Hey all,

Been awhile since I posted on here. Too busy for my own good. Good to see some familiar faces still posting though!

Anyway I dunno if this is the right forum for this, but I don't really like posting on other forums/sites. This seems to be it for me. I just lurk everywhere else.

Basically what I'm asking, is how's the real world out there? I left a little while ago and haven't been back since. I hear horror stories about there being no jobs, everything being a pain in the ass because of the economy, etc. Whenever I'm home in NJ, I hear nothing but bad news.

I've got 2.5 years in the Corps with 1.5 left. I'm supposed to get out in July of 2012. I've been planning ahead for awhile, but need some input.

Ever since I was little, I wanted to join the military. As I grew older I decided I wanted to enter law enforcement, but still wanted to do the military thing. Eventually it dawned on me that I could do both by using the military as a stepping stone into a law enforcement career. Problem is, in NJ at least, LE has been destroyed by the governor with hundreds of officers getting laid off and all state agencies being placed in a hiring freeze. A friend's father said his agency hadn't hired in more than three years.

Obviously this has led me to think twice about getting out. I've made some good connects while I've been in the Corps, but the same can be said for back home. One of the towns I do volly EMS in, the cops said to just come back in one piece and they'd get me a job. But I can also land some sweet non-deployable jobs here in the Corps too if I re-enlist. And the military offers some semblance of stability.

For all the vets out there, how'd you make the decision to re-up or get out? What's it like being out? And for the LEO's, how's the job market out there for you guys? Do veterans do well in LE? Does having military experience help? I've been in some ridiculous situations in combat and dunno if departments would think I was stable enough for the job. Magnum if you're reading this I'd especially appreciate your input.

-Justin

Hey Justin! Good to hear from you!

Things don't seem too bad in the Oklahoma and Texas area, there's jobs.

As for law enforcement, when I got out for awhile, the LAPD sent me two plane tickets to L.A. and an invitation to be their guest in some fancy hotel with the whole bill on them for a week so they could talk to me about the possibility of joining the force. I didn't go, but the point is most big cities have enthusiastic police recruiters. Houston, Detroit, and a number of others, along with the U.S. Army, looked me up about twenty seconds after I left active duty. I don't even know how they knew I got out, they just started contacting me with offers.

If it was me, I'd be looking at a state trooper position if I went LE. Fifty departments to choose from. And yes, the right military experience helps. If you're combat arms in the Corps, shouldn't be a problem.

I'll PM you with some other suggestions.

Cheers!

Rick...

Stay in the Corps, son, and get your twenty.

Trust me, you'll never, ever regret it.

yeah i second stay in trust me you will be better off.

Here in Oh there is a slowdown in hiring, however people still retire and have to be replaced. Military background helps a great deal but you have to score in the top level to be considered. A college education is definitely a must.

I've been thinking about going back in after being out for 13...tell ya something?

Crotch Life!!!

Military experience, and being just discharged, is definitely a plus when applying for any law enforcement position.
I'd hope you stay in though, we need a good, qualified, military.
If you do try law enforcement, I'd try the State Police first.
Pick a wealthy state....lol...Flordia maybe.
Good idea, use Magnum as a reference, if he'd step up.
Or maybe he's been to IA too many times, I dunno .

Uh..what?

Florida is currently the #2 State for home foreclosures and it has an unemployment rate above the national average.

Texas would be an infinitely better place to move to than Florida.

Florida? With a 12% reported unemployment rate? Either way, stay in the Corps or join a Federal Agency. My recommendation is that there are available positions, even with a job freeze, with DHS - Border Patrol (BP) and/or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the Southern border. A big percentage of the officers are retired armed forces or other Federal agencies. Hope this helps you.

You will get a lot of advice, but you will know what to do in your own heart.

I did a career in the military and it worked for me. Not so for others. Whatever you do, I would recommend you do it because it is what you want to do. If you choose based on money, I fear you will have a bitter aftertaste.

Getting a job in law enforcement is difficult these days... budget cuts and government downsizing is rampant.

16 years ago when I made the decision after 10 years in the Army (half way point) I decided to exit for family reasons, I regret getting out now...wish I would of stayed for the full 20, but I've been lucky. At the time departments were hiring and military service OR a college degree was a requirement for most departments.

I've had a good police career, coming to a end in 5 years and because of society today and their strong anti-government/anti-police stance, I'm glad to be getting out.

So, in short... IMO, my advise, if you can stay in and do 20 then do it, if not... finding a job in law enforcement, at this time may be difficult. The medical field and technology is said to be where the near future is... but follow your heart, do what you want/like.

If you really want to go into law enforcement when you get out, use the GI Bill and go to school. Military experience AND a college degree makes for a lot more attractive recruit than just one or the other. I have a friend who has a master's in criminal justice and he had a really difficult time finding a job when he graduated. It took him over a year before he finally got a job with the Federeal Bureau of Prisons, or whoever it is that runs federal prisons. Even after getting that though he has still been applying to different police departments around the country and still a no-go.

The job market here in SoCal is terrible right now. I'm biding my time, using my G.I. Bill benefits to earn my MBA. I'm hoping by the time I'm done in over a year's time that the job market is somewhat better.

Meanwhile, all the "military friendly" employers I've applied to have been anything but that.

Go figure. Federal LE or staying in seems to be the way to go.

-Justin

If you decide to stay in long term with the USMC, would you consider going officer?

Definitely not. I'd go to school for sure, but I'd want to stay enlisted. Or be what's called a Gunner. A gunner is the resident Subject Matter Expert on weapon systems and their employment within the Infantry. Every Infantry Regimental HQ and Battalion rates one. You need to be at least a Gunny to put in a package. It's a very small community within the warrant officer ranks.

On the enlisted side, there's two tracks once you go past Gunnery Sergeant. Both are E-8 & E-9 paygrades, but have different responsibilities. Master Sergeants and First Sergeants are both E-8s, but a Master Sergeant stays in his job. First Sergeants are strictly administrative and deal with personnel issues and are responsible for discipline within their respective company. The E-9s are Master Gunnery Sergeant and Sergeant Major. The Master Guns is the overall operations chief for his unit while the SgtMaj is the senior enlisted adviser to the commanding officer. Within that, the 1st Sgt and SgtMaj are senior to the MSgt and MGySgt, but most of the time the Master Sergeant and Master Guns have more time in than the 1st Sgt and SgtMaj.

I'd want to be a Master Guns. Everyone and their mother wants to be a Sergeant Major. #%&*$# that. I'd rather stay in the infantry than dick around all day NJPing people and yelling at Marines for stupid #%&*$#.

-Justin

Def not staying in for the money. I don't think anyone does that. The military is a great place to get some very specialized training and do some things you wouldn't be able to do anywhere else. That'd be the chief reason I'd stay in. Just trying to get out of deploying all the damn time. The money can't be beat on deployment though.

-Justin