Texas Police Officers

[rdjustham]

If your lookin to make a good living in law enforcement, be prepared to work extra shifts, off duty details, and as much overtime as you can get. Most of the time, the pay is just enough to scrape to get by.  My brother in law is a police officer in Washington State makin 90k after only 3 years on the job.  The cost of living there though means he and my sister bust their humps to get by.

I made 50k last year and was scrapin at times, and my base is 37k after 8 years, one shooting, broken hand (3x) a good ass whoopin and a blown out knee.  Too add to that the governor has changed and is trying to change again my retirement (which now costs me over 100 bucks a month).

If your looking at LE for pay and benefits, please please please do me and yourself a favor and reconsider.  Ive trained alotta guys who got into this career for the same reasons only for them to leave a short time later because they realized the pay and benefits alone arent worth it, which means someone else who wanted the job for the right reasons didnt get it.

And Dsmith, people suck!  there is no other way around it.  Deal with the incopetance, stupidity and the pure and utter meanness of people for long enough and you too will come to the same conclusion.  Now not saying there are not a lot of great people out there and it is great to be able to truly help someone, but as a collective all of us included the human race SUCKS.

[rdjustham]

Oh and if you join a dept with a union be prepared to deal with that mess too.  Politics there are just as bad.  If its a sheriff's dept with a union  .  We just unionized a year or so ago and its been HELL!!!

[S_J_KENNELS]

If your lookin to make a good living in law enforcement, be prepared to work extra shifts, off duty details, and as much overtime as you can get. Most of the time, the pay is just enough to scrape to get by.  My brother in law is a police officer in Washington State makin 90k after only 3 years on the job.  The cost of living there though means he and my sister bust their humps to get by.

I made 50k last year and was scrapin at times, and my base is 37k after 8 years, one shooting, broken hand (3x) a good ass whoopin and a blown out knee.  Too add to that the governor has changed and is trying to change again my retirement (which now costs me over 100 bucks a month).

If your looking at LE for pay and benefits, please please please do me and yourself a favor and reconsider.  Ive trained alotta guys who got into this career for the same reasons only for them to leave a short time later because they realized the pay and benefits alone arent worth it, which means someone else who wanted the job for the right reasons didnt get it.

And Dsmith, people suck!  there is no other way around it.  Deal with the incopetance, stupidity and the pure and utter meanness of people for long enough and you too will come to the same conclusion.  Now not saying there are not a lot of great people out there and it is great to be able to truly help someone, but as a collective all of us included the human race SUCKS.

X 2

He about sums it up I have been in law enforcement 7 years almost 8 now and it is a love hate relationship. I love what I do and my job, but I hate the pay. An yes ALL people suck LOL it makes my day to help people and see their appreciation, but on the other hand whan you deal with the wanna be thugs and number 2 heads who don't give a damn about their life or yours wel.......... lol you have to suck it up and be nice still LOL. Hope you do it if you want to do that and for the right reasons. This job has its own rewards and its own down falls at that. One of the biggest downfalls is the divorce rate. If you do make the streets be sure to join TMPA or one of the other LEO support groups. They can really help when you need it.

[rdjustham]

^^^^couldnt agree more.  The divorce rate is rediculous.  Have solid friends and watch ur partners back and ull be fine. 

[dwhd93]

Yall mention the crappy pay and dealin with thugs and all that. Look at TDCJs pay and divorce rate. Before taxes i make a lil over $2,600 a month BEFORE taxes. Thats barely gettin by. Look at TDCJs divorce rate. Its just as bad if not worse.
Law enforcement is somethin ive always been interested in. Growin up all i wanted to be was a marine. My senior year i tore my acl and mcl and played 2 more football games on it never gettin it repaired. Marines wouldnt take me neither would the army. My next option was a game warden got ready to look at colleges and my dad got sick so i had to grow up quick and pay the bills.
Now i have the oppurtunity to be in law enforcement. To try and help a community. DSmith gave me alot of good advice. I know theres gonna obstacles in LE. But what job doesnt have obstacles?
And IMHO if you dont try your best to be the best then whats the point?

