To be an LEO....

[exoduster18]

Crankshop1000 - Thanks for bringing the additional, albeit self inflicted, violence that may happen to me. I definitely will not go down that road. I can't say that the job won't affect me negatively, but I am far to strong an individual to allow myself to go down that road.

Brighamr - As far as "police powers" go, I would hope that you would understand that, as a civilian, there are legal powers that LEOs have that we do not. I am not looking at having those "powers" in order to abuse them. They are provided to LEOs in order for them to do that job. Those powers come with being an LEO. Surely you understand that. But what other powers can I call them? They certainly aren't superpowers.....and as I stated before, non-LEO people don't have them.....

I am fiercely independant and I do not mind long hours, or wacky hours. I am the type of person that can be relied upon when in the clutch to get things done. I am (or want to be the person) that you can put your back to mine and now that I have you covered if need be. I am my brother's keeper.

All in all, I like the information that is coming. Please keep it coming. I really appreciate all of the feedback.

 

[exoduster18]

All,

I have spoken to a few of you in PMs and just in general what everyone's decision would be if in the same position as me.

I haven't made a decision as of yet. But I do appreciate the feedback that I have gotten.

I still really feel the need to to be an LEO and leave the job that I have now....but that means taking the classes needed part time for the course over the next 18 months.

I think that I would be comfortable being an LEO, But I am unsure if it is going to be worth it. I young and in good health and I am in a really strong relationship. And I have the backing of my family if need be....so the only thing holding me back really is my job that I currently have (which I actually do enjoy, so I don't ever really work because I like it so much, it's like I get paid to do one of my hobbies for eight hours a day.....), but at same point in time, I do want to be an LEO.

Any other feed back that could be given would really be appreciated as I do need to make a decision soon....

 

[Kind of Blued]

Well, the good news is that you're at the point of "self-actualization" according to Maslow, so you're doing pretty well for yourself.

exoduster18, although very young (23), I feel that I am very much in the same boat as you. I've been in school every semester since graduating high school almost five years ago and have an Associates Degree and a LOT of interests and skills to show for it. I could easily finish up a Bachelor's degree in either Jazz Studies or Photography, but where would that leave me?

I'm visiting three schools this week to check out criminal justice programs, but I'm having a hard time knowing that I could skip it all together and just go straight to the same job that I would get AFTER I get the next degree. The truth is, like you, we'd be fine either way, it just depends on how we will see it years from now... isn't that convenient? So my point is that I'm comfortable in my current position knowing that I already have more higher education achievement than many LEOs, but I'm smart enough to know that "staying in school" is the only choice.

My point is that we don't have all that much time, and you can't really know something without experiencing it, however, being prepared for it is essential. This sounds like something you would like to "figure out" first hand, but being prepared if it turns out to be something you could take or leave, even 10-15 years from now, is part of the question. At the same time, letting fear guide a decision is a sure way to one day find yourself asking yourself questions.

This is an incredibly timely topic/thread for me, so as rambling as I am, I wanted to put something down. I'll probably be revisiting this thread in the future.