Question for our Law Enforcement Members

[TheCowboy]

What's going on guys. Haven't been on here lately. I've been very busy with school, work and all that.

So this past summer I decided to switch my career path from Accounting to Law Enforcement. I am currently a senior at a university in New York as an Accounting major. My question to you guys is whether or not a 4 year degree is worth it if I'm going to become a cop. I have 12 classes left and lost all motivation for accounting. If it isn't recommended that I get a 4 year degree because it would be a waste of my money, then I could possibly drop my classes and work full-time as a security guard until I become a police officer.

I'm still only 19 years old (turn 20 in November). I have all the attributes to be a cop. I just need some advice from current and/or former law enforcement personnel. I already have an associates degree which seems to be the highest level of education for any police department. At this point I'm hoping a 4 year degree in accounting will help me get a job as a policeman quicker and have the ability to promoted faster as well. My dream goal is to be a New York State Trooper and that is a very hard department to get into. I'm trying to get all the advantages I can for becoming one.

I'm curious to hear what you guys have to say on having a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting for a Law Enforcement job. Will it help at all? How so? Should I keep going or work full time as security instead? Is it worth the extra money for the degree?

Thank you,
Brandon

 

[Hoofbite]

12 classes left at 19 years old. May was well finish just to keep your future options open.

 

[Tabascocat]

12 classes left at 19 years old. May was well finish just to keep your future options open.

Finish school, you will have that in your back pocket. It will also help if you want to go Federal at some point. You do have the 60 hours but are too close to a degree to quit now IMO.

 

[TheDude]

What's going on guys. Haven't been on here lately. I've been very busy with school, work and all that.

So this past summer I decided to switch my career path from Accounting to Law Enforcement. I am currently a senior at a university in New York as an Accounting major. My question to you guys is whether or not a 4 year degree is worth it if I'm going to become a cop. I have 12 classes left and lost all motivation for accounting. If it isn't recommended that I get a 4 year degree because it would be a waste of my money, then I could possibly drop my classes and work full-time as a security guard until I become a police officer.

I'm still only 19 years old (turn 20 in November). I have all the attributes to be a cop. I just need some advice from current and/or former law enforcement personnel. I already have an associates degree which seems to be the highest level of education for any police department. At this point I'm hoping a 4 year degree in accounting will help me get a job as a policeman quicker and have the ability to promoted faster as well. My dream goal is to be a New York State Trooper and that is a very hard department to get into. I'm trying to get all the advantages I can for becoming one.

I'm curious to hear what you guys have to say on having a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting for a Law Enforcement job. Will it help at all? How so? Should I keep going or work full time as security instead? Is it worth the extra money for the degree?

Thank you,
Brandon

Im in Finance/Banking. Finish the degree. You'll have many more options and transferable skills down the road if you want to move from field work to bugeting or private sector. I would imagine having a 4yr degree would be a req to sit for some promotions (Det. Commander, etc)

 

[Duane]

Im in Finance/Banking. Finish the degree. You'll have many more options and transferable skills down the road if you want to move from field work to bugeting or private sector. I would imagine having a 4yr degree would be a req to sit for some promotions (Det. Commander, etc)

Please finish your Accounting degree. I work in Accounting/Finance as well and this is 100% dead on.

 

[TheCowboy]

Please finish your Accounting degree. I work in Accounting/Finance as well and this is 100% dead on.

When I graduate I don't want anything to do with Accounting. I really don't have motivation in the field anymore. I'm only hoping it will help me in law enforcement and nothing else. I'm even pondering switching my major.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Education is often idealized overly so IMO. Young people decide to go after a degree and then find out it's really not what they might want to do for the rest of their life. This is true in a lot of things. It is possible that after a few years, you may find that Law Enforcement is not what you want to do for 20 or 30 years.

I will say this, Accounting is a degree that you can use at any time, in any field. It's a really useful degree to have even if it's not all that exciting. Stick it out an finish it if at all possible. You have gone this far and it's really unwise, IMO, to simply walk away from it. Life changes on you and you never know when you might have to seek employment elsewhere, should your circumstances change. This is a decision that you make with your long term future in mind. It's not a decision you make with your short term in mind. Try not to make impulsive decisions. Look at it long term.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Without question, finish the degree. You are so close and degrees on your resume talk. Even in law enforcement. ...unless you want to walk the beat your entire career.

 

[BigStar]

Finish school..no reason to rush, LE will always be there. You may find out LE isn't for you down the line and could use that degree to pad that resume regardless of the field.

 

[Silver Surfer]

Sensing a trend here..... Hope you are too.

 

[TheCowboy]

I appreciate your guys' help. I will stay and finish this degree. Means a lot that you guys commented with advice.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

When I graduate I don't want anything to do with Accounting. I really don't have motivation in the field anymore. I'm only hoping it will help me in law enforcement and nothing else. I'm even pondering switching my major.

It definitely can help with law enforcement because law enforcement has budgets, finances, etc. and if you want to head that department, it can only help to have a degree like Accounting which deals with that stuff. You may never have to actually use any substantial accounting, but your superiors can see that on your degree and want to take you over some other person without a college degree or a degree in history.

