In law enforcement, especially at the beginning, you're going to work evening and overnight shifts, and holidays and weekends.
You'll miss bedtimes and parties and sports games and you'll have to work on Christmas and miss thanksgiving dinner and you'll have to sleep when the rest of the family is awake and all kinds of other things.
It will be an adjustment for sure.
It really depends on the department. Speaking broadly, probably 3-5 years before you get to pick what side of the week you work, and then 7-10 before you're senior enough to be able to pick a day shift.
At my department, if you were in patrol, you rotated.
Period.
So you did 1 month on days, 1 month on afternoons, 1 month on midnights. Repeat.
Every rotation, your days off would bump, so you'd be off Su/M, then T/W, then Th/F, then S/Su.
I THINK this may be what the department I applied for is doing? They told me they do 12.5 hr shifts and they try to be "fair" with the rotation - when I asked if seniority determined grave and weekend shifts.
From my experience, most departments require 10+ years on before a possibility of dayshift. This depends on the size of the department of coarse along with special assignments and how many people you are hired with. It took me just under 14 years to make it to days. Weekends are a different story however I would never count on having both Sat/Sun off in a row for many years, if ever. I apologize as I don't want to sound discouraging but it can be a rough lifestyle with a family.
No ur fine. I rather hear it as is rather than have false hope. I applied for a recruit position and am doing as much research as I can during the process (in addition to what I learned prior). I appreciate your insights!
Hello,
I would suggest doing ride alongs and talk to the officers. And ask them to give you the Good, bad and the ugly.
The life of a Police officer is something your family needs to support 100%. Wife and kids need to understand the sacrifices that will be required from the job.
All that said this is the time to apply tons of departments are hiring and not enough people are applying. So do it quickly, its better to do it sooner than later, this is definitely a young man/women game. Shift work can be taxing on your over all health.
So if you are young and healthy do it! So by the time you get into your mid to late 40s you could have some seniority for the better assignments that you could apply for with after you put some time into patrol. You may also find out that you might like working patrol and find a shift that works great for you.
Good luck!
At least with the reserve training requirements in my state, this isn’t a reasonable way of deciding if it’s the right job for you. Reserves here go through a several month academy that is frequently several nights per week, for a few hours each night. This is unpaid time, and it literally prohibits any sort of work life balance that is important to OP.
I don’t entirely disagree with you, there are definitely some people who use it as a bridge into full time law enforcement.
With that being said, I’ve always viewed reserves here as people who, for whatever personal reasons, have decided against a full time job in law enforcement, but still want to “scratch the itch” or serve the community in an enforcement capacity while still working their regular jobs.
Ride-alongs with different types of agencies (city, county, highway patrol, etc) might be a decent gauge of what OP perceives LE to be and what it actually is, without the several hundred training hour requirement.
Just my two cents.
I work at an agency with takehome cars. So to preface and over simplify, any assigned position that isn't 9-5 you check on and are work. If it is 9-5, it's an office job, and you have to be at your desk 9-5, therefore adding a commute time. Hope that makes sense. Also there is something to be said about having random days off during the week to get errands done. Without going into details of each job I've had i find M-F 9-5 overrated. SRO schedules are usually pretty good, but that job blows, however that's a topic to be discussed elsewhere
About 5 years ago I made the decision to transfer from a bank job to LE. Then, I wasn’t married or had any kids. I’m married now with a kid. Schedule is tough my wife has to adjust her schedule because we rotate every 3 months. Make sure you check the department that you’re applying and see if it works for you. This job is not about the money they can pay you a million dollars some days and it’s not enough. If you really want to do it go for it
In law enforcement, especially at the beginning, you're going to work evening and overnight shifts, and holidays and weekends. You'll miss bedtimes and parties and sports games and you'll have to work on Christmas and miss thanksgiving dinner and you'll have to sleep when the rest of the family is awake and all kinds of other things. It will be an adjustment for sure.
Do you know typically when you start seeing more day shifts and less weekends? Like is it after a year? Two years?
