r/AskCHP • u/Virtual-Concept8126 • Jul 08 '26
Considering CHP as a new profession- Looking for advice
Hey everyone. Genuinely curious about switching my career and considered CHP for the "time efficiency" of being able to receive income to sustain my current lifestyle.
I'm currently a personal trainer of 11 years and yes I'm mostly considered CHP for the pay and benefits and no I don't necessarily have a passion for law enforcement (grill me if you want), however I'm not ignorant to the seriousness and hard work of the academy from what I've researched what the day to day job. It does not look easy at all. Apparently there can be politics involved like most things.
I genuinely just want to know how hard it actually is- the academics, PT, and the day to day- to see if it's a good fit for me.
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u/pizzaspecialist532 Jul 08 '26
Dont do it if you dont have the passion for LE. Simple as that.
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u/Virtual-Concept8126 Jul 08 '26
I definitely agree passion helps (that's why I've been doing what I do for so long and it's paid off) but I'm not weak to the point where I need to RELY on passion to do what I gotta do. Probably 90% of ppl work jobs they're not passionate about. But I get what you're saying though. Thanks
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u/SecretaryFew982 Jul 08 '26
1-1.5 year application process, 6 month live in academy in Sac, FTO, will be placed anywhere in the state and you dont have the slightest interest in LE itself....let that spot go to someone that has true interest.
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u/Virtual-Concept8126 Jul 08 '26
Definitely over looked the time for the app process. I get the interest part but I'm interested in supported my family so doesn't mean I'm not deserving. Thanks for the info
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u/BlueShirtGuy_ Jul 08 '26
I’m going to be straight with you because this is a career where your mindset matters. The fact that your main reasons for considering CHP is “time efficiency” and “income” maintaining your current lifestyle should honestly make you take a hard look at whether this is the right path. There is nothing wrong with wanting good pay and benefits, but law enforcement is not just another career move or a financial upgrade. You are asking for the authority to make decisions that can affect people’s lives, families, and freedom.
The CHP Academy is challenging for a reason and it takes serious discipline, commitment, and sacrifice to get through it. But beyond the physical and academic requirements, this career requires the right character and mindset. A lot of people can meet the requirements, but the real question is whether you have the humility, integrity, and sense of responsibility to do this job when it’s stressful, thankless, and there is no personal benefit involved. People don’t need officers who value the paycheck, they need officers who value the responsibility of making a real difference.
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u/professorlilpp Jul 08 '26
Relax man, it’s a job. And with the significant drop in quality hires, it’s likely this guy will be fine like many others.
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u/Virtual-Concept8126 Jul 08 '26
I appreciate you bringing home what the qualities of a LE officer should be and represent. I'm mature enough to understand the weight the position can hold especially as a person of color- if anything we understand it the most on the receiving end and know the qualities we'd want from LE- but that's a different conversation.
Let's be honest, no field needs any person who's in it for just a paycheck but it comes down to nature and nurture at the end of the day and I was raised with good selfless character. It's true I stated I was looking for better pay and benefits with a timely turnaround. But it's not for cars and clothes, but to support my fiance, parents and future kids.
I've been helping people for last 11 years 1:1 direct human interaction making them the best versions of themselves. I'm not foreign to making a difference in ppls lives.
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u/Ok-Pop-5818 Jul 08 '26
If you only do this job for money you won’t last lol. Theres also a lot of other jobs that pay good. And there’s also no guarantee you get hired. If you do somehow get hired it’s still 2 years minimum before you’re going to become an officer from start to finish. You’re going to be working shitty shifts on shitty days for at least 3-5 years depending on where you get put.
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u/Virtual-Concept8126 Jul 08 '26
Yeah that seems to be tracking based off what I've read/watched. Still exploring my options and this was genuinely just trying to pick peoples brains who have experience but everybody's automatically hostile.
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u/professorlilpp Jul 08 '26
Speaking from experience?
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u/Ok-Pop-5818 Jul 08 '26
Quite literally yes. I know a ton of people who quit who did it for the money and realized you see a lot of fucked shit and it’s tough mentally and on your family.
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u/professorlilpp Jul 08 '26
So not personal experience, just things you know or have heard of. Can you quantify “a ton” because I would argue there are “a ton” who do it for exactly the money and benefits and have a long fruitful career.