Thankyou all for yalls opinions. They have all helped me in one way or another.

[DSmith]

18 years working the streets on the east side of San Antonio and an FTO the last 6 years, I think I know what I'm talking about. 
I'm not barely scrappin' by, don't work many extra jobs anymore, base pays about $70K plus the benefits.  Guys that that do work a lot of extra jobs are making 6 figures.  I've got about 6 months total time built up with comp time, holidays, bonus days, sick days, vacation days, and fitness days.  I could literally take off for six months, paid.  I'm maxed out on every column except vacation and I'll have that maxed by the time I hit 20, then I HAVE TO TAKE OFF 2 months a year or I'll lose it.  Yeah, let me complain about that.
My wife, my first and only wife, and I just celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary on the 18th.   We just moved my oldest daughter, who was born the week before I went in the academy up to A&M at College Station.  We had her college tuition paid for by the time she was 10, same with my youngest, the 12 year old.  Been putting the money aside for both since they were born. 
Do I get tired of the "baby momma drama?"  Sure, there are times when enough is enough.  But life is good, the job is great, and I have never, ever in my 18 years dreaded going into work or found myself saying "thank God it's Friday."  I still jump on every call that I can take, whether it's for me or another officer that's already been assigned.  If I can get there first, I take it and cancel them. 
If I honestly thought people suck and found my job to be something I dreaded doing everyday, I  wouldn't keep doing it.  I actually love my job, love dealing with the people, yes, all of them, and highly recommend the job to those that can do it.   
And they don't call the eastside of San Antonio "crack ally" for nothing.  There's a hardly a day/night that goes by without a shots fired call and we average around 3 murders a month.  We joke that no one there has a drivers license but they all know their jail ID number by heart, so that's what we ask for.  When people ask us, 'aren't you guys afraid working the eastside and I always reply, "no, you know everyone is armed, so it takes the guess work out."  70% precent of the people that I 'serve' don't have jobs, vote democrat so they can keep getting SSI, are in a gang, don't own a car legally, and can't tell the truth to save their life.  But I don't have the attitude that people suck.  I just do my job, treat people with respect, and every once in a while, I come across one of those people that actually appreciates us and the job that we do and that's all you can ask for.
The job is what you make it.  People ask me all the time about how do we deal with the stress of the job.  We all laugh at that, "we ask in return WHAT STRESS?"  If I was stressed everyday being a cop, then that means I'm in the wrong job.  If a doctor is stressed because he's about to go into surgery and operate on some guys heart, then he's in the wrong job and I'd hate to be the guy on the table. 
And we got a union, yeah, I'm stressed out about that too.  Thanks to them we are getting another pay raise come October 1st, should I tell the wife?

[S_J_KENNELS]

18 years working the streets on the east side of San Antonio and an FTO the last 6 years, I think I know what I'm talking about. 
I'm not barely scrappin' by, don't work many extra jobs anymore, base pays about $70K plus the benefits.  Guys that that do work a lot of extra jobs are making 6 figures.  I've got about 6 months total time built up with comp time, holidays, bonus days, sick days, vacation days, and fitness days.  I could literally take off for six months, paid.  I'm maxed out on every column except vacation and I'll have that maxed by the time I hit 20, then I HAVE TO TAKE OFF 2 months a year or I'll lose it.  Yeah, let me complain about that.
My wife, my first and only wife, and I just celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary on the 18th.   We just moved my oldest daughter, who was born the week before I went in the academy up to A&M at College Station.  We had her college tuition paid for by the time she was 10, same with my youngest, the 12 year old.  Been putting the money aside for both since they were born. 
Do I get tired of the "baby momma drama?"  Sure, there are times when enough is enough.  But life is good, the job is great, and I have never, ever in my 18 years dreaded going into work or found myself saying "thank God it's Friday."  I still jump on every call that I can take, whether it's for me or another officer that's already been assigned.  If I can get there first, I take it and cancel them. 
If I honestly thought people suck and found my job to be something I dreaded doing everyday, I  wouldn't keep doing it.  I actually love my job, love dealing with the people, yes, all of them, and highly recommend the job to those that can do it.   
And they don't call the eastside of San Antonio "crack ally" for nothing.  There's a hardly a day/night that goes by without a shots fired call and we average around 3 murders a month.  We joke that no one there has a drivers license but they all know their jail ID number by heart, so that's what we ask for.  When people ask us, 'aren't you guys afraid working the eastside and I always reply, "no, you know everyone is armed, so it takes the guess work out."  70% precent of the people that I 'serve' don't have jobs, vote democrat so they can keep getting SSI, are in a gang, don't own a car legally, and can't tell the truth to save their life.  But I don't have the attitude that people suck.  I just do my job, treat people with respect, and every once in a while, I come across one of those people that actually appreciates us and the job that we do and that's all you can ask for.
The job is what you make it.  People ask me all the time about how do we deal with the stress of the job.  We all laugh at that, "we ask in return WHAT STRESS?"  If I was stressed everyday being a cop, then that means I'm in the wrong job.  If a doctor is stressed because he's about to go into surgery and operate on some guys heart, then he's in the wrong job and I'd hate to be the guy on the table. 
And we got a union, yeah, I'm stressed out about that too.  Thanks to them we are getting another pay raise come October 1st, should I tell the wife?

