Anyone else take the Sergeant test?

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For the MA cops that are civil service.

Just curious if anyone else took it and how they did.

I passed..... Barely, but I passed. Obviously not as well as I wanted to do but should be enough as we have a lot of spots for promotion opening up. Anyone else pass this thing?
 
Ours got pushed back till June....if you pass it and do half decent on the oral you generally get made. Going to throw my hat in the ring.
 
I’m curious, as I don’t work for a municipal agency (nor in Mass nowadays, but retiring soon) - do you need a 4 year degree to promote? Or any degree? Or is it like my job where it’s a combination of test scores and time in service and evaluations and such?
 
My department is civil service. No degree required but it will hurt you on the oral board. 95% of the Sgts i know have a degree and or are vets.
 
My department is civil service. No degree required but it will hurt you on the oral board. 95% of the Sgts i know have a degree and or are vets.
Not that I care for any L/E when I retire - especially after the way these last couple weeks have been - but how does the veteran preference/experience weigh against a Bachelors/Masters? Any idea?
 
In my department it's all about points on your test. An AS degree adds points to your score. A BS adds more. Vet status adds points, minority status does too. Certain training certifications help too.
Then they look at your commendations and recommendations from your superiors. They also look into your disciplinary history and attendance. If you're a sick-time abuser you can quit waisting time. They don't like to promote sick-time abusers.
I made lieutenant on nothing but an associate of science degree and 16 years time in. I taught use of force, report writing, less-than-lethal weapons, and CPR, so my training certs helped. I had 13 years of training as a squad leader on our TRT. That job comes with hours of training. Some if it was worth test points and some wasn't. Could never figure out what they counted and what they didn't.
 
Yeah, they pretty much factor in everything else with test score being the most important. In civil service agencies, If they skip someone in order of test score they have to really document the crap out of it or that person can likely get promoted onnan appeal through civil service.
 
Interesting. I had pretty much ruled it out as a post active duty career, but had some (very positive) dealings with the municipal agency in my city that have me thinking about considering thinking about it.
 
Not that I care for any L/E when I retire - especially after the way these last couple weeks have been - but how does the veteran preference/experience weigh against a Bachelors/Masters? Any idea?

I believe its an additional point on your score. When decimal points count ....a whole point makes or breaks a lot of people.
 
I passed with a 71, 6th in line so they likely will not get to me. Ironically, last time around I studied for 3 months and invested a lot of money in it and got a 68. This time I signed up the night of the deadline, didn't open a book and worked the overnight before.

Has anyone had experience with appealing parts of the test? They did not credit me with my work experience or degree despite me submitting the appropriate documents. I got credit for my previous department but not this one.
 
They did not credit me with my work experience or degree despite me submitting the appropriate documents

IIRC you cannot lose point, only gain them. It's always worth a shot. I appealed two multiple choice questions and won both as there was a conflict in the books. The problem was that they awarded points to the others with the, "other" correct answer.
 
IIRC you cannot lose point, only gain them. It's always worth a shot. I appealed two multiple choice questions and won both as there was a conflict in the books. The problem was that they awarded points to the others with the, "other" correct answer.

3 weeks and I haven't gotten anything back besides the automated email the day i sent it.
 
I believe its an additional point on your score. When decimal points count ....a whole point makes or breaks a lot of people.
Same with where I’m at now. A fraction of a point can make a huge difference - I was actually hoping NOT to make Chief until the last cut (don’t want to pack up and move), but with all the other factors and how close the scores end up, one single test question out of 150 could easily - and likely be - the difference between making it or not. We have “dinosaur points” and award points and evaluations taken into account in our final multiple, so I’ll be buying new uniforms shortly. (Entire first couple months of pay difference is going to buy blue chunks of fabric! It’s COSTING me a lot to get promoted!)
 
Entire first couple months of pay difference is going to buy blue chunks of fabric! It’s COSTING me a lot to get promoted!

Yea, well you at least will have a deduction on taxes to balance off the increase in taxes you will be paying.

I remember a promotion I got that actually reduced my pay due to increases in taxes.
 
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