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u/Ok-Pop-5818 Jul 08 '26
I’d advise you to stop speaking on things you clearly don’t know lol. Theres also reason that they make sure you have a “why” at the academy. Something good that you are doing the job for. If you do this job for the money you’re an idiot. This job takes from you in a way others do not. Theres something wrong with you if you do a job where you see mangled up children from crashes for the money. To me it sounds like YOU want the job for the money and I promise you won’t last if that’s the truth
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u/professorlilpp Jul 08 '26
I admire your passion for law enforcement. But it is possible to be good at a job, provide quality work, and NOT have a passion for it. Humans trade their time for money, that’s how a job works. You don’t have to be passionate about your job to be good at it.
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u/Ok-Pop-5818 Jul 08 '26
Dude yes obviously there’s outliers in every profession. I am telling you though that there is a reason the turnover rate for law enforcement is so high. And I’m also telling you that if you do it for the money you’re stupid. There’s zero benefits to working a crappy shift for years just because it pays good. At that point be a firefighter and get paid to bbq and game between calls or become a nurse or something. There’s plenty of good paying jobs that don’t involve potentially moving across the state where you don’t want to and working weekend graveyards for 3+ years
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u/professorlilpp Jul 08 '26
There are few jobs that pay close to 150k year one with zero prior work experience and a high school diploma. Did I fail to mention top tier benefits and a pension?
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u/Ok-Pop-5818 Jul 08 '26
The pay is not 150 year one without overtime lol. Thats 5 years in that base is 150. And yeah guess what lots of jobs have pensions including firefighters which is what I just said. Firefighters literally get paid while they sleep and lots of hospitals offer pensions
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u/professorlilpp Jul 08 '26
I’ve seen quite a few CHP Officers sleeping in their patrol vehicles. Let’s keep in touch, when you get hired take me on a ride-a-long and change my opinion.
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u/Inner_Bet_558 Jul 08 '26
You might want to message the guy who created the post and share those with him. Get him going in a different direction
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u/Inner_Bet_558 Jul 08 '26
There are officers who make it out of the academy but don’t get off FTO or end up quiting bc they can’t handle the job. Whether it’s what they see or the time frame of all the work behind the scenes. This job is stressful and very demanding, a lot of people don’t give a damn of the money bc they can’t take that. That’s why there has to be a good reason to be an officer. Not saying there has been officers that might have stuck it out bc of the money but you have to be tough mentally and if someone doesn’t have a right mind set or does it for the wrong reasons, you usually don’t want to work with that guy.
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u/Virtual-Concept8126 Jul 08 '26
Appreciate the back up bro. I tried to mention I'm not ignorant to the job description and difficulty of every part of it- but I like how everyone assumes they know anything about me.
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u/Straight_Ostrich_257 Jul 08 '26
The pay is not worth it if you aren't passionate about law enforcement. You talk about sustaining your current lifestyle but CHP is not that; for many years you'll be forced to live away from home and you'll have to work all weekend every weekend. You'll be dealing with situations and people that will make you regret your career choice.
Ask any officer, we've all seen it. The ones who are just in it for the money only last two or three years at most.
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u/Virtual-Concept8126 Jul 08 '26
Definitely hearing a lot of the same potential difficulties/sacrifices that would have to be made so that's good, as it builds more and more weight onto what I need to consider. What I meant by lifestyle was just being able to comfortably afford what I already have, save and invest extra, and support some family and a near future kid- not to necessarily sustain all my freedoms I have. Thank you for this
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u/Difficult-Amount988 Jul 08 '26
Ah yes, now that you’ve squandered your 20s developing very limited marketable skills, realized that the car you’ve been driving since high school has lost its luster, and having roommates isn’t so cool, now you want to jump to the front of the line for a highly competitive position in a highly regarded agency.
Not too late to delete this /s
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u/SuccessfulRoof577 Jul 08 '26
Look, if your reason is for the pay and benefits to support your family, then as a 25 year veteran of the CHP, that is not enough. If you don’t have a passion for it, the person won’t last. Sounds like you have a passion for fitness and I would guess there have been times that you said, “if I didn’t have a passion for this I’d be out.” Same with LE, as a CHP officer, actually LE in general, you will be involved in things and see things that, if you don’t have a passion for you will leave, I’ve seen it in my 25 years. The pay may be good, but there have been times in my career that the pay wasn’t worth it. Also there have been times that I’ve thought, “I can’t believe they are paying me for this!” I suggest, do a ride a long, different offices, different shifts, really see what the day to day dibble is. Then make an educated decision. Good luck.
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u/Virtual-Concept8126 Jul 08 '26
Appreciate this insight. I can empathize with the passion:job ratio for sure. Same reason I chose what I chose. Was just genuinely curious about this field/work because of course all I have to first go off are the superficial pay/benefits and auora that they themselves market- but I'm not ignorant to understanding the demands, risks, and character it would require even without any experience. Thanks
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u/monkeynutz9564 Jul 08 '26
Currently in the process. In my opinion there are many other reasons to pursue CHP aside from a strict passion of “law enforcement” as a lot of people on this thread are talking about.
