Now I've gone and done it... (long)

[RegBarc]

I submitted an application for the Philadelphia Police Department.

Let me give a little background first, and then you can tell me if I've just dorked myself again.

When I got out of college, I applied only to two places with any level of seriousness. The Pennsylvania State Police, and the Phildadelphia Probation/Parole Department. After an extremely grueling application process by the State Police (background checks galore, polygraph test, physical fitness test that'll make you have an MI), they actually extended me an offer to the academy. I also got accepted to be a Parole Officer for Philadelphia, and have recevied no less than 4 letters from the NYPD basically asking me to go to the academy.

So I turned down the State Police, and their ridiculous starting salary with overtime of over $60,000. It would have been such a commitment that I told myself from the start if my heart was not a 100% into it, I wouldn't waste the resources of the Commonwealth, or the State Troopers, with the idea of potentially withdrawing while in the academy.

I'm completely happy with being a Parole Officer. I love the Officers I work with, and I love what I do. It pays quite well, and I don't have any real solid complaints. But on the same token, it's a tough department to become upwardly mobile in. It takes a long time (~15 years) to become a supervisor. So, I decided to apply to the Philadelphia Police Department which has more upward mobility, and would keep me in Philadelphia. The State Police Academy, for example, is in Hershey, PA. And you have to stay there almost the entire duration of the academy. The Philadelphia Police Academy, however, is a 9-5 academy. And it's a 5 minute drive from my house (almost unthinkable in Philadelphia).

I'm doing it to see where it will take me. I can make a more final decision if they extend an offer to me, but I at least am doing this to keep my options open and it still lets me serve a city I so dearly love. I guess it helps I'm already law enforcement in the city and have successfully completed the background of the State Police (which can be damn near impossible).

So yeah, he we go again. :2funny:

[JackBurton]

I submitted an application for the Philadelphia Police Department.

Let me give a little background first, and then you can tell me if I've just dorked myself again.

When I got out of college, I applied only to two places with any level of seriousness. The Pennsylvania State Police, and the Phildadelphia Probation/Parole Department. After an extremely grueling application process by the State Police (background checks galore, polygraph test, physical fitness test that'll make you have an MI), they actually extended me an offer to the academy. I also got accepted to be a Parole Officer for Philadelphia, and have recevied no less than 4 letters from the NYPD basically asking me to go to the academy.

So I turned down the State Police, and their ridiculous starting salary with overtime of over $60,000. It would have been such a commitment that I told myself from the start if my heart was not a 100% into it, I wouldn't waste the resources of the Commonwealth, or the State Troopers, with the idea of potentially withdrawing while in the academy.

I'm completely happy with being a Parole Officer. I love the Officers I work with, and I love what I do. It pays quite well, and I don't have any real solid complaints. But on the same token, it's a tough department to become upwardly mobile in. It takes a long time (~15 years) to become a supervisor. So, I decided to apply to the Philadelphia Police Department which has more upward mobility, and would keep me in Philadelphia. The State Police Academy, for example, is in Hershey, PA. And you have to stay there almost the entire duration of the academy. The Philadelphia Police Academy, however, is a 9-5 academy. And it's a 5 minute drive from my house (almost unthinkable in Philadelphia).

I'm doing it to see where it will take me. I can make a more final decision if they extend an offer to me, but I at least am doing this to keep my options open and it still lets me serve a city I so dearly love. I guess it helps I'm already law enforcement in the city and have successfully completed the background of the State Police (which can be damn near impossible).

So yeah, he we go again. :2funny:

Dude, Good Luck you couldn't have picked an easier city to be a cop in. :)

[Jobeth66]

Is Iris having kittens yet, or is she not talking to you?

Man. Good luck - but that's scary. I'd rather see you be a statey. What district would you be in, and would you be a beat cop to start?

[RegBarc]

Is Iris having kittens yet, or is she not talking to you?

Man. Good luck - but that's scary. I'd rather see you be a statey. What district would you be in, and would you be a beat cop to start?
I know for sure I would not be in the 8th District, since you're not allowed to live in the District you patrol. My caseload as a P.O. is in the 22nd District primarily, so it'd be pretty nice (though unlikely) to get an assignment that.

But given the size of the city and department, it's almost impossible to tell. Pipe dreams. Luckily, "I know some people" so it makes it a lot easier. But it's still not definite, and it's not like I'm disenfranchised with my current department. I just hope it doesn't look like I'm staring a gift horse in the mouth.

[RegBarc]

And no kittens. ;)

[mercurial]

Wait- I thought you had some hang up with your original applications?

[RegBarc]

Wait- I thought you had some hang up with your original applications?
Well, I'm trying to think what hangups I had, because there were a lot of things they disected. Ummm...they got all the serial numbers from all my guns and ran them, they talked to the people I grew up with in New Jersey to crosscheck the age of a girl I dated to make sure it was a legal relationship, they talked to everyone I basically knew in person at the time of the application....

Law enforcement applications are pretty pervasive, but I would much rather have it that way. I would rather have people in law enforcement that go through that. But it's also an application process that I'm used to now. ;)

[mercurial]

Nah... I wanted to say it was an issue with the polygraph but it was an old thread and my memory isn't that great.

[Makita]

I would have thought that it might be better to get a few years under the belt first before taking a lateral move like this. Then again, it sounds like this is something you wanted to do from the Git-Go...

Good luck!
(now the hand-cuffing you and Skittles do could be 'leagal' -Eh?)
;)

[RegBarc]

Nah... I wanted to say it was an issue with the polygraph but it was an old thread and my memory isn't that great.
Oh yeah, I remember now. The State Police polygraph I had one or two possible "hot spots", but after they analyzed the polygraph strips and checked it against my background investigation, it wasn't enough to disqualify me. Which, in State Police terms, means the machine probably wasn't accounting for me being nervous.

[DeeDee]

Good luck RegBarc!

[thevargasgrl]

Niiice! I hope you get it!

[BrettStah]

Good luck, dude!