Originally Posted by rickair7777

True. I have many cop buddies; their payscale is not widely known by the public, which is the way they want it since many taxpayers would be upset. The base salary is often modest, but overtime is the real key...

Cops also don't pay dues economically, ie they start at $40K or so and in many jurisdictions can earn well over $100K with overtime. $200K is not unheard of, especially for prison guards on OT. They can usually retire in 20 years with a significant defined penefit package.

This assumes a cop who can get a job at a better agency and can get promoted along the way, but this shouldn't be a problem for anyone who is able to get an airline job.

I could have easily done Federal LE after my military service, and probably would have if I had known what was going to happen after

9/11. But back then I had a very reasonable expectation of $250K+ as a pilot...