Do you have to go to college after the military to become a cop?

Fahim Khan — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 21:36:13 -0500

I want to go join the marines in the future and also become a cop. If I do end up joining the marines and become a mp I was wondering how hard it will to become a cop. Would you still to go to college or will the military experience be enough. Also if I want to get a assosicate degree while in the military would that be possible while on active duty

Response by Fahim Khan made Feb 5 at 2019 9:37 PM

Fahim Khan — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 21:37:19 -0500

Need to*

Response by Maj John Bell made Feb 5 at 2019 9:39 PM

Maj John Bell — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 21:39:45 -0500

Most states, at a minimum require that you attend a state certified police academy.

Response by SFC Harry H. made Feb 5 at 2019 9:42 PM

SFC Harry H. — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 21:42:20 -0500

No, college is not a requirement for most state or local agencies. It use to be back in the day, but only about 20% of all agencies will ask that you have college today. Even those can sometimes be substituted by military experience.

I will always encourage on going education and higher education. You should never stop learning. My suggestion though is not to seek a criminal justice degree as almost all do. If you were to, use CJ as a minor and something like IT or business as your major that would be fine. Most LE academies will teach you what you need to learn to do your job. A specialized degree will carry you farther into law enforcement then the basic law enforcement officer. Just like the military, a college education is sometimes needed for much higher positions.

I wouldn't suggest any branch MP. A lot of times local and state laws vary from military law and again LE academies will train you on what you need to be successful. EOD, Intelligence, IT, communications, medic, HR are looked at more so then your typical MP.

The biggest troubles will be oral interviews and background checks. There is a lot you can do to prepare yourself for the interviews now. Message me if you need help. Good luck brother.

Response by GySgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 5 at 2019 9:52 PM

GySgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 21:52:16 -0500

There are a few ways to look at this. You do not need to be a MP to have anymore of a advantage on becoming law enforcement after the military. The bigger picture for you is to get a great foundation underneath you and join the Marines or any military branch for that matter. Some agencies and states will accept credit as a MP for at least five years or more like florida and Michigan and I believe now North Carolina on time on their academies/POST standards and I bet there are more. Some agencies could care less and will make you go through their entire academy (both have their pros and their cons). You will get college credit for the military occupation specialty classes amongst other various education you can or will recieve. You will have a good start on a college degree of your choosing. I would suggest going to college while you are in and take advantage of the 100% tuition free that you receive. Take advantage of all the opportunities that you can get. You only miss 100% of the shot's you don't take. Good luck to you and your future endeavors.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Feb 5 at 2019 10:00 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 22:00:09 -0500

If you go USAF SP rather than USMC MP, USAF has Community College of the AF (CCAF), I was never sure if it was ever opened to other svcs, others on here have told me one has to be USAF, maybe USAFR, or Air Natl Guard (ANG), with a valid AFSC analogous to an Army or USMC MOS to use CCAF, though as I'd said, I'm unsure, I saw some stuff about debating opening CCAF and its assocs to other svcs, look at the CCAF Wikipedia page, also, honestly, in having known others who want the same, truly, USCG explicitly trains for law enforcement, all their active duty (AD) and USCGR train for that as part of what the do, plus, they have their own law enforcement academy and SWAT units, as I've seen on YouTube, look up videos on ISCG SWAT, and their HITRON unit, for narcotic interdiction sniper stuff from helicopters, fascinating videos on that...just some thoughts I figured you might find useful, if you'd care to chat, I'd be most eager to hear your thoughts, no rush, whenever you'd want, OK?

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Feb 5 at 2019 10:02 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 22:02:25 -0500

And where I was, I'd see the USAF SPs at the gates and doing combat training on my installation, so believe me, they're as rough and demanding as Army or USMC SPs, or any comparable mil police unit, honest, I assure you, from all I saw, at least, at any rate....

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 5 at 2019 10:31 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 22:31:08 -0500

Fahim Khan Always capitalize Marines and instead of cop, refer to them as Police Officers. The requirements vary with each Police department, but in general you will usually need some college credits or even an associates degree, which you will be able to earn while serving.

http://classifieds.usatoday.com/blog/careers/8-requirements-become-police-officer/

https://www.marines.com/becoming-a-marine/overview.html

8 Requirements to Become a Police Officer - USA TODAY Classifieds

Are you committed to protecting and serving your community? Here are 8 important requirements to become a police officer in your state.