The fact is that nobody can ever quite predict where life is going to take them. One of my best friends was originally an Accounting major and dropped out and swore off accounting for the rest of his life. He got a degree in Finance and then got a good job at a bank, but he hated it and then decided to become....a CPA (which he is now).

I got my degree in Marketing with a minor in Applied Mathematics. I had no desire to get into statistics when I was in college. Now, not only am I a statistician for a living, if I could have it all over again I would have gotten my degree in math and became an Actuary. I had no real desire to get into Marketing and once I did I really didn't enjoy it. But I was able to use my applied mathematics education to get into the statistical and analytics side of marketing and I've gotten paid far better and generally treated far better than when I was working in Marketing.

Another friend of mine used to work in his dad's garage as a mechanic and hated it and swore off any type of mechanics whatsoever. He got a degree in biology and got a job working for a pharmaceutical company and disliked it greatly. Eventually one day he came across one of his long lost friend's father and they got to talking and it turned out that he was an elevator mechanic and knew my friend had good mechanic experience from years of working at his dad's garage. He got an apprenticeship right away and was making twice the amount of money and working less hours than his job at the pharm company.

Projecting career paths is not sniper shot, it's a shotgun approach and the more legitimately useful skills you can acquire the better you can use that to find out what you want to do and be happy doing it. I can just imagine working in law enforcement and having a case where they need to follow a paper trail and would want the guy with an accounting degree to take a look at it because it is meticulous and if you excel at that, can lead you to different career paths in law enforcement that you find desirable.

Good luck.




YR

 

[TheDude]

When I graduate I don't want anything to do with Accounting. I really don't have motivation in the field anymore. I'm only hoping it will help me in law enforcement and nothing else. I'm even pondering switching my major.

the Degree Major isnt important. There are chemist, history and educational degrees around my area and making g-o-o-d money.

The degree helps you get the resume past a screener. From there you need to show that you have transferable skills and can add value. Most businesses will teach you a job (Budgetng, Operations, etc). Im not saying being a cop wont lead to a transferable skill, but you will get tossed in the screening process. If the job calls for a college degree and a hiring manager really wants to hire you over 15 other candidates, all it takes is one rejected candidate to sue for bias and the company has already lost. I know this sounds stupid, but companies post "requirements" that must be met and then post "Desired Skills". A degree is always in a requirement.


It also shows you have the discipline to finish a commitment. 12 hours is one semester. If you were gong off to try acting or had a band or could play circuit golf, I can (maybe) see the urgency. Being a cop will be there even if you want to go to grad school for pottery.

I say this as a guy who turned down a ride to Duke and an offer to tryout for the Mets in order to go to LA and try to be in a hair band at 18. I took general courses and finally figured out what I wanted to do at 20-21. Once you stop, its hard to go back and get the degree. Seen it too often

 

[yimyammer]

IMO, accounting is the best business degree you can get, you can do just about anything if you get it and there's always work for accountants should you need to fall back on it plus the skill is invaluable to any business and for personal finances.

i wanted to be a chef, got my accounting degree, became a CPA and ended up building houses and retired by the time I was 40. The accounting skills I use are second nature to me and still benefit me to this day. I'm constantly amazed at how few people even understand how to reconcile their bank statements.

In short, I don't see how you can go wrong with an accounting degree

 

[Silver Surfer]

The added benefit of a degree in accounting/finance is a more in-depth understanding of the importance of finance to a corporation and by extension, one's self. Having this background
helped me develop a sense of gravitas about personal finance that allowed me to retire in my mid-40's without ever having made a big salary.

 

[Corso]

Whatever you do: Get yourself a fall guy.

 

[DFWJC]

What's going on guys. Haven't been on here lately. I've been very busy with school, work and all that.

So this past summer I decided to switch my career path from Accounting to Law Enforcement. I am currently a senior at a university in New York as an Accounting major. My question to you guys is whether or not a 4 year degree is worth it if I'm going to become a cop. I have 12 classes left and lost all motivation for accounting. If it isn't recommended that I get a 4 year degree because it would be a waste of my money, then I could possibly drop my classes and work full-time as a security guard until I become a police officer.

I'm still only 19 years old (turn 20 in November). I have all the attributes to be a cop. I just need some advice from current and/or former law enforcement personnel. I already have an associates degree which seems to be the highest level of education for any police department. At this point I'm hoping a 4 year degree in accounting will help me get a job as a policeman quicker and have the ability to promoted faster as well. My dream goal is to be a New York State Trooper and that is a very hard department to get into. I'm trying to get all the advantages I can for becoming one.

I'm curious to hear what you guys have to say on having a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting for a Law Enforcement job. Will it help at all? How so? Should I keep going or work full time as security instead? Is it worth the extra money for the degree?

Thank you,
Brandon

Good lord, son...finish your degree!!!

 

[YosemiteSam]

IMO, accounting is the best business degree you can get.

A degree in Mathematics is the best degree. It literally applies to everything!

 

[Bonecrusher#31]

With a degree, go FBI my friend..

or become a Cisco Network engineer like me and be able to work from home a lot for 6 figures

 

[yimyammer]

A degree in Mathematics is the best degree. It literally applies to everything!

I dont disagree, thats why I said accounting was the best business degree (imo)