The end goal for my son is the FBI. He has an intelligence related degree, but he wanted to build law enforcement experience on his resume, preferably SWAT, then apply through their Tactical Recruiting Program(TRP).
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My son became an officer about 1 1/2 years ago with very similar training to what you describe. I agree that there has been a good bit of continuing education and training. In fact he didnāt have any days off this past week because of required training. I worried every day when he first started and now I donāt think about the danger on a daily basis. His schedule and area assignment changes every 6 months though so the next assignment could be in a far worse area at a more prime time for problems.
Unfortunately I donāt see that the pay is very good, especially with the soaring housing costs in our area the past 2 years. Our governor is very pro-law enforcement and has made strides to increase some benefits that may pay off later. But itās still hard to make ends meet, especially with a family. Several months ago it was clear he was about to be priced out of his apartment so we bought a house for him to live in at below market rent.
Going into law enforcement is a calling. In the case of my son, he made the decision after 8 years in Army infantry and getting a masters degree. There were so many career paths for him to choose between, all with much higher income than he has now. But he wants to help people and hopes he can be a good influence in the community.
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I agree that itās a calling, and compensation isnāt the driving factor, but LEOs need to pay the bills too. My sonās agency is in a high income area and he feels his financial situation is stable, though heās a recent college graduate and obviously younger than your son. He received percentage pay increases for each qualifying credential(EMT + bachelors). Hopefully your son started at a higher pay rate because of his military service and masters degree. My son lives with his girlfriend and sheās finishing up her masters in nursing. Once they are both working they will be in a very good position financially for young twentysomethings. Now that he can earn overtime he will do very well this year also, but heās not juggling family responsibilities.
From the following in a large expensive city, police officer pay seems to be quite good:
https://www.sjpdyou.com/for-applicants/additional-information/salary-benefits-pension
I would say that agency is a major outlier, but itās nice to see those officers being paid a healthy wage in a high SES location.
Here are the entry-level pay levels advertised by a police department in a larger city that is not as high SES:
https://www.joinlapd.com/salary-and-benefits
That really lays out the benefits nicely. Theyāre smart to advertise that to recruits. Their package is similar to my sonās, but his starting salary as a patrol officer is lower. With overtime he should make six figures. Today is one of his days off, but heās in court earning time and a half. He is guaranteed a yearly step increase and COLA adjustment. His take home police cruiser is also a nice benefit. The apartment complex he lives in reduces his rent by a percentage for parking his police vehicle there.
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Thatās a win all around.
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The rent reducer is nice. I hope they have cameras where he parks. Before I started putting my cruiser in the garage it had several instances of vandalism including egging, tires slashed, smashed berries all over it and someone kindly pooped on the hood. Itās a job where you have some fans who are excited to see you and plenty of people who hate your guts just because of the uniform you wear. And the one finger wave is very common.
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When I was in HS and waitressed, the store manager had a policy that any first responder in uniform got comped. Since this was expressly against company policy (the manual was explicit- you got a meal voucher for every shift you worked but it couldnāt be saved, transferred, cashed in, etc. and NOBODY got comped) I was very confused.
Until my first 3-midnight shift when several police officers asked if I needed to be walked to my car. And then my first overnight- leaving when it was still dark at 6 am. And there were three patrol cars parked out front (from three different police departments in adjoining towns) PLUS the offer ācan I walk you to your car?ā
Honestly, such a genius policy. And when the Brinks truck pulled up (those were the days when everyone paid cash), we had no elaborate security procedure like there is today. The restaurant always had at least one table of folks in uniform who jumped up when they saw the driver!
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Thanks for this comment. I texted my son about your potential vandalism scenario. His apartment does have video cameras. Even better, his cruiser has 4 cameras(front, back & both sides) that run 24 hours a day and the video is automatically stored for 10 days. Hopefully that would make finding any vandals a lot easier. Big brother is always watchingā¦
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Cameras have come a long way. My department was just trying out a body cam when I retired. Having 24hr cameras in the car is a new one for me. Back in the 80ās my department was written up in the FBI magazine because we were using a VHS camera for DUI shifts. Though others had tried in car cameras before I think that article was a catalyst for a whole new era of police camera use. The security camera industry has exploded since that time.
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His cruiser has sensors that identify potential threats behind him while heās parked. The car will automatically lock all the doors, roll up the windows and turn on his emergency lights if someone walks up from the rear.
I canāt imagine what his agency spends on video storage.
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Makes me feel like a dinosaur. 
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It is a feature that is sometimes offered on regular cars, or as a function of aftermarket dash cameras (with multiple camera functionality). So no surprise that it may be available on a police car.
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His body camera also activates as soon as he turns on his emergency lights or draws his duty pistol. Itās a whole new world, from one dinosaur to another.
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GK, hereās to a safe, and if he so chooses, long career for your son.
The rewards can be many.
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I actually think the FBI would be a good career for my future SIL. I think heād go to law school while in as an agent and switch to that branch.
Heās very tall which I think could be good in certain situations (secret service?)
Iām guessing interested people already know this, but itās very difficult to get a job for the FBI.
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What if my kids told me? Wellā¦I would be very surprised, but very supportive and proud.
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