I hear all the time people saying the schedule is hard and never have enough time with family.
Not LEO yet; working security but I work 12’s 2/2 and every other weekend, 6pm-6am working night shift, about 300-400 hours of OT a year and yes on the days I work I dont really have time for anything other than shower and go to sleep but I still have more than enough time to spend with my family, yes takes some effort on some days but I dont feel it to be that hard for me personally.
Not talking in terms of the work, just the schedule. Am I missing something? Please give me your 2 cents
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There’s going to be guys on here working 90+ hours a week, every week. That shit is fucking draining.
I’d say the majority of cops that I know work in the ballpark of 50-70 hours a week. It’s definitely doable, and if you get to choose when you work, you can make it work without much impact to your life.
The real kick in the ass is getting forced/ordered to work because of minimum manning. It fucks you up. Let’s say your regular schedule is 4-12, you work 4 days on, 2 days off. Let’s say your first two days, the midnight shift after you is notorious for banging out of work and already light on staffing. Based on department ordering policy, it’s theoretically possible you get ordered to the midnight shift nearly every single day 1 and 2 that you work. When it happens during the week, and your wife is working, you could go from 16 hours of work, into 8 hours of childcare, back into 16 hours of work, then into 8 more hours of childcare, and then back into 8 more hours of work.
That works out to about 56-60 hours a week on average. Which on paper doesn’t sound bad at all. But, when you have a life to live outside of work and never know what to plan for, the schedule can be absolutely brutal. The number of times I’ve been up for 36+ hours since I’ve started this job is insane. I know cops that get ordered every single day they go to work. Work 3-4 16 hour days in a row and tell me you’re not in a world of pain by the end of it. Add in a pissed off wife, kids that only see you 2 days a week or sleeping, and house work piling up, and you’ll quickly learn how much it sucks.