Questions to ask yourself when considering a law enforcement career
There are so many aspects and things to consider before pursuing a job in any form of law enforcement. The first thing to consider is your physical fitness. Do you have the ability to do all the physical things required of you, not only to get the job, but to perform your everyday tasks? Any employing agency will first have you get a physical exam before a contingent job offer is even laid on the table. The next thing you will have to do is go through an academy, whether this be a police or corrections academy. At the academy you will be given a set amount of time to go through a setup obstacle course. In this course you will be simulating aspects of day to day work tasks by running up and down stairs, running long distances, dragging a weighted dummy for a predetermined distance and maybe even emergency response.
The next thing that you should consider is emotional stability. Do you stress easily? Do you have the ability to be called names and let it roll off your back? Will you be able to go to work and do your job, encountering all the insanity that lives in the streets and prisons, and then go home and forget about it? If you had to shoot an individual in the line of duty, could you deal appropriately with that?
Another thing to be considered is personal relationships. You will be working long hours, probably get called in on your days off, and may not be able to discuss certain things with your significant other. Are your relationships strong enough to determine when work is work and home is home? Are you able to determine that as well? Do you have the ability to work well with others? Not if butwhenthere comes a time that you need someone to have your back or you need to run in to have someone else's, can you do that whether you like that person or not?
Law enforcement is a very stressful career. No matter which aspect you choose whether "inside" (prisons) or "outside" (patrol) there will be situations that you will deal with on a daily basis that most couldn't bear to see. You will leave your home everyday not knowing when or evenifyou will return. You will deal with people that you may or may not know, can you still enforce the rules? When stressful situations arise can you take a deep breath and move on? Do you have the commitment it takes to put on that badge? If you can honestly answer yes then a career in law enforcement might be what you are looking for.
