I am in a good situation being surrounded by individuals who have been where I am right now and can give valuable advice about my future career within law enforcement. Along with the advice about my future I am getting advice on my current experience in the academy and encouragement throughout the process.
Future Advice
So I have had very good discussions with individuals in my office about my future plans and what to consider. Although I believe I have the law enforcement agency I would like to be a part of chosen in my mind, the detectives recommend not limiting my options and researching other departments as well. What is important to me is furthering my education and having opportunities for advancement within a department. The detectives highly encouraged the pursuit of further education and mentioned the ability to take advanced classes through academy classes. Most departments provide incentives for furthering your education which I find encouraging in itself. Another subject mentioned is the retirement offered by the agencies. There is different retirement offered for officers depending what level you are at within the law enforcement jurisdictions such as federal, state, county, and city peace officers. It was brought to my attention the lack of ability to transfer between the jurisdictions with your qualifying years. For example, if I were to work with a county enforcement agency and transfer to a federal agency, my years in law enforcement within the county agency may not count towards my retirement plan for the federal agency and in essence I would be starting over. This is important to think about considering the years on the job play a major role in money you get after you retire.
Current Advice
So police academy are all different in their own ways but stressful all the same. The academy is set up to put stress on the recruits and encourage them to get the job done regardless. Although the stress is present, the support and tools to succeed are also present and you learn very early on to lean on your fellow recruits to work as a team to get through as you would on the job. Being in an extended format, many of my fellow recruits are participating in this academy at night an on the weekends as well as working all day at their current jobs as I do with the internship. Learning how to handle this has been a learning curve. I have the ability to ask people who have been through similar experiences about advice and help with anything i may need help with during my studies. The emphasis on taking a step back and relax even for a short period of time to spend time with family and friends makes a huge difference in feeling fresh and capable of performing as well as serving as a reminder of why I have decided this career field. They themselves emphasize the importance on leaning on my fellow recruits and finding out who is struggling in areas that I am not and help them and same goes for seeking help from others who are excelling in areas I am not.
I will continue to listen to the advice given and take advantage of this opportunity in my internship to prepare myself for the future.
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