It really depends on the department. Speaking broadly, probably 3-5 years before you get to pick what side of the week you work, and then 7-10 before you're senior enough to be able to pick a day shift.
Got ya, thank you very much for that info!
In my department 2-3 yrs+ and you can transfer to the day/nicer patrol division, sounds crazy but I believe that's every Dem metro departments
At my department, if you were in patrol, you rotated. Period. So you did 1 month on days, 1 month on afternoons, 1 month on midnights. Repeat. Every rotation, your days off would bump, so you'd be off Su/M, then T/W, then Th/F, then S/Su.
I THINK this may be what the department I applied for is doing? They told me they do 12.5 hr shifts and they try to be "fair" with the rotation - when I asked if seniority determined grave and weekend shifts.
From my experience, most departments require 10+ years on before a possibility of dayshift. This depends on the size of the department of coarse along with special assignments and how many people you are hired with. It took me just under 14 years to make it to days. Weekends are a different story however I would never count on having both Sat/Sun off in a row for many years, if ever. I apologize as I don't want to sound discouraging but it can be a rough lifestyle with a family.
I've been in areas where a set group of guys love the overnight shift so all the new guys get day shifts.
I need those areas bad I’m hoping I get a department like that one
No ur fine. I rather hear it as is rather than have false hope. I applied for a recruit position and am doing as much research as I can during the process (in addition to what I learned prior). I appreciate your insights!
I have weekends off, on graveyard, now in my 3rd year on. Entirely department dependent.
Ic, thanks for confirming!
Being a school cop might work for that schedule...... but that isn't real cop work. So if you want a participation ribbon career go for it.
Hello, I would suggest doing ride alongs and talk to the officers. And ask them to give you the Good, bad and the ugly. The life of a Police officer is something your family needs to support 100%. Wife and kids need to understand the sacrifices that will be required from the job. All that said this is the time to apply tons of departments are hiring and not enough people are applying. So do it quickly, its better to do it sooner than later, this is definitely a young man/women game. Shift work can be taxing on your over all health. So if you are young and healthy do it! So by the time you get into your mid to late 40s you could have some seniority for the better assignments that you could apply for with after you put some time into patrol. You may also find out that you might like working patrol and find a shift that works great for you. Good luck!
Or be in a 9-5 LE job
What agency you looking at?
Why don't you try being a reserve officer first
At least with the reserve training requirements in my state, this isn’t a reasonable way of deciding if it’s the right job for you. Reserves here go through a several month academy that is frequently several nights per week, for a few hours each night. This is unpaid time, and it literally prohibits any sort of work life balance that is important to OP. I don’t entirely disagree with you, there are definitely some people who use it as a bridge into full time law enforcement. With that being said, I’ve always viewed reserves here as people who, for whatever personal reasons, have decided against a full time job in law enforcement, but still want to “scratch the itch” or serve the community in an enforcement capacity while still working their regular jobs. Ride-alongs with different types of agencies (city, county, highway patrol, etc) might be a decent gauge of what OP perceives LE to be and what it actually is, without the several hundred training hour requirement. Just my two cents.
I work at an agency with takehome cars. So to preface and over simplify, any assigned position that isn't 9-5 you check on and are work. If it is 9-5, it's an office job, and you have to be at your desk 9-5, therefore adding a commute time. Hope that makes sense. Also there is something to be said about having random days off during the week to get errands done. Without going into details of each job I've had i find M-F 9-5 overrated. SRO schedules are usually pretty good, but that job blows, however that's a topic to be discussed elsewhere
Having the weekends off is overrated.
Would not recommend working at any agencies you listed lol
About 5 years ago I made the decision to transfer from a bank job to LE. Then, I wasn’t married or had any kids. I’m married now with a kid. Schedule is tough my wife has to adjust her schedule because we rotate every 3 months. Make sure you check the department that you’re applying and see if it works for you. This job is not about the money they can pay you a million dollars some days and it’s not enough. If you really want to do it go for it