Police Detective
A police detective is one of the most important jobs of any city. Police keep the people safe, and are highly under appreciated. In New York, to become a police officer no matter where in the state, you must first take an entrance exam. There is a separate exam for NYC, a separate exam for Nassau County and a separate exam for Suffolk County, both on Long Island. The entrance exams are very competitive and roughly 30,000 people will take each one. The entrance exam only gives you a shot to make it to the academy. Only a few hundred will make it from each exam, if that many are even hired. After that, you are given a tedious background check, and after passing the physical exam, you may make it to the academy. One benefit of having the police force work this way is that probational officers, or rookies, will get full pay while in the academy, which is better than having to pay your way through school. It also allows only for the best officers to get hired. Also, if you make it out the academy and all of the rigorous testings, you are pretty much guaranteed a great job. I want to have a family some day, and one of the most important things to me will be to care for them. I want them to be secure financially and physically. By being a detective, I will make a good salary and also be able to keep my family safe by doing my job in the streets. Generally I will need more training to become a detective. In most forces in NY you need a few years as a regular officer to become detective. I also want to be a part of a special unit one day, maybe a drug task force or the ESU. The ESU is NYC’s version of the SWAT team. This career will fit me because I don’t want any desk job. I need some type of action in my career because I am easily bored by monotonous tasks. I also want to help people in need and to change people’s lives for the better. This job will be one of the most secure as well. Once I’m hired and make it through my probationary period, I will be able to have full insurance for me and my family for life. Plus, ill have a guaranteed salary after twenty years of service. We will always need police so I will always have a job. Suffolk cops make 110,000 after five years. NYC cops make only 76,000 but both have great vacation and benefits. I want to be an officer either way, money matters to me but I still want a great career.