Some Universities in the state of Washington offer paid internships in the public safety field. Essentially you work as a security guard for the school while taking Criminal Justice courses and training for OC spray, tazer, defensive driving etc. This sounds great but I am deciding whether doing this or enlisting in the armed forces will set me apart as a candidate for more selective agencies like State Patrol and Marshals. I want to make the 4 years between 18 and 21 as productive as possible towards a career in law enforcement. Doing both is always an option though.
Are Police Cadet Programs Worth It?
r/AskLE
Comments
If your choices are military or police cadet I’d go police cadet. You can learn a lot of positive things in the military but working as a cadet you’ll be working firsthand with police officers and learning things more specific to law-enforcement. As opposed to military which teaches a lot of skills, but most of which probably won’t have much to do with law-enforcement unless you end up as an MP or something.
I did a cadet program while in college. It was fun, I learned a lot, and the department hired me full time once I was preparing to graduate. I have no advice on whether it is better or worse than military service. I can only say that I did it and it worked out well.
Did something similar in high school…now I’m a detective with 13 years on…worked out for me
100% the military not even a doubt about it. If everything is equal I think you’ll make a much better life during those years in the military. Living as an e3 independent of your parents during that time is
Invaluable life experience. Having a job in college isn’t going to prepare you the same way as the military.
Sounds like you’re also not quite 18 yet. I’d also consider being an Explorer if your local agency has a good program. Emphasis on the “good”. The one at my agency is a competitive team so they’re more than prepared for academy scenarios and they clear rooms better than a good amount of our patrol officers due to the amount of training they get, can complete a decent interview, and have access to all the ridealongs they want.
I was a police cadet in Virginia for about 2 years. Not at a college though, with a larger department. It was a great opportunity and I earned a decent 42k outta high school. It looks great on a resume for law enforcement.