Well said and good points. Wished our department paid that good LOL. Barely getting 5 an hour lol. BTW don't get me wrong I love my job and doing what I do.

[rdjustham]

Dsmith, it sounds like your dept is the minority.  to get those kinda benefits here you need to be command staff.  im so used to scrappin by workin like i do i dont know what id do if i made that kinda money, with that much time off.

[S_J_KENNELS]

OPPPSSS jsut saw it left out the 1 LOL. $15 an hour and same here RD

[DSmith]

I understand we are the minority, that's why my original post described all the various jobs in law enforcement and I told him if he decided he wanted to go big, I'd point him in the right direction.  He and I have PM'd eachother a few times and he stated he has obligations that dictate he stay near his hometown.  I understand that and respect that.  I'm from the Dallas area, had no issues with moving.  For many, moving is not an option and like I said in my original post, if you can't or won't move, you are limiting yourself on options.
I wasn't going to respond to the post to begin with, I tend to stay away from these online discussions about the job, but with so many 'seemingly' negative posts, I felt compelled to post a positive about the job.  If the young man is interested in the career field, he deserves both sides of the coin.
My hats off to all the guys out there, all across America, doing this dangerous work and not getting much in return for it.  I just chose to go big and I have no regrets.

[southtexasff]

I've been at it for 6 years... its rough at times, pays decent, alot of off duty available,  alot of over-time on patrol, it makes you appreciate what you have when you deal with the less fortunate,  there is politics but that is everywhere not just LE, get hired on with an agency that has a major highway running through and interdict the hell out of it.. I love my job, look forward to my mondays and kinda hate my fridays.

[dwhd93]

I looked up a couple of the bigger cities around and huntsville is one of thr ones thatll pay to go through the academy. So im gonna call and see what i can find out when there office is open tomorrow

[S_J_KENNELS]

I looked up a couple of the bigger cities around and huntsville is one of thr ones thatll pay to go through the academy. So im gonna call and see what i can find out when there office is open tomorrow

Good luck

[rdjustham]

Good luck brother.  It really is alotta fun.  I spent 7 years on the road humpin calls, everything from the rich neighborhood to sneakin through the dope neighborhoods.  Im workin in the marine unit now, runnin boats lookin at bikinis and workin on my tan.  LIfe dont get much better.  Just gotta earn your bones on the street.

[dwhd93]

Good luck brother.  It really is alotta fun.  I spent 7 years on the road humpin calls, everything from the rich neighborhood to sneakin through the dope neighborhoods.  Im workin in the marine unit now, runnin boats lookin at bikinis and workin on my tan.  LIfe dont get much better.  Just gotta earn your bones on the street.

That right there is the life lol
I appreciate it yall

[DSmith]

Im workin in the marine unit now, runnin boats lookin at bikinis and workin on my tan.  LIfe dont get much better.  Just gotta earn your bones on the street.

Sweet!  And here I thought I had it good.  Now that sounds like the kind of police work I could get used to!   
 

 
 
 

[dub]

Yall mention the crappy pay and dealin with thugs and all that. Look at TDCJs pay and divorce rate. Before taxes i make a lil over $2,600 a month BEFORE taxes. Thats barely gettin by. Look at TDCJs divorce rate. Its just as bad if not worse.
Law enforcement is somethin ive always been interested in. Growin up all i wanted to be was a marine. My senior year i tore my acl and mcl and played 2 more football games on it never gettin it repaired. Marines wouldnt take me neither would the army. My next option was a game warden got ready to look at colleges and my dad got sick so i had to grow up quick and pay the bills.
Now i have the oppurtunity to be in law enforcement. To try and help a community. DSmith gave me alot of good advice. I know theres gonna obstacles in LE. But what job doesnt have obstacles?
And IMHO if you dont try your best to be the best then whats the point?

Thankyou all for yalls opinions. They have all helped me in one way or another.

Me I want people to tell me the worst parts of a job so I can make a good decission and be preparred for the bad things. If I know the divorce rate is high then I know I better make sure my wife knows how inportant she is to me. I better come home after a bad day and tell her that I love her and put a smile on my face and leave that bad attitude outside the door. If you know it is going to rain you can get you coat and boots. I would rather be ready for the bad instead of being caught off guard. Then when you wife starts telling you that you are a jerk and acting like a horses rear you will listen instead of telling her she is wrong. I tell people that if the world looks like poop then you must have your head up your @$$.

So man you do what you need to do to take care of your family. Listen to the bad stuff but don't let stop but make you a better man and the kind of cop that if I have to get stopped then let it be by you. I got a ticket from a cop and I still think he was the nicest cop ever even though he gave me the ticket. So I hope you do well and just treat people right no matter what they do to you. Then you can hold your head up where ever you go.

[dwhd93]

Yall mention the crappy pay and dealin with thugs and all that. Look at TDCJs pay and divorce rate. Before taxes i make a lil over $2,600 a month BEFORE taxes. Thats barely gettin by. Look at TDCJs divorce rate. Its just as bad if not worse.
Law enforcement is somethin ive always been interested in. Growin up all i wanted to be was a marine. My senior year i tore my acl and mcl and played 2 more football games on it never gettin it repaired. Marines wouldnt take me neither would the army. My next option was a game warden got ready to look at colleges and my dad got sick so i had to grow up quick and pay the bills.
Now i have the oppurtunity to be in law enforcement. To try and help a community. DSmith gave me alot of good advice. I know theres gonna obstacles in LE. But what job doesnt have obstacles?
And IMHO if you dont try your best to be the best then whats the point?

Thankyou all for yalls opinions. They have all helped me in one way or another.

Me I want people to tell me the worst parts of a job so I can make a good decission and be preparred for the bad things. If I know the divorce rate is high then I know I better make sure my wife knows how inportant she is to me. I better come home after a bad day and tell her that I love her and put a smile on my face and leave that bad attitude outside the door. If you know it is going to rain you can get you coat and boots. I would rather be ready for the bad instead of being caught off guard. Then when you wife starts telling you that you are a jerk and acting like a horses rear you will listen instead of telling her she is wrong. I tell people that if the world looks like poop then you must have your head up your @$$.

So man you do what you need to do to take care of your family. Listen to the bad stuff but don't let stop but make you a better man and the kind of cop that if I have to get stopped then let it be by you. I got a ticket from a cop and I still think he was the nicest cop ever even though he gave me the ticket. So I hope you do well and just treat people right no matter what they do to you. Then you can hold your head up where ever you go.

Definately didnt look at what they where sayin as advice till you put it this way. It is greatly appreciated Dub

[YELLOWBLACKMASK]

Wouldn't worry about the divorce rate to much.

There is a remedy that is affectionately known as "Chippies"

Should cover all those sleep on the couch....or get out of my house kinda days. 

[dwhd93]

Hahaha whats chippies?