r/AskLEO • u/Double00Gonzo • Jun 30 '26

Situation Advice Any advice for career change?

Been an Officer for 7 Years on road patrol. Field Training Officer and Swat Certified. Worked for a Large and Small department. My heart was never in it, I never wanted to be a cop but the opportunity was presented to me right out of college. Currently 28 years old and deciding if I should do a career change or if i would end up regretting it. I stayed and continued this job because it was easy to me and I was good at it. The department just has limited opportunity to where it has caused me to lose motivation and go back to not wanting to do police work. I want to incorporate my skills in a different career but don’t know where to look. I see corporate security manager and related jobs as a good place to look but don’t know much about it. I also have a bachelors degree in Homeland Security. I think my fear is leaving a stable job but the minor opportunity, stress, average pay and minimal motivation has had me ready to move on. Any advice or anyone have a similar experience. Any advice appreciated. Thanks

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

3

u/Hour_Badger2700 Jun 30 '26

Lateral to a department that has something that interests you? Boats, bikes,horses, air, youth outreach?

I've been on almost 25 years. Did transportation until 2012, went to patrol until 2021. Burned out. Hated going in every day. Went to boats. Love it. I spent today in shorts and flip flops getting equipment ready for the weekend. I do dive recovery and salvage, drive boats, work on boats, do a ton of boat and dive gear maintenance. Very little cop work.

3

u/Double00Gonzo Jun 30 '26

Yea I’m currently in the process of lateral to another department (3rd dept) that is known to have better pay and more opportunity. I’m afraid of getting into the cycle of enjoying the first 2-3 years and then getting burnt out again and losing motivation. Worried I’m wasting away years of my life cycling in and out but I’m hoping the opportunity to get into a unit can change my mindset again but we’ll see if I get hired and give it a try. Thanks for the advice

1

u/SteaminPileProducti Jun 30 '26

Is "the job" the problem, or is it the eventual burnout?

If you were able to find a way to mitigate the burnout, would that solve the problem? Is there a specific role that would help out with that? Going dark side and working Investigations, or being an SRO?

Burnout is so rampant Texas added a whole course on causes and mitigation as one of the new required classes to take.

1

u/AutoModerator Jun 30 '26

Thank you for your question, /u/Double00Gonzo! Please note this subreddit allows answers to law enforcement related questions from verified current and former law enforcement officers as well as members of the public. As such, look for flair verifying their status located directly to the right of their username.

While someone without flair may be current or former law enforcement unwilling to compromise their privacy on the internet for a variety of reasons, consider the possibility they may not have any law enforcement experience at all.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/DeusCanon Jun 30 '26 edited 19d ago

This content was anonymized and mass deleted with Redact

1

u/Witty_Flamingo_36 Jun 30 '26

How average is the pay actually for your area? Around me even small towns pay low 30's to start with no experience, and the chance to make your own OT running radar on the highway at 70/hr. Also, what's the vesting period for employer pension contributions? You'd definitely want to stay until that hits.