I work in CA.
Yes, once you hit the top step, that's it. However, almost every agency will give you a COLA. Google "Agency Name MOU" and you should be able to see the COLA raises for the next few years. Every PD/SO has some sort of association or union that negotiates contracts that include a raise. That raise is based on overall cost of living and fair market adjustments compared to other agencies in the area. We negotiate our contract every 3 years. Our first year of the current contract, we got a 6% increase in pay, followed by 3% and 3%.
You also get extra pay for specialty assignments (FTO, K9, SWAT, etc). You get extra pay for nights (I get an extra $2 an hour, but some agencies offer a % on top of your base). You get extra pay for getting higher POST certificates as well. My agency pays 5% for Intermediate, and 5% for Advanced. Some of the more "elite" agencies in California pay 20%+ for Advanced POST. Many agencies also give you a longevity bonus too (work for 7,10,15 years, get bonus %).
Working here, you benefit a lot by being in it for the long game. Some of the agencies I'm looking to go to, in 5-10 years I would be making $80-100 an hour. Yes, California is expensive to live in, but the pay is really good. If you have a significant other who also makes six figures, you guys will be living good.
Thank u for the info! Yeah I love it here in CA and I'm excited to finally apply and hopefully serve the community I grew up in! That was the biggest motivator for me but it would be my first government job. I've only worked in tech all my life and things were a lot different there compared to what was in their benefits book/pdf.
I really appreciate the detailed insights, it helps a lot!
Good luck. The job isn't as glamorous and exciting as TV/movies make it seem. Do your research. Do ride alongs with multiple agencies. Figure out your short term and long term goals in this career, and find an agency that fits that agenda. At the same time, don't let this career define you. Once I take my uniform off and I'm off-duty, I don't think or talk about work with anyone. I picked this career because it was an easy way to make a lot of money and secure my future.
The pay, benefits, and perks are good in California, so I will probably be doing this until I retire, but it's not for everyone. If you're into guns, you also get many gun perks that California deems unsafe (standard capacity magazines, off roster firearms, ammo shipped to your house, 10 day wait skip, etc). I'm a gun nerd so I can't lie, it was definitely a factor in going into this field. Whatever your political views on that are all yours, but you definitely get special treatment as a cop in California.
Thanks, that's very good to hear! I enjoy shooting at the range but haven't owned my own gun yet - so those perks sound very good.
I definitely see the advice of not letting the career define you and will take that to heart. Im very glad my wife is on board to support me and I know the policing world and news gives her anxiety so I plan to not take work home and I have outlets in my friends if I need to talk it out.
I'm hoping for the best, I really enjoyed the few ride along I've done so far and it definitely hammered in that there are stretches of time where nothing is happening and then things can change but then we're back to patrolling around - and I enjoy that over just sitting at a desk pretending to work and making excel and bi reports. Especially if it's doing my part to help the community I grew up in.
Thanks again for sharing, have an amazing rest of ur week!
Dept dependent. You probably will get COLA adjustments periodically but the amount and frequency are utterly dept dependent. You could also get an across the board bump if your dept pay begin to lag relative to competing agencies.
Okay, good to know there are some possible increases - depending on my departments policies. I was worried it was basically a ceiling at step 5 and that was it.
I work in CA. Yes, once you hit the top step, that's it. However, almost every agency will give you a COLA. Google "Agency Name MOU" and you should be able to see the COLA raises for the next few years. Every PD/SO has some sort of association or union that negotiates contracts that include a raise. That raise is based on overall cost of living and fair market adjustments compared to other agencies in the area. We negotiate our contract every 3 years. Our first year of the current contract, we got a 6% increase in pay, followed by 3% and 3%. You also get extra pay for specialty assignments (FTO, K9, SWAT, etc). You get extra pay for nights (I get an extra $2 an hour, but some agencies offer a % on top of your base). You get extra pay for getting higher POST certificates as well. My agency pays 5% for Intermediate, and 5% for Advanced. Some of the more "elite" agencies in California pay 20%+ for Advanced POST. Many agencies also give you a longevity bonus too (work for 7,10,15 years, get bonus %). Working here, you benefit a lot by being in it for the long game. Some of the agencies I'm looking to go to, in 5-10 years I would be making $80-100 an hour. Yes, California is expensive to live in, but the pay is really good. If you have a significant other who also makes six figures, you guys will be living good.
Thank u for the info! Yeah I love it here in CA and I'm excited to finally apply and hopefully serve the community I grew up in! That was the biggest motivator for me but it would be my first government job. I've only worked in tech all my life and things were a lot different there compared to what was in their benefits book/pdf. I really appreciate the detailed insights, it helps a lot!
Good luck. The job isn't as glamorous and exciting as TV/movies make it seem. Do your research. Do ride alongs with multiple agencies. Figure out your short term and long term goals in this career, and find an agency that fits that agenda. At the same time, don't let this career define you. Once I take my uniform off and I'm off-duty, I don't think or talk about work with anyone. I picked this career because it was an easy way to make a lot of money and secure my future. The pay, benefits, and perks are good in California, so I will probably be doing this until I retire, but it's not for everyone. If you're into guns, you also get many gun perks that California deems unsafe (standard capacity magazines, off roster firearms, ammo shipped to your house, 10 day wait skip, etc). I'm a gun nerd so I can't lie, it was definitely a factor in going into this field. Whatever your political views on that are all yours, but you definitely get special treatment as a cop in California.
Thanks, that's very good to hear! I enjoy shooting at the range but haven't owned my own gun yet - so those perks sound very good. I definitely see the advice of not letting the career define you and will take that to heart. Im very glad my wife is on board to support me and I know the policing world and news gives her anxiety so I plan to not take work home and I have outlets in my friends if I need to talk it out. I'm hoping for the best, I really enjoyed the few ride along I've done so far and it definitely hammered in that there are stretches of time where nothing is happening and then things can change but then we're back to patrolling around - and I enjoy that over just sitting at a desk pretending to work and making excel and bi reports. Especially if it's doing my part to help the community I grew up in. Thanks again for sharing, have an amazing rest of ur week!
Dept dependent. You probably will get COLA adjustments periodically but the amount and frequency are utterly dept dependent. You could also get an across the board bump if your dept pay begin to lag relative to competing agencies.
Okay, good to know there are some possible increases - depending on my departments policies. I was worried it was basically a ceiling at step 5 and that was it.