. Had a good paying job, but didn't like it. No college or military. Had some high school friends in law enforcement. One day just up and quits his job before he even got accepted to the academy. Was #1 on the waiting list as most others were sponsored in by other agencies. Impressed a Sgt somewhere in an interveiw because they pulled him in at the last minute.

Did well at the academy but was running out of money not working. We helped out and he graduated. Was offered at PT job, but turned it down because of no benefits. They didn't offer anyone a FT job except for those that were sponsored in. Applied and interviewed everywhere. Took two years start to finish to land a FT job. He kept at it and finally prevailed. Was just about to give up when he got a job offer.

It can be done. Determination and sacrifice.
 
Good luck bro. Not a job I would want. It's a dangerous and thankless carreer
 
I had a friend that applied to the Local PD, she had military background but no higher education. She had to take a cival service examand physical fitness test passed em both but failed the background exam. From what she told me people were taken on the criteria rather than educational grounds, think if you meet the minimum requirments you should be on the same ground as the rest. I'd say go ask em see what they have to say. I know the LAPD and NYPD are lookin, the both had jod listings on verious job sites online
 
A good friend just made Nevada Highway Patrol after 20 years of Las Vegas Metro.....I'm waiting for the right time to offer my services as the NHP Interstate pursuit vehicle... :oldcool:

"SpudleyBusa becomes navy-blue metallic with gold lettering and flashy red and blues" :super:
 
good luck...most places around here only give 5pts extra for prior millitary. if you do good on the entry exam,disclose everything and pass the background...you should be fine:beerchug:
 
Oh crap, I forgot about the "background" check....I guess casino-industry for life.... :oldcool:
 
Why don't you try to get some schooling done and knock out an AA in Criminal Justice administration or Psych.. Those should help towards your goal and may provide the enrichment your life needs.
 
It is free to apply brother...go for it you have nothing to lose. Best of luck to you.
 
Make up your mind and do it. Sounds like you are at the same place I was at and I can tell you it can be done. I didn't get into it until right before my 30th birthday. Getting in later in life has some distinct advantages and disadvantages but don't let either stop you. There are also some reasons why now is a great time to get in but I won't get into those here, feel free to PM me.

Best advice I can give you is to take your physical condition seriously, being in IL you will have to pass the same standards for physical agility that I had to. Piece of cake if you take them serious, many fail them because they sound so easy that many just think they can do it without putting forth any training. Written testing will vary depending upon which department you test for. I tested for a county job and a municipal job, both were difference between night and day when it came to written tests.

If you are serious about it the hardest part is getting the foot in the door. If your family members before you were well respected officers any agency that was familiar with them will most likely take that into account as well. I had no military experience and no college and still out scored many who did. They will get some additional points for both but they aren't so many that a good person can't overcome them.

If you want to advance beyond a local department you are at a good point to do so. If you can get hired they will send you to the academy. Once you complete the academy many colleges will give you credits for that training towards a degree. I attended the University of IL Police Training Institute (PTI) Of course those are considered college credits and they transferred to my local community college. I then finished my degree from there. Illinois State Police will accept you if you have a two year degree and 3 years of continuous experience as will several other agencies. With your age you could be sitting well in five years if you so decided to take that route, especially considering ISP is sitting pretty top heavy right now. They will have a huge number retiring in the next couple years which will create many openings that will have to be filled. I could have gone that route, had many try to talk me into it, just didn't feel like it was what I wanted to do as there are great differences in the jobs you do and how you do them.

As I said, if you have any questions PM me, I'm here in IL so I know the IL requirements. If I don't have the answer I'm sure I can get it.
 
Do you mind if I pm you with some questions CTA_Busa_LE? Got some LE questions that pertain to illinois.
 
I worked for UPS for 4 years. My neighbor worked for the local Sheriff's Office and i went on a ride along. After the first ride, i was hooked. I left UPS and went into the academy full time for 6 months. It was hard, i had no income coming in and we had to live off my wifes, which was no possible, so we got into some debt. In the end, i got hired at a local p.d. and i love my job.

Im not sure what kind of work you do now, but most agencies dont pay a whole lot, people who do this job dont do it for the money.

Out of my academy class, we started with 26. 18 of us graduated, and 16 of them were hired at agencies. The 2 that werent hired, had an extensive drug history, no arrests, but they were truthful on polygraphs, so they were not hired.

I didnt see where you live, but if you have any questions let me know and ill be more than happy to help with what i can.
 
Don't do it. There, now at least it's been said. I can understand the family thing, but it's a very dangerous and thankless job. Once you get into it you'll be sick like the rest of us and stick with it.

Good luck.
 
attitude and personality will help determine your status probably as much if not more than the college degree and/or military status. also past jobs with good recommendations will help greatly. don't stress about lack of experience because to be honest, some agencies like a "rookie" because they haven't developed any bad habits or biases yet. they are new and can be molded to help best fit their particular agency. i'm not in illinois but let me know if i can help. be sure it's what you want because the pay is not great, but the experience and friends you meet along they way will make up for the lack of $$.
 
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