LEO total compensation?

[JJMAC]

I am intersted in changing careers. I am currently in finance and make a good living. I hat the job and always have wanted to be in LE. i am 30 and have 2 kids.

Here is my question....CAn someone please inform me of the average percentage of overtime one can make in LE. I know there are a lot of variables, and I know that it all depends on department etc,

But I would like to know say if you are a state police officer whose base is $35k. How much more (on average) can one make in overtime.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[sheepdog]

I don't think there is a way this question can be answered accurately enough to really help you. You need to check with the agency with which you wish to apply and talk to some street level troops. Some agencies have ZERO overtime, comp-time only. Some may have minimum staffing and mandatory OT. Different areas may have different staffing demands. A bad budget year can cost money for the agency, and OT may or may not be the first thing hit. It is just a hugely variable answer, possibly even within an agency. Aside from overtime, there are part time job opportunities-also hugely variable from state to state to city to city.
Best of luck, but depending on OT might be a thin reed.

[thirtyonebravo]

as sheepdog said, it's a pretty hard thing to answer, unless maybe getting it from a local dept. I wouldn't really depend on that much though, and if it's going to be a really big pay cut for you (and have two kids), it might not be a great move, unless you really want to do it.

Whatever base salary it is, LEOs aren't paid nearly enough for the job they do, or putting their lives on the line, IMHO. Just like the military, LEOs most certainly don't join up for the money, it's just something they've wanted to do since they were a kid, or just have a desire to help people, protect their communities, and rid the streets of low-lifes.

[cagueits]

Look into the Federal OIG sector (1800 series) (mostly auditing from what I've read up), they might hire you depending on what your finance experience is. They get base pay + LE pay + locality pay + other benefits.

Look at OPMs website for the jobs you might be interested, take note of the series number. Link:

http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/se...b/alph-ndx.asp

Then go to usajobs and look up the series. Link:

http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/series_search.asp

Most of the times you get a salary range on the anouncements. Also look around OPMs website for the benefits section.

Hope it helps.

[rocky]

way too many variables. Heck up here sometimes you didn't know if there was gonna be a road patrol.

[LenS]

JJ,

I don't have any inside info, but at least by living in your area I can add some localization info for you.

- Unless you already are holding an "invitation" to join MSP, you are likely to find that it could take years to get on the List and get picked.

- Also as I was discussing the MSP with a retired Trooper on Saturday, there are some very serious politics in play as to where you are going to be assigned in MSP. If you get sent to Western MA, you might find the OT situation VERY different than if you get assigned to a Boston area barracks.

- MSP - As long as we continue to rip up, rebuild and re-pave the Interstate highways the "gravy train" will continue to be very fat. Ditto . . . as long as parts of the Big Dig still keeps falling down on cars or the roadways, the Troopers will get rich on OT in this area.

Now for Local PDs:

- Some in places like Foxboro, Mansfield, etc. offer tons of OT/details due to the venues located there.

- Other towns have damn near no details except on the rare occasions that they rebuild a roadway or intersection, something that happens every 20 years or so and the OT may last for a year or two.

Figuring out exactly where you want to work, ensuring that you are likely to be hired there and then inquiring about these things from the troops in that area is the only reliable way to figure this out for you.

[JJMAC]

Thanks for all your help guys.!!

Even knowing the colonel for MSP doesn't help me!! I was told that they are still hiring from a test given in '02~! and without prior LEO, Military expierince, its almost impossible to get in.

[LenS]

Sorry. I didn't want to burst your bubble, but they are very tough to get in unless you are a minority.

Building experience with a local PD and then trying for a lateral into MSP is not impossible. I worked with one officer who did that and went on to specialize in accident reconstruction. He gets lots of OT, but called out at any odd hour of the day/night.