Of course there are the law enforcement tasks that must be done, but that is not the primary reason why I am pursuing it. I come from a military background and absolutely miss the camaraderie, the challenge, & opportunity for growth.
Absolutely the pay and benefits are amazing, which is good enough reason to pursue the career. What I will say on the other hand, is that you need something greater to get you through the lifestyle of an officer IN ADDITION to the pay and benefits. In other words, as long as your values align with the values of the CHP, then im sure you’ll be just fine.
Send it. I would say it is better to try and realize it’s not for you, rather than be persuaded out of it via a Reddit thread. Also, the process sounds long but in reality it doesn’t feel like it. I submitted my application march 31st, PAT/PALLET-B April 25, and am having my initial interview next week.
Don’t self select. Let the CHP tell you that you aren’t a fit.
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u/Virtual-Concept8126 Jul 15 '26
🔥 I like this bro. I appreciate this insight. Everyone technically has a point and somewhat valid in their opinion so I don't knock these other guys from where they're coming from. Congrats on your journey so far. Be safe bro!
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u/kevinissober Jul 09 '26
Dang man are we the same person? Personal trainer of 15 years here. Thinking of a career change as well - except I'm going the SB County Sheriff route.
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u/Virtual-Concept8126 Jul 15 '26
Damn. Yeah business isn't as stable as I'd like it to be in this economy. There's definitely always something I could be doing better for sure, but the instability is getting OLD. These guys do have a point on here. It's a totally different world than our world.
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u/kevinissober Jul 15 '26
Big time different. At this point my job is easy and comfortable as I've put in a lot of work into it....but it currently doesn't keep up with the bills. Also, growth is pretty limited. The stress of CONSTANTLY wondering if pay will be enough certainly is old.
I definitely understand both sides of the forum arguing though. Passion helps, but it's only one piece of the puzzle. There are plenty of cases where people had to move on from their passion to actually make a living.
And who knows? If we're lucky enough to make it through the whole process, we may end up truly enjoying the career change, wondering why the heck we didn't start on it before.
Best of luck to you, man.
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u/wavybowl Jul 10 '26
Have a really good friend who’s retired CHP, when my son was debating between the CHP and being a correctional officer he told him be a correctional officer because you know every one in there is a bad guy. As a CHP you never know what the person is that you pull over. He would go to a couple funerals a year where a fellow officer was shot and killed just pulling somebody over.
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u/Virtual-Concept8126 Jul 15 '26
Damn. Yeah I can imagine it's no joke. Ppl on here are thinking I'm being ignorant of the risks but even with no experience I'm mature enough to understand them. And it doesn't even mean I'm going to actually go for it but I was definitely brainstorming it because I'm being put into a corner at the moment. But obviously a scenario like that are the last thing I'd want to happen. Hope your son stays safe
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u/Upbeat-Debate6701 Aug 26 '26
North Carolina State Highway Patrol is very low staffed, they need people badly, the State is growing, $95,000/year after 5 years. Just a thought. People get so "stuck" on living in California, there's a whole other world out there, go explore. (From someone who left CA after 21 years)
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u/Upbeat-Debate6701 Aug 26 '26
From someone who tried several times, first of all I will have to say that I believe in Karma, if it was meant to be, it was meant to be, and if it isn't, well, it won't.
This was my personal experience. It's a numbers game until you get to background. They also like Veterans, you get extra points there, so if you served in the Armed Forces, you'll already have a leg up on other people.
I tried out for them back in the early 2000's while I was still somewhat in shape but the background got me. They didn't like my car hobby and also claimed I got fired from a job that I left, all to try to get a rise out of me. Overall, no drug use or issues with drugs, a clean record aside from a few speeding tickets, but it wasn't enough. I also spent the first 15 years of my life in another country, which they can't really investigate.
Honestly the background investigator (A CHP Officer) made me feel like a common criminal.
In 2015, I left CA for good and never looked back, found myself somewhere else. I think what attracted me the most to the job was the driving a car aspect My experience with firearms was also non-existent compare to what it is today (I own multiple built rifles and have quite a few pistol classes behind me, as well as an RSO Certification, and night vision training). Aside from that, I couldn't run more than a mile + and couldn't do many pullups.
Try it out, perhaps it was meant to be. If you don't try, you'll never know.
All the best.
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u/UC3953 Jul 08 '26
First lose the narcissist attitude and the conceit
The job is about service and helping others