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While becoming a police officer comes with its fair share of risks, there’re many benefits of this career path. So, why do you want to be a police officer? There’re many intangible benefits from serving the community to helping others. Not to mention, there’s a lot of personal gratification involved in this job. Here are some reasons why you should consider this rewarding career.
1. Respectable Paying Job
Will you become rich when pursuing a career in law enforcement? The answer is no, but you can make a respectable living being a police officer. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage for a police officer is about $63,380. That is nothing to sneeze at when you compare it to other professions. While the actual wage will depend on the job group and years of service, the salary is reviewed upwards from time to time.
Beyond the paycheck, an officer can access other perks like insurance options, retirement options, among other benefits. This career offers an opportunity for career advancement which means a higher earning potential. At the basic level, a police officer earns $30,000-$40,000 per annum. And depending on your department, you could finish your career earning more than $80,000 per year. In larger police agencies, you can make several promotions so there’s ample opportunity to advance the career. What’s more, police officers are given attractive health insurance that other corporations can’t provide to employees.
2. You desire to work for the community
Do you feel happy when you serve the community for the greater good? Working as a police officer could be an opportunity to support yourself and the public for the greater good. Unlike those who work in an office from 9-5, a police officer spends most of the time serving the local community. We can learn a lot from Mike Adolf, a retired special agent officer, and program coordinator at Rasmussen College. According to Adolf, the police profession provides a sense of security and allows you to work with the community.
Whether you want to serve someone’s life or diffuse risky situations, you should be ready to be called when someone is in trouble. It doesn’t matter whether you’re serving the larger population or you want to help catch the bad guys – a police officer is the first person to be called when there’s a problem.
Other than being a paramedic, a police officer’s job helps you to save lives. Let’s assume there’s fire, the first person to be called is the police. It’s no surprise that police officers are the first respondent in case of an accident. Even when officers don’t provide first assistance, they save lives just by enforcing the laws within the community. Think about it – when you write a ticket, stop domestic violence, or break up a fight, there’s a good chance you’re saving someone’s life.
3. The job will make you proud
Police officers always form a bond that you can’t find in any other profession. This job also offers a unique kind of solidarity with co-workers. Police officers save lives and provide a variety of responsibilities, so this is an opportunity to shine to the general public. Also, when officers serve the public they create some kind of bond. Police officers will also stand for each other and are loyal to each other during good and bad times.
A police officer is respected in the community and is sworn to protect the area they serve. More interestingly, the majority of them are respected due to their sacrifice and dedication. These people always put their lives on the line to protect the public. The job satisfaction is also unmatched, a good reason to become an officer of the law.
But why become a police officer? To some great extent, working as a law enforcement officer is fun. It’s very rare to hear terms like ` I can’t do this”, I can’t believe, etc. Sometimes, you have to chase people on foot while at other times you have to drive fast. How about working around crime scenes, tracking suspects, or guarding perimeters? While some police activities will bring adrenaline rush, most of the tasks will keep you excited.
4. A good career if you’re interested in early retirement
A police job is one of the few careers that allow you to retire early. While most people don’t consider a career around prospective retirement age, this is something you should consider. A police job will allow you to have a disciplined saving if you’re planning to retire early. And this doesn’t mean that you must have an enormous salary to make your retirement realistic. Generally, police officers are allowed to retire after 20 years of service and can have access to more than 50% of their pension.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most sergeants, inspectors, and constables retire when they are relatively young. They will have an annual pension averaging $15,000. But the early retirement is justified because of the physical demands involved in the job. If you join the service at the age of 25, you can retire at 45 years. Similarly, if you join the service at 40 years, you can retire at 65 years. You can be sure very few careers will have this kind of flexibility.
5. An opportunity to help people get out of a bad situation
If sitting around a desk makes you feel cringe, you should consider a career in law enforcement. Let’s face it: no two days of a police officer are the same. You’ll deal with people that are emotionally unstable, violent, addicted to drugs, and those at the lowest point in their lives. As a police officer, you’ll help people get back to their feet and turn their lives around. If you’re compassionate and dedicated to the job, you should be ready to help people in whichever situation they’re in.
As a law enforcement officer, you’ll work in different environments where you can learn new techniques and tactics in your career. Since learning is on-going, you can learn new defense techniques, languages, physical fitness, etc.
While most people believe that to be a police officer you need to be brave or heroic, you need other traits in this important career. It’s true that you must be courageous and physically fit but you need more than that. If you want to help others, you must have excellent communication skills. When collecting information, you’ll be writing something that can be used in court.
Much of the work involves dealing with people going through hardships, so you must show empathy and remain professional. If you’re dealing with victims, you show them that you’re helping to bring their lives back to normal.
