Considering some sort of career in LE.

[Bando_Red]

I'm starting college in the fall to get my prerequisite courses done, and I've been researching and thinking about what type of career I eventually want to have. I took an four-part aptitude test offered by the college and a lot of the careers I ended up with were LEOs or LE support.

I'm only 20 and really have no experience or anything to base this on other than the fact that I think I would be good at it. What are some ways I can see if its the right type of job for me?

 

[DukeNukem]

Get a job at a hospital working security...atleast 20 or more guys I worked with got on local PDs Dispatchers, FAMs. Its a very good look into LE, lots of drunks,section 12s, tons of interaction with corrections bringing in prisoners, local PDs, MSP..tons of hands on, and if you find a good hospital they have the power to sponsor you to the Reserve Academy, worked for me.

 

[LAWMAN3]

Get a job at a hospital working security...atleast 20 or more guys I worked with got on local PDs Dispatchers, FAMs. Its a very good look into LE, lots of drunks,section 12s, tons of interaction with corrections bringing in prisoners, local PDs, MSP..tons of hands on, and if you find a good hospital they have the power to sponsor you to the Reserve Academy, worked for me.

+1

Keep your nose clean and do all you can to give yourself a competitive edge, as LE is a VERY difficult field to break into, especially in the northeast. Start looking for dispatch openings, and hospital and campus police are also a great start. Finish your bachelor's degree and don't discount the military if that's a viable option for you. You're young and you have plenty of time to take the right steps.

 

[fsusoldier]

I got my start in mall security. But one word of advise, just because you want to be a cop or you are going to school to be a cop, that doesn't make you a cop. Toooooo many times I have seen future police candidates ruin any chance they have of getting on a department because they were at a college party or out on the town drinking and when the Law shows up they say to their buddies "hey, let me handle this. I'm a CJ major, I know the law." Then they find themselves on the booking dock with disorderly/resisting/A&B PO charges..... I'm not saying be a hermit, but lay low and when to PO PO gets there, just do what they say and it will improve your chances ten fold.

 

[Bando_Red]

I'm not worried about getting into trouble. I very rarely go to any kind of party, let alone ones with a bunch of dumbass frat boys. The strongest drug I've taken is extra strength tylenol, and I never drink because everyone my age has shitty taste in alcohol.

Breaking into it seems to be the hardest part. I've heard all sorts of stuff like that having any firearms experience is a bad thing because they'll think your some trigger happy mall ninja type, or that every single person they gather info from gets entered into the batcomputer,ect. Just seems hard to find any reliable info.

 

[ochmude]

Move out of MA or get veteran preference. I'm not saying it's impossible to break into LE work in Mass without vet or minority preference, but it can be a long uphill battle. Further south and west, there are some departments and even state agencies that are constantly hiring.

 

[Tackdriver VillenTactical]

Getting the job in mass in a Civil Service town is very tough and college isn't required. If you don't care about Civil Service I would go to college and get a part time summer police gig on the Cape. Many of the permanent Cape cops start out that way.

Having some type of minority status, as oppossed to coming off the general list, can be a huge help in the Civil Service towns whether it is speaking/reading/writing certain foreign laguages, being a veteran, EMT etc. If you did want a Civil Service job, I would pursue a degree in something you could fall back on since the Quinn bill is a thing of the past for most new hires.

Dave

 

[hunter46spring]

I've been a cop for 17years so the advice I am offiing is insightful, knowledgeable and well based.....BECOME A FIREFIGHTER

 

[M1911]

A number of departments on Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and maybe the Cape hire summer officers:

http://www.police.oak-bluffs.ma.us/jobs.shtml

 

[Jose]

If you get a real college degree (mathematics, engineering, physics, chemistry, etc.....), apply to the FBI.

One of the opportunities I missed right after I left the Navy (I already had a degree).

 

[Sully]

If you get a real college degree (mathematics, engineering, physics, chemistry, etc.....), apply to the FBI.

One of the opportunities I missed right after I left the Navy (I already had a degree).

This. Working for the Feds with just a CJ degree is going to be borderline impossible at this stage. Learn languages and real skills. Even accounting, finance, etc.

 

[Jose]

The FBI LOVES people with computer science, accounting, and finance degrees.

Criminal Justice is what you learn at ITT Tech to be loss prevention or mall security.

Aim higher.

 

[ochmude]

The FBI LOVES people with computer science, accounting, and finance degrees.

Criminal Justice is what you learn at ITT Tech to be loss prevention or mall security.

Aim higher.

I've seen accounting to be one of the most sought after fields for FBI recruiting consistently since I was in elementary school. It seems to be really difficult for the FBI to find such people. People that have the desire to be G Men typically don't gravitate towards the exciting and fast paced world of forensic accounting.

 

[Talon3]

The EnvPd are looking for a dispatcher......

https://jobs.hrd.state.ma.us/recrui...=search.public&federalStimulus=no&words=radio

 

[weekendracer]

The FBI LOVES people with computer science, accounting, and finance degrees.

Criminal Justice is what you learn at ITT Tech to be loss prevention or mall security.

Aim higher.

Or learn Farsi or other popular middle eastern languages. Russian and Chinese dialects might be moving up the ladder as well. They didn't want me with a degree, forgein language and already a fed. Go figure.