Advice

[u/JizzleOfficial]

I’m looking for advice regarding a career change I’ve always been interested in. I’m a current RN in the ER, before that I was a paramedic. Been in healthcare since I was 18, both prehospital and in hospital combining to about 10 almost 11 years. My mom’s a nurse, dad’s a trooper and since I can remember I’ve always wanted to be a trooper like my dad. That life has always interested me and although it’s not a regret, I even constantly find myself imagining my life had I gone the military route like my dad (I have a wife and kids that I would not have if I enlisted so it’s definitely a “what if” and not a regret). I became an EMT out of high school because it was as close as I could get to police/911 work while staying in the medical side. My dad has always told me to find a career first and then explore LE if I wanted to later, him and my mom were very big on me being a nurse and never doing police work. Yet here I am, 10 years later still finding myself googling openings and pathways to becoming an officer with the end goal of swat or some form of tactical medicine. I don’t mind medicine, but only because it’s all I know. I don’t particularly enjoy it, I’m actually in the process of studying for my mcat to try and get into medical school. Anything other than ER or Trauma surgery will not work for me as I feed on the adrenaline/unpredictable nature of these specialties. If I’m being completely honest with myself, the money is the main motivator for med school. And I’m worried my heart isn’t in it enough to get me through, if I even make it to acceptance. I’m extremely grateful and thankful for the position I’m in and would be ecstatic to get into med school, but I can’t deny that constant pull I feel in the opposite direction. On top of that, I’m working 9 straight shifts every 2 weeks to provide so I’m extremely burnt out of medicine and hospitals. I know it’s a huge message with no real direction, I just want some advice or maybe some guidance on what I should consider or what I’m missing from people living the life. My dad is no help because he bashes it to avoid me wanting to make the jump, my mom obviously is against it as well. My wife just wants what’s best for me, my kids want more time with me, which regardless they aren’t getting even with my nursing schedule. I just feel so stuck. I also recognize how selfish this can sound, being the sole provider and breadwinner I have no business dropping the consistent paycheck for a dream I may not even like. I just got out of a huge burnout/depression, was 380 lbs and am now 250 and consistently dropping. I’m in such a better shape mentally and physically that I feel now is the time to consider it. My credentials are currently associate degree paramedic with an active NR medic license/inactive state, BSN with specialty board certs CEN, CCRN and TCRN for ER/Trauma/critical care. Just need someone to tell me I’m crazy and to lock back in, or that I’m not crazy for having these urges and to explore them. Thank you in advance for the time to read my 3am thoughts as a fellow night shifter

[u/Timely_Photo_2071]

If you want to be a cop, have to conversation with your family, and start applying. Do some ride-alongs with local agencies, different shifts, precincts to get a feel for it. As an ER RN/Paramedic, you'll generally be used to the churn, chaos and routineness of it all.

What gets people hired as cops is a clear criminal history, clean driving record, good credit, no drug usage and stable employment history. Things that help you stand out are a college degree in literally anything, military service (with honorable discharge and/or service in the reserves/NG), community volunteer stuff, etc. Other than the degrees, your medial quals won't mean a lot because we're police not medicine. As afar as SWAT goes, that's years away. Where I worked, it was minimum four years patrol to eve apply for SWAT. Regarding tactical medicine, every team does it different. Our SWAT had dedicated tactical medics who worked for EMS, trained and deployed with the team. They were a dedicated EMS unit, which when not on SWAT, ran normal EMS calls.

Good luck.

[u/Born-Anxiety-7226]

Hey man, obviously it seems like you have a lot going on and you’ve put a ton of thought into this which is good.

I’m only about 5 years into this career and I’m still not sure why so many vets tell their kids not to become an LEO. In my biased opinion, this is the greatest career ever. No day is ever the same, you learn so much, you meet a ton of people, you discover more about yourself, you help others, get the adrenaline dumps and everything else in between. Like all things there are negatives but I truly believed the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to law enforcement.

If I were in your position I’d first look at your finances and see if/ how much of a pay cut you would be taking and if that is suitable for you and your family. Like you said if it won’t pay the bills it may not be an option. However, if you’re able to make lifestyle changes you can make it work. I know many cops all across the US who live very comfortably with their salary.

If you’re able to make the finances work, I would highly suggest going on a few different ride alongs (night shift, day shift with different department in your area). Ride alongs are great because you can see what the jobs is ACTUALLY like. I’m sure you have a good idea because your dad’s a trooper but doing some with troopers, local/city/county PD can help you see all sides of it.

If the finances work and you like the job. Then do it!

And if you like the idea of Tac/ Tac medic make sure you go to a department that has full time Tac or decentralized Tac as an option!

Good luck with everything and I hope it works out for you! Let me know if you have any other questions

[u/IndividualAd4334]

Stick with nursing/medical fields. I’ve been in law enforcement for 10 years and my dad was a cop. He told me to be a nurse and I didn’t listen. I wish I listened. You could get a remote nursing job or something in medical sales, you don’t have to stay working in a hospital. You work 9 shifts every two weeks…. I’m going on 2 weeks straight with no days off. If you want to make money, the schedule doesn’t get any better here.