My Husband Is Looking to Join the Police Academy....

My husband has been a Deputy Sheriff for almost 3 years now. He loves his job and becasue of that, I love it too. It can be rough at times. His schedule is constantly changing (every 2 months). When he started his job we had a son that was 5 and a newborn baby, he wasn't even 1 month old. I quit my job when he got hired because I was a correctional officer at the time. We both