Response by Fahim Khan made Feb 5 at 2019 10:47 PM

Fahim Khan — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 22:47:20 -0500

Thanks for all the replies and the help. Also if you guys were wondering I live in NYC so I want to join the NYPD after the Marines

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 5 at 2019 11:35 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 23:35:12 -0500

From all the police I know, you're probably more competitive as an Infantryman than an MP. When I was in the national guard, all the Infantry were also full time cops. Not one single MP was a cop in their civilian job. Plus, of the people I know who've gone on to law enforcement after the military, not a single MP I know ever did.

As for college, definitely pursue your civilian education on active duty. That's free money! There is no other job in the world that pays tuition assistance without incurring an obligation of some type. You can get your degree for free in the military, and pass your GI Bill to your spouse or kids as well.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 5 at 2019 11:47 PM

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 23:47:54 -0500

Do everything you said and you will be a hot commodity when you EOS the Corps. However, why not stay in and make the Corps your career? At worst, you’ll only have 16 or so years to retire. Get out, get into law enforcement, and you’re looking at 30 years with most agencies to get full retirement benefits and pay. Is it worth it? Knowing what I know about law enforcement when I wore the Blue, I wouldn’t go back today for O-10 general’s pay. It’s not safe, and that makes it not worth it. Think about it.

Response by SPC Jerry Jones made Feb 6 at 2019 7:32 AM

SPC Jerry Jones — Wed, 06 Feb 2019 07:32:27 -0500

A lot of enforcement agencies outside of the military will use your Military experience as a big plus when applying for their agency (Prisons, Police, Sheriff, etc.) and you don't have to go to college to apply....but without college credit you will enter on a lower rank. You will also, almost definitely, have to go through their training schools. You can't just jump in and start off as a Police Officer, even with college credits. They all train differently and you will have to learn the way they do things in the civilian world.

Response by SPC Angela Burnham made Feb 6 at 2019 8:47 AM

SPC Angela Burnham — Wed, 06 Feb 2019 08:47:40 -0500

Almost every single police department out there will require an associates at the very minimum these days, although many do make exceptions for recently separated veterans. It used to be said that police departments didn't like hiring former MPs or veterans in general, but I couldn't find it to be less true. To give you an idea of what departments require what, lets look at the five biggest police departments in the US:

NYPD: 21 years old, 60 college credit hours

Chicago PD: 21 Years Old, 60 Credit Hours; OR three years of continuous active duty with the United States Armed Forces; OR one year of continuous active duty with the United States Armed Forces combined with 30 credit hours.

LAPD: 21 years old, no college or military required.

Philadelphia Police Department: 22 years old minimum, no college or military required.

Houston PD (Buckle In): At least 48 semester hours of credit from an accredited college or university with at least a 2.0 grade point average; OR a minimum of 18 months active duty in the United States armed forces and received an honorable discharge; OR at least three years of full-time employment as a peace officer licensed by TCOLE or an equivalent licensing entity in another state, OR at least 36 months of full-time employment in the last 48 months.

In general, big departments have less requirements. Average size cities and towns can be the strictest. The smallest police departments however tend to hire only those they personally know. If you serve 3 years active duty, you should easily be able to get an associates degree part time to satisfy all these requirements regardless, and you can never go wrong with obtaining an education.

Response by SGT Dave Tracy made Feb 6 at 2019 11:36 AM

SGT Dave Tracy — Wed, 06 Feb 2019 11:36:58 -0500

Highly dependent on where you would get a Law Enforcement job. It will help you to have the military *experience, but you'll need to look beyond the minimum requirements where you want to get a LE job. Here in Minnesota, the bare minimum education requirement is a 2 year degree (not including specific LE academy "skills" training), but most major departments won't even look at a candidate who has less than a 4 year LE degree. There is some latitude for military law enforcement experience in place for formal education in this state, but to what degree I don't know.

Again, remember, there's the minimum requirements, and then there's what is preferred; what will make you the standout candidate and one who will find better career progression opportunities as the years go by.

Just take your time, think it through, have a longer-range vision of your future, and decide accordingly.

*The only time I ever heard of military experience holding a person back was one guy I knew from my Infantry days, who was getting out and was told by some police department back where he was from, that they wouldn't consider him due to his MOS. As it is the primary job of Infantry to take lives whereas the primary job of the police to save lives, he wouldn't be a good fit...apparently. I won't tell you the story is the God's honest truth, because I don't know, but I have no specific reason to disbelieve the guy nor would it surprise me that there would be some departments who might feel this way.