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Leave this to be a Cop?

Old 09-23-2009, 08:27 PM
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Alright, I've been an FO for over three years at one of the "preffered" regionals after doin a year for the devil at Mesa...Here I am 4 years into the airline game 5,000+ hours, no upgrade in sight, im pulling in just a hair over 40k a year, I waste 6+ hours of my life a week commuting (no choice, my wife has the better job), and there seems to be no improvement in sight in this industry...100 seat airplanes expanding and being flown for peanuts, morale in the gutter, national carriers being bought out by regionals, etc....etc...

So I decided to look into different "guvmint" jobs and came across positions for Police cadets in my city...hmmm. Looked into the requirements, salary, benies etc...

Bottom line - Starting salary out of training is in the mid 50s, mid 60s year two, pushing 80s into your 4th year and topping out in the low 100s depending on education level, rank, hours, overtime, etc...To boot you have a pretty nice pension after 23 years of service, solid benefits and work 4 days a week. After two years on the streets you can move on to other areas in the department to include aviation.

I guess my question is for any of you out there who have served for a large police department - Did you/ Do you enjoy it? Is it a fun, rewarding job? Would you leave this gutter of an airline world to pursue law enforcement?
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Old 09-23-2009, 08:35 PM
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See the thread entitled "serious question about career" below about a cop who left to persue aviation....

The biggest question I have is, how old are you? There are a lot of government jobs in and out of aviation that could be open to you depending on your age...

Last edited by Excel; 09-23-2009 at 08:36 PM. Reason: Kant spel
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Old 09-23-2009, 08:43 PM
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I'm 28, and I can't leave the city we live in...
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Old 09-23-2009, 08:47 PM
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My wife is a former 12 year veteran of law Enforcment and she will be the first to tell you that in that job you get comsumed by the things you see, you deal with the dregs of society for years and it will take its toll on how you see the world. I would simply caution you to not fall into the grass is greener syndrome, but rather do your research and then make a decision...Good luck
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Old 09-23-2009, 08:49 PM
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Originally Posted by gsphuntr View Post
I'm 28, and I can't leave the city we live in...
Have you thought about ATC? Makes 70k-100K, they will give you credits for your licenses and work history, and the cut off age is 31... And you will find out if you can stay in your home town before you go to OKC for training...
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Old 09-23-2009, 08:54 PM
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Originally Posted by TPROP4ever View Post
My wife is a former 12 year veteran of law Enforcment and she will be the first to tell you that in that job you get comsumed by the things you see, you deal with the dregs of society for years and it will take its toll on how you see the world. I would simply caution you to not fall into the grass is greener syndrome, but rather do your research and then make a decision...Good luck
Dregs of society? Have you ever been through the terminal in KATL?... Id say he would be pretty well conditioned to it...
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Old 09-23-2009, 09:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Excel View Post
Dregs of society? Have you ever been through the terminal in KATL?... Id say he would be pretty well conditioned to it...
Well lets see, in the Terminal at ATL have you ever responded to see a 3 year old child that has been beaten to death by a drunk father???

Lets keep it in perspective...
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Old 09-23-2009, 09:43 PM
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Originally Posted by TPROP4ever View Post
Well lets see, in the Terminal at ATL have you ever responded to see a 3 year old child that has been beaten to death by a drunk father???

Lets keep it in perspective...
Oh really?? Ok. In the last few years, at KATL, I have personally witnessed a drunk man strike his wife at one of the bars, a purse snatcher, and a guy get caught with a good amount of weed... Sounds like a standard episode of Cops to me...

To the OP, take a look at this article, you can find a number of jobs that will pay more and keep you home more. Notice the "regional pilot's" salary!

What Washingtonians Make - washingtonpost.com
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Old 09-23-2009, 09:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Excel View Post
Oh really?? Ok. In the last few years, at KATL, I have personally witnessed a drunk man strike his wife at one of the bars, a purse snatcher, and a guy get caught with a good amount of weed... Sounds like a standard episode of Cops to me...

To the OP, take a look at this article, you can find a number of jobs that will pay more and keep you home more. Notice the "regional pilot's" salary!

What Washingtonians Make - washingtonpost.com
I'm confused, A person comes on here to offer some free advice from someone whos been there (my wife ) and you have to make comments trying to prove your what ???( more knowledgable about police and what they deal with, daily????)( How many years were you a cop???)( What a bad a$$ city ATL is??) Not quite sure what your motivation is????
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Old 09-23-2009, 10:28 PM
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What about Natural Resource law enforcement? National Park Service Rangers, Bureau of Land Management Rangers, US Forest Service, etc.

I know all Law Enforcement positions probably get to see the crap in society on a daily basis, but these positions are in an environment completely different to a cop working in Atlanta or other similarly large US city. Completely different environments altogether.

I'm only throwing this out there because I'm kind of leaning towards the LE route as well, only more towards the Natural Resource side of things.

Carry On.
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