<p>Has anyone here considered becoming a police officer after they graduated? And are not majoring in criminal justice or something like that?</p>
<p>Can’t you become a police officer without an college education?</p>
<p>Yeah. I always wanted to be a cop after watching George Michael’s “Outside” video. It better be like that in real life.</p>
<p>No, that’s one of those careers that involve caring about the welfare of other people.</p>
<p>Not really… You get paid for doing stuff that’s good for the welfare of others. Whether you care about it or not is not that important as long as the job is done/</p>
<p>Yes. You only need 30 credit hours.</p>
<p>But college was always the next step and if I did decide to do it I would not drop out or anything. I will get my bachelors. I was just wondering if anyone who is in college at the moment getting a bachelors is thinking about it…</p>
<p>A friend of mine wants to be a police officer…he’s majoring in criminology/minoring in psychology or majoring in psychology/minoring in criminology.</p>
<p>Depends on the area. NYPD requires 60 credit hours or 2 years of military service.</p>
<p>i’ve thought about becoming a detective or a Fed. Always thought that would be more interesting than a cop walking a beat. Investigation!</p>
<p>I wanted to become a cop but for health reason I putting that case in the drawer. LAPD pays it officer with a BS or BA 65,000 which is not bad plus a dodge charger. LASD pays its deputies 68,000 but you have to work 2 years in the county jail system</p>
<p>I want to be a police officer so that I can be above the law, run street lights whenever I want, pull over people just for the hell of it, and beat down minorities.</p>
<p>^ I do get a kick out of the cops who are sitting at an intersection, turn on their lights, drive through it, then turn them off. Pricks.</p>
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<p>It is bad considering the price of living in the area, and the danger of working as a cop in LA.</p>
<p>^ thats just base salary - there are unbelievable amounts of overtime to be had in LA police agencies. Most of the cops I know (and I know a lot from various agencies around SoCal) are pulling in close to or over $100k.</p>
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<p>Eh, you don’t know why they’re doing that - there are tons of valid reasons to use lights to get through intersections but not between them.</p>
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<p>Please, elaborate. (You’re only kidding yourself if you honestly think there aren’t cops who abuse their powers)</p>
<p>Particularly if you want to advance in the police department, your college degree should be helpful (if not essential). These days, many police departments can be pickier and some are requiring college degrees to apply for the police academy. There are a range of majors but you can contact any police department you’re interested in for more details.</p>
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<p>This is very very true. Especially in desirable departments (i.e. large city urban departments like LAPD, LASD, etc etc), a college degree is very highly desirable for hiring and really necessary for advancement.</p>
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<p>You must have an axe to grind if you think thats what I was saying - look back and you’ll see that I never said that I don’t think there are bad cops out there. What I said was that you don’t know what’s going on in that car so you should withhold judgment.
The officer may have just gotten a call that needs a speedy response but doesn’t necessarily warrant full code-3 run, or he may be going to back another officer, etc. </p>
<p>I worked in emergency services for four years, and like I said, I can think of lots of reasons for such behavior. Its important to note that emergency vehicles routinely make maneuvers that may seem odd or unnecessary to casual observers, but which are actually just part of the job.</p>
<p>“It is bad considering the price of living in the area, and the danger of working as a cop in LA.” LA is that bad anymore in the 90s it was horrible but its been safe since chief Bratton and both mayors Hanh and Villaraigosa have invest heavely in the LAPD. But when the Lakers win championship then its unsafe.</p>
<p>my girlfriend is dead-set on becoming a probation officer when we graduate…I’m not exactly thrilled. She’s majoring in Soc and is focusing on crime/law classes anyways.</p>
<p>She should explore her options–I believe there may be extra hazard pay for federal probation officers. My cousin’s H was a probation officer & I believe he found his work very fulfilling. Congrats to her, but it sounds like you’re not happy. Perhaps the two of you should talk things out so your concerns can be addressed.</p>