Civil service. How I dislike thee.....

[Kisspik002]

I'm gonna say about 10k that's for all academy stuff, money for equipment, bills, everything.

My buddy did it, his wife makes good money so he spend like 4k ish

 

[Deleted member 22390]

any idea how much it costs to put yourself through a full time academy on your dime....would the GI Bill cover it?

last time I looked the price just to get in is 2500-3000$ not including gear books ect and your not getting paid while your there

 

[That Guy]

Some one said get on any dept, Sheriff, DOC, Etc. What counts there is you will be paying into the retire system and your time will count towards retirement.

For that matter, the DPW in the town where you work or any other civil service job. A year is a year and when you retire it's with your highest years - doesn't matter if you spent 27 as a low paid janitor in Lynn and then switched to Boston Police somehow for your last three years (not that this would be possible, but just to illustrate the point).

So if you have veteran's status, apply for every civil service job you can find then keep applying to the dream jobs - you'll get it eventually.

 

[Deleted member 22390]

Or go to VT. When I was 20 i applied for the state police up there and 2 town departments. Made it all the way to the polygraph test for all 3 but they decided I was to young and told me to come back in 2014. So ya if you really want to be a police officer or trooper get out of MA. If I almost got hired 3 times when I was 20 im sure you can find atleast one department up in VT that will hire you!

 

[Kisspik002]

Some one said get on any dept, Sheriff, DOC, Etc. What counts there is you will be paying into the retire system and your time will count towards retirement.

Agree...+1

 

[BMass]

Civil Service does have it's share of issues. Most of them are a product of intentional (IMO) underfunding the department. If anyone thinks it all goes away when a town/city leaves civil service and creates their own hiring process...think again.

Things to consider when a city or town runs their own process: Who is writing the rules for qualification. How much do you weight the various stages of the process. example: the woman from HR wants this canidate because they did well in oral interview. Chief and labor rep want another candidate because they did well on written evaluation and they were formally a military officer. Who wins. How much say does the union get especially if they know the person the city/town is about to hire is a town trouble maker but is family friends with the HR rep.
Also , when/if you get laid off from a non-civil service town there is no "lay off list" to go on, where a city/town has to offer you a position before they hire again (civil serv rule). And try finding a job in the Globe Classified for a policeman or firefighter....it's just not happening. Not like if you were laid off as a plumber or truck driver and you just go down the street to another company.
All problems and growing pains of when you get rid of civil service.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

And try finding a job in the Globe Classified for a policeman or firefighter....it's just not happening. Not like if you were laid off as a plumber or truck driver and you just go down the street to another company.

Some of the reasons it doesn't happen:

- Contracts that pay based on the matrix (years of service plus education) rather than free market. Pilots are private sector and, although finding jobs can be tough, it can be done since airlines are not mandated to either pass over experienced pilots or pay them a higher rate based on seniority.

- Union and civil service rules give enough people in line the "right" to those jobs, that nobody without that "right" may be considered.

- It is not unheard of for police officers to resign from one department to take a job in another, so it does happen.

- If you have a large apartment complex, zero vacancy means your rents are probably too low. If you are a large employer, zero turnover other than retirement probably means you pay too much.

 

[OfficerObie59]

Civil Service does have it's share of issues. Most of them are a product of intentional (IMO) underfunding the department. If anyone thinks it all goes away when a town/city leaves civil service and creates their own hiring process...think again.

Remember that when a municipality gets rid of civil service, it only applies to new hires. Current employees remain under the civil service system.

 

[BMass]

Remember that when a municipality gets rid of civil service, it only applies to new hires. Current employees remain under the civil service system.

Correct, unless you take a promotion. Then you also leave civil service when you are promoted after the city/town left civil service . Guys who were promoted to ,say the same promotional level prior to the town leaving civil service are ok, they are still in it.

 

[OfficerObie59]

Correct, unless you take a promotion. Then you also leave civil service when you are promoted after the city/town left civil service . Guys who were promoted to ,say the same promotional level prior to the town leaving civil service are ok, they are still in it.

True.

However, what about when a municipality chips away by civil service incrementally by removing individual ranks from the system? For example, you could be a civil service lieutenant and and then get promoted to non-CS captain. You remain a CS lieutenant, correct? I'm thinking of how Boston demotes supers back down to Sergeants, Lieutenants, and Captains once they're no longer politically viable members of BPD.