Graduating soon. Off to the real world.

[Azrael256]

So, I graduate May 6th with a BA in History.  I was never sure what I wanted to do with my degree, I just knew I wanted to study history from the day I showed up.  Now it's time to pick a career.  I have a plan, and I want everybody's advice.

My mother is seriously ticked off about my choice.  I'll say that right up front.  None of us have fond feelings for my father (none of us talk to him), and I'm looking at the same career.  Dad was a Dallas Police Officer for 18 years.  For a long, long time, I despised cops.  I had a bit of a problem distinguishing my father from his job.  Something that entails as much as law enforcement will tend to permeate every aspect of your life, so whenever I saw a trait in an officer that reminded me of him, I had less than fuzzy feelings.

In the last four months, however, I have spent a good deal more time with some very close friends who work in the field.  One fellow I went to school with is now a corrections officer.  His father spent some years as a police officer, moved to corrections, and is now a P&P officer.  Visiting them and talking about it, I began to separate the job from the man.  I recognize a number of my father's traits in myself that made him a good cop, and I'm picking off the traits I got from him that make him a truly awful person as quickly as I see them.  I ain't fallin' into the same hole he did.

I have no delusions about police work.  While I haven't gone kicking in doors and busting pimps, I am intimately acquainted with the vast majority of the job.  I know dad spent an inordinate amount of time doing paperwork.  When I was very young, our "quality time" was sitting in his lap at the kitchen table while he wrote up a report for this, and filled out paperwork for that.  I am fully aware that his job entailed hours upon hours of tedium and boredom, occasionally punctuated with brief moments of sheer terror.

On the other hand, I consider myself an above average communicator.  I speak several languages reasonably well, and I have what I believe is a good command of the English language.  My spelling isn't perfect, but it's better than average, and I know what a dictionary is.  I rarely have trouble communicating with other people in written or spoken language.  I am told that good communication skills are the most important thing an officer can have.  I don't expect report writing to be a whole lot of fun, but I believe I'll do well.

I am also acutely aware of the family effects.  I know all about the 0300 officer assist calls, the interrupted dinners, and the missed baseball games.  I don't plan to have a family anytime soon, and I am aware enough of the family stresses that I will, hopefully, have the ability to balance work and home by the time a family comes along.  I know it won't be easy, but I know I can at least do better than my father did.

I know it's tiring, boring, and sometimes dangerous.  I know I will spend far too much time dealing with people who just barely register as human.  I know I will spend far too much time dealing with those same people over and over again.  I know I will deal with other officers, some of whom have little more than a pulse to offer.  I think I can handle it.

Most importantly, I feel that it is what I should be doing, and I believe I have something to give.

So, what are your thoughts?  I am open to both affirmation and criticism, so let me have it.

[w turner]

It sounds to me like you are going into this with your eyes much more wide open than most young men who choose LE as a profession.  You have a better idea than most of what being a cop is really all about.  It's about much more than pursuits (foot or car), the latest tactical gear, the bat belt, the flashing lights and the "prestige" that comes with being a cop and you know that personally.  

If after knowing and experiencing all that you have, you still want to enter that line of work and feel that you not only CAN contribute, but WANT to do so and yet still remain a relatively normal, balanced person then go for it.  If you get into it  and realize after a couple of years that it's not what you want, then move on.  The badge comes off just as easily as it goes on.


W

[JAlexander]

Give it a go, because you never know if it will suit you until you try it.  From what you've said, I think you'd be well-suited to a law enforcement career, and since you speak more languages than just English, you'd be an asset to the department.  And while your mother may not be wild about it, mothers love us in spite of how we aggravate them.  Congratulations on graduating, it's harder than it it looks.
At least you have an idea of what you want to do.  I'm graduating May 13 with a BA in Spanish, and while I'm on the 15 Year Plan, I still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.

James

[Art Eatman]

If you decide against police work, there are a bunch of multi-national corporations who'd pay well for anybody who's multi-lingual and has a knowledge of the histories of foreign countries.   They're always looking for folks of the "Have brain, will train." style.

For whatever reason, the more languages one knows, the easier it is to learn new ones.  A major dramatic weakness of the U.S. is the general lack of people who are poly-lingual.  The corporate world is desparate.  (So are the CIA and the military for that matter, but the higher-ups haven't really realized it on the emotional level that makes them desparate enough to do something about it.)

Art

[SpookyPistolero]

I agree that it sounds like you have a good grasp of what skills and abilities make the most difference.

Have you any interest in, or considered, something like the FBI? I know they're always hard up for someone with advanced language ability. It might not fit future 'life' plans, of course.

Good luck with the decision!

[Azrael256]

I appreciate everybody's replies.  It really is what I feel I want to do, and Turner, I will remember that the badge can come right off if it begins to overwhelm me.

Spooky, I have very seriously considered federal service.  My interest at the federal level is mostly in the Marshals Service.  I have researched all of the federal branches that interest me, and I think the Marshals are the best fit.  The Postal Inspectors are a close second.  What I found was that the services I like greatly prefer, and even require prior LE experience.  I'm thinking that I'll try it out at the local level while I deal with my student loans, which, at worst, will take 5 years to pay off.  The loans aren't too big, and I happen to live in a city that pays its police pretty well.  Additionally, the department(s) I'm looking at offer full tuition reimbusement for grad school, so if I can pull off a MS in criminal justice in five years at the cost of books, so much the better when I look to the federal level.

And if I do it for a few years and decide that I just can't stomach being a cop any more, I'll come out of the deal with no debt, another degree, and several years of solid work experience.  Then I would probably do just what you suggest, Art.  I feel that I can make this a career, but I can also use it to open doors into a dozen other fields.

Thank you for your thoughts.  It really helps.

[SpookyPistolero]

Sounds like you've got things squared away pretty darn well! Hope you enjoy it as much as it sounds like you might.

[grampster]

You've had some good advice so far, and you are looking at The Job with a proper perspective.
 
I served for 7 years.  From age 19 (cadet) through age 25.  I wouldn't trade those years for anything.  I made some lifelong special friendships, learned about human nature, developed human interactive skills, was involved in some momentous stuff (caught armed robbers, murderers; really bad people as well as dealt with the pathetic), met and interacted with some truly amazing people, two of whom went on to become President of the United States and most importantly I learned a lot about myself; my courage, my judgement, my ability to discern, built my confidence and on and on.  There is nothing so uplifting as reuniting a lost child with his parents.  There is nothing more devestating than delivering the message of death of a child to a parent.  I have done both and 40 odd years later those experiences resonate with me as if they had happened yesterday.  I see their faces as I type.

Once you put the badge on you need to fully grasp the responsibility that you undertake.  You can still have a good time in life, but you need to come to grips that you have a high calling; you can take away someone's freedom.  As such you are the only person who can lawfuly do that.  So, you need to hold yourself to a higher standard.  Not in arrogance, but rather be humbled by that office.

Even if you stop doing The Job, you never unpin the badge.  It is a brotherhood much like the Marines.  It will stay with you for life.  You may go on to do other things, but you will be a better man for what you have done.

Good luck and Godspeed.