<p>I just stuumbled onto this article, so let’s briefly return to the cop vs. engiener pay debate:</p>
<p>"He is also working in the state with the highest-paid police in the country. Last year, Closter had the sixth-best-paid department in New Jersey, with a median salary of $122,181 before overtime. Seventeen of its 20 officers, including Aiello, made at least $100,000.</p>
<p>A Star-Ledger analysis shows the average municipal cop in New Jersey is paid 80 percent more than the average resident, and three of 10 made at least $100,000 last year. In addition, police tend to be paid the best in small towns with little crime.</p>
<p>Among the other findings:</p>
<p>• The median salary for the state’s 20,525 municipal officers was $90,672 last year, meaning half earned more and half earned less.</p>
<p>• A total of 6,198 municipal officers made at least $100,000 last year. Ninety-nine of 466 towns that pay police have six-figure median salaries. Most are in North Jersey, primarily Bergen County.</p>
<p>• Suburban cops are paid the best while city officers generally make less and rural cops make the least.</p>
<p>[N.J</a>. police salaries rank highest in nation with median pay of $90,672 | NJ.com](<a href=“http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/nj_police_salaries_rank_highes.html]N.J”>N.J. police salaries rank highest in nation with median pay of $90,672 - nj.com)</p>
<p>Sadly, most engineers will never make the kind of money NJ cops do after factoring in overtime. Many engineers will never even make what cops earn without overtime.</p>