Considering a Law Enforcement Career?

T.S. · #1 07-11-2014, 02:15 AM

One of the best responses I have ever read ...

Quote:

http://www.thebangswitch.com/conside...rcement-career

Considering a Law Enforcement Career?

July 9, 2014

I have received a number of messages from folks considering a career in law enforcement, asking me questions about the career choice.

it was a person who recently asked me the same question, who was 41 years old with a wife and child, still working in a 20 year long career in the IT field, who made me sit down and write a much more in depth response.

What follows is my response to his questions:

Quote:

As for the career itself, it really is a doubled edged sword. It can be one of the most rewarding things you have ever done, but it can also destroy you.

There is nothing that compares to the feeling of saving someone’s life, especially if that someone is a child. The look in the eyes of a victim, the look that says “thank God you’re here” as they see you arriving is hard to top.

Stopping a crime in progress, although a rare occurrence, is the stuff you dream about, and it will happen a few times for just about everyone, and more for some others (some people just have a knack for being in the right place at the right time).

Then there is the rare, but really fun stuff you get to do. The stuff you see on Cops.

That is the up side, but there is also a big downside. Nearly everyone you come into contact with is meeting you on their very worst day. Something horrible has happened to them and they called for you to come try and put their world back together.

You see all the absolutely horrible things that humans do to one another, to their own loved ones, to their children. That shit eats at your soul, and those are the things that you don’t want to talk to your wife about because no one should have to think about those things.

That leads to a very high occurrence of PTSD and suicide rate in cops. Cop suicide rates are second only to military combat vets. I’ve lost more than a few friends and coworkers to both suicide attempts and PTSD.

In order to make it, you have to find a way to deal with the crap this job shoves at you, and for each person that coping method is different. The thing you cannot do is chose a coping mechanism like drinking, because does nothing but compound the problems. Not surprisingly, alcohol abuse is also very common in this career.

One other thing that I failed to mention to him in my response, and this is something every person who owns a gun for self defense should already be thinking about, is whether or not you can bring yourself to take another human being’s life.

This is not something to be considered lightly, because any hesitation on your part can mean the difference between life or death for you or an innocent person you are there to protect.

.

guitargain · #2 07-13-2014, 12:55 AM

Thanks for posting, as I have recently considered switching careers at the ripe old age of 49. I am currently working as an EMT on our County 911 ambulance and have been doing that for 15 years. I was going to go to the academy and work as a deputy for our Sheriff, but money issues have forced me to put it on the back burner. My wife had to quit work a little over a year ago and we are awaiting her approval for disability and everyone knows how that goes. I see some of the same things that are mentioned in my line of work but not all.

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