<p>I’m a junior in high school, and was looking for some parents’ opinions on a certain topic. I am very interested in becoming a police officer after I graduate college. I am very excited about this, and have been dreaming of being able to do this for as long as I can remember.</p>
<p>My parents however are not as excited, to say the least (there are/have been no other officers in my family). I’ve gotten into several arguments with them over it. I understand they’re objections are not motivated out of spite, and are solely out of fear for my safety. Nonetheless, I feel like I have no support behind me. </p>
<p>Every time the news shows anything about a police officer being injured or killed (either in the USA or any other country), my parents reaction is to turn to me and say, “See?” Despite my parents comments, I am fully aware of the dangers of the job. I’ve been a volunteer with my city’s police department for 3 years and have seen how bad it can get, at least as much as a civilian can see. Additionally, my parents, relatives, even some friends keep telling me I’ll be throwing my life away, and that I’m too smart to be an officer (I have a 3.9483 GPA and a class rank of 12/479). </p>
<p>This is driving me crazy. Does anyone have advice on how I should proceed in respect to my family? I want to be a police officer so bad, it is something i think about MANY times a day. I feel this is something I will do no matter what, but I’d like to have my family’s support if I could.</p>
<p>I think focusing on finding colleges that will give you a broad based education in the criminal justice system, and less emphasis on what your first job after college will be, will help your parents to keep their minds on the bigger picture.
Which are your first steps after high school, is still to attend college-. :)</p>
<p>ESD, Do you know if the police departments you are interested in joining require degrees in criminal justice, or is any major acceptable? If you have flexibility, it would be a good idea to take up another major that would leave you other options and at the same time ease your partents’ fears.</p>
<p>It’s still a long way off, so who knows if either you or your parents will change their views. Just don’t close any doors on other careers just yet.</p>
<p>You can have a rewarding career in law enforcement and will not be throwing your education away.</p>
<p>Maybe this link will help a little bit. I happened to go to graduate school with this individual (at UC Berkeley), who had a wonderful career in the field, building on and using his BA, Masters in Public Administration and Masters in City & Regional Planning. <a href=“http://www.isrcl.org/Bios/greenburgbio.htm[/url]”>http://www.isrcl.org/Bios/greenburgbio.htm</a> In addition to holding high level positions in law enforcement in several cities, he was also on the faculty of three different schools and is an author.</p>
<p>Not saying that you necessarily want to follow the career path he took, but it might help your parents see the field a little differently.</p>
<p>My son sounds just like you. While I too will sometimes voice concerns over safety, I also tell him that we need smart, ethical people in law enforcement.
Go for your dreams and good luck in your college career</p>
<p>FBI, Homeland Security, PLanning and Emergency Management, etc, etc. Not all law enforcement jobs mean that you are a beat cop risking your life! My daughter has had a dream of being in the FBI for years - did you know that many FBI agents have also been to law school? Don’t forget the military (that should really put your parents in orbit), my now ex BIL was a detective in CID (that’s the Army version of the homicide/drug squad) he’s done good work in Afghanistan with drug interdiction, and works in plainclothes at his home base, it is a little different than what you think of in the army.</p>
<p>There are smart, smart criminals, we need bright, ethical people in law enforcement.</p>
<p>Statistially, being a police officer isn’t a terribly dangerous job. Obviously that depends largely on where you work and such, but still there are a lot of measures in place (as I’m sure you know) to protect officer’s safety.</p>
<p>As for the other thing - its your life, and if you want to do something this bad, you should do it. I’m sure your family will support you when they see how much you enjoy it and want to do it. My brother is going to join the army when he graduates this year before going to college. My mom was definitely against the idea at first, but then she realized that he should be making the decisions that affect his life and his future now.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the replies, I was looking into getting my undergrad degree in an unrelated field, was thinking sociology/psychology, the logic I’ve heard from some officers I spoke with was that I’d have something to fall back on if I decide not to pursue law enforcement, or if I got injured on the job.</p>
<p>Someone suggested looking into the FBI or some other federal agencies. That’s a good idea, but I really looking into go on the local law enforcement route. I just like the person-to-person interactions that can only be had by a “beat-cop.”</p>