Moose wants to be a cop!

Martial Arts Training Forums The Armory: Weapons, Military, LEO, and Self Defen
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[QUOTE=3moose1;2862338]That is a little telling…[/QUOTE]

I wouldn’t immediately take that as a negative sign.

To be fair, ‘What is it like being a cop’ is an incredibly broad question, with vastly different answers depending on which agency you work for, which state it’s in, what rank or assignment you are, and a multitude of other things. In my experience, it can also be a vastly different from one day to the next.

I second the notion of doing a ride along. Not only will it give you insight into being a police officer in general, doing a ride along with the agency you’re thinking of applying at will give you a very good idea of what that department is like specifically. It would be a more dependable way to learn about it than here, where there might not be anyone from the department actively posting.

I’d do both a ride along with SDSD AND SDPD; doing both will give better perspective than just doing one or the other.

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[QUOTE=3moose1;2862337]I’m still not 100% sure how I won’t be able to fit in a class or two after the academy?[/QUOTE]

Another poster kind of gave you an outline of how it goes with scheduling work, FTO (field training under a Field Training Officer). You just don’t go to the academy, and go to work patrolling. Not in a big agency, anyway. Maybe in Teton County, Idaho…

Look, I don’t know you or what you are capable of. I do know that cops in general work rotating shifts. I’ve done that, and it’s grueling, and I was sitting in a secure, climate controlled office as a 911 call taker/dispatcher.

I have been to school, have a BSc. and a Masters Degree in Geology. So I’ve been through the whole college/science class thing. My ex is an MD, I lived with her for the last part of her pre-med (she had two liberal arts degrees), med school, and residency (family practice, 2 years).

So, take this for what it’s worth. I don’t know what you can or cannot do and remain sane, happy, and preserve your marriage.

You have a BA in psychology. Good for you, but I"m sorry, that is a placeholder degree, like sociology, and it’s not even a science degree. Pre-med programs can be competitive as hell, depending on how high you want to fly.
So first, you have to get into a pre-med program.

You will have to take pretty h ALL science and math classes. Not crappy intro courses, but stuff like anatomy and physiology, organic chemistry, other biology courses, shit like embryology, you name it. Higher level math as well…meaning calculus and the prerequs for it.

The picture I’m painting for you is one of intense academic study and dedication in fields you have no experience. Lots of homework and studying.

I’m not trying to discourage you, just tell you what I know.

The police academy P.O.S.T, police officer standards and training https://www.post.ca.gov/ is here. Go through it to see what’s involved.

And see if you think you will have time while going through that to do academic work outside of your LEO training. IME, just the application process stymies most of the applicants for a while, or forever for that matter. Plus, you will have to compete to get into an agency to get sponsored in the first place. Civil service exams, ranking, etc. Possibly hundreds of applicants.

Maybe you are superman with Marine Corps attitude and confidence, but you are talking a tough row to hoe anyway you look at it, doing pre-med and police academy.

Oh, and another thing. You want to be a cop, and the questions you ask are about stories, funny or otherwise, anecdotes, etc.

Why do YOU want to be a cop ? What appeals to YOU about it, or how you imagine it might be ?

That’s valid question for any job… and it’s important to people who might hire you, too…

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Moose wants to be a cop!

I like to help people. I thought about social work or becoming a psychologist, but I don’t have the touchy-feely stuff in me.

Being a police officer seems like the best way for me to help people. It seems to be in line with my skill set. Again, I’m not sure what I want to do, I’m trying to figure that out.

As far as balancing work or school, I’m currently a combat instructor. I work 100+ hours a week, and still managed to get school done. I would obviously wait until my schedule calmed down before resuming classes.

I’m really good at math and science, too.

(To the cops)
As for being a cop, how rewarding is it? Do you get a sense of fulfillment from it? Why did you become a cop? What are some things that aren’t apparent from the outside?

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Double post.

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[QUOTE=BKR;2862334]LOL, no way, Jose’. Both of us valued our sanity and the sanity of our children to do that.[/QUOTE]

What’s ole’ girl up to now? I’m asking for a friend.

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I’m forced to agree with devil. A sugar mama is the ultimate dream.

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Sorry about the double post. Phone flipped out. I’ll delete the excess as soon as I can.

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[QUOTE=3moose1;2862341]
(To the cops)
As for being a cop, how rewarding is it? Do you get a sense of fulfillment from it? Why did you become a cop? What are some things that aren’t apparent from the outside?[/QUOTE]

I speak as someone who works at a police department and has done the academy, but is not a cop.

-What’s not apparent from the outside is that a lot of cops are very human, and tend to ‘switch on’ when they get into work everyday. That is to say, they’re very different (oftentimes more personable) when they’re not on the job.

-Getting a sense of fulfillment depends in you; I would say, if you found being in the marines fulfilling and rewarding, you will probably find being a cop rewarding as well, but…

-The single biggest factor in finding fulfillment in the job is the department itself, and making sure the one you work for is the right fit. I know some people that are terrific cops, but are pretty unhappy, because they’d be better suited for either a bigger or smaller department

-Without getting into specifics, as an example of the above, two people in my academy class got hired at the same department. One is thriving, one is miserable. Who they are as people, and what they expected to get out of the job are very different.

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[QUOTE=Devil;2862343]What’s ole’ girl up to now? I’m asking for a friend.[/QUOTE]

Already taken…

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[QUOTE=3moose1;2862344]I’m forced to agree with devil. A sugar mama is the ultimate dream.[/QUOTE]

Sounds like you are there already. How are your child-rearing skills ?

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[QUOTE=BKR;2862348]Sounds like you are there already. How are your child-rearing skills ?[/QUOTE]

My wife makes decent money, but not sugar momma status.

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[QUOTE=3moose1;2862341]I like to help people. [/QUOTE]

Then don’t be a cop.
No seriously the amount of time you will be helping people is minimal.
What you will be doing is helping society as a whole but on a day to day face to face level you will not be for the most part.
This isn’t to say you won’t have times where you help someone out but most of the time you would be enforcing laws, some of which you won’t even fucking agree with.

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Could you elaborate more?

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[QUOTE=3moose1;2862353]Could you elaborate more?[/QUOTE]

I should let some of the LEOs here answer that one.
Cops do work that needs to be done and I respect the hell out of them.
They are the people that make the cogs in the machine work.
But they do this by being a punitive force.
But what do YOU think they do to HELP people on an individual level day to day?
So yes sitting their writing tickets for guys that run stop signs at a busy intersection by a school helps society and keeps kids safe.
However your not likely to get your helping jollies off by sitting their doing it.

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Some people are nurturing, caring people. I’m not.

I like order, and rules, and enforcing them. I like being able to influence people through my example.

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[QUOTE=3moose1;2862341]I like to help people. I thought about social work or becoming a psychologist, but I don’t have the touchy-feely stuff in me.

Being a police officer seems like the best way for me to help people. It seems to be in line with my skill set. Again, I’m not sure what I want to do, I’m trying to figure that out.

As far as balancing work or school, I’m currently a combat instructor. I work 100+ hours a week, and still managed to get school done. I would obviously wait until my schedule calmed down before resuming classes.

I’m really good at math and science, too.

(To the cops)
As for being a cop, how rewarding is it? Do you get a sense of fulfillment from it? Why did you become a cop? What are some things that aren’t apparent from the outside?[/QUOTE]
100+ week in and week out. Assuming your not exaggerating this raises serious red flags. You did not give details on your medical but super long hours with physical jobs and not getting rest tend to end poorly.

Academically pre-med is competitive. There is a drive to get the A in classes that are graded on a curve.

Even people who dont want to be cops should do a ride along.

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That was a damn good post Slam. I learned a lot from it. This man deserves a cookie.

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[QUOTE=goodlun;2862355]I should let some of the LEOs here answer that one.
Cops do work that needs to be done and I respect the hell out of them.
They are the people that make the cogs in the machine work.
But they do this by being a punitive force.
But what do YOU think they do to HELP people on an individual level day to day?
So yes sitting their writing tickets for guys that run stop signs at a busy intersection by a school helps society and keeps kids safe.
However your not likely to get your helping jollies off by sitting their doing it.[/QUOTE]
I see your point, and agree with much of its foundational content.

But I can recall numerous times I’ve “helped” people; changing flats, pushing disabled cars, giving people walking the street in the middle of the night during sub-zero winters a ride. Located Alzheimer’s patients wandering from home, revived ODing kids with Narcan, talked down suicides… Hell I’ve even done the “duckling rescue” from the storm drain. Lol!

Point is, I get the “cops are there to enforce societies rules” thing, but there are plenty of opportunities to “help people” too. Sometimes those opportunities are limited by beat, duty and departmental “culture”. But if you want to help people there are always opportunities

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[QUOTE=3moose1;2862356]Some people are nurturing, caring people. I’m not.

I like order, and rules, and enforcing them. I like being able to influence people through my example.[/QUOTE]

Well that is a very different answer than “I want to help people”.
Sounds like you don’t know what you want but you want to be a sheriff and your looking for people to validate that feeling.
I still say if you want to be a LEO shop around you have 11 LEO Agencies in the area + some more in Riverside and Orange County to look at.
Go for a ride along with each one if you can.
Hell you should apply to each one.

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[QUOTE=tgace;2862360]I see your point, and agree with much of its foundational content.

But I can recall numerous times I’ve “helped” people; changing flats, pushing disabled cars, giving people walking the street in the middle of the night during sub-zero winters a ride. Located Alzheimer’s patients wandering from home, revived ODing kids with Narcan, talked down suicides… Hell I’ve even done the “duckling rescue” from the storm drain. Lol!

Point is, I get the “cops are there to enforce societies rules” thing, but there are plenty of opportunities to “help people” too. Sometimes those opportunities are limited by beat, duty and departmental “culture”. But if you want to help people there are always opportunities

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

Thank you for your post I think its a nice counter balance to what I am trying to say.
I am trying to not be too cynical of the whole police helping people thing.
I know that they do, I know its a common trait that draws people to wanting to be police officers but its typically with some very rose tented glasses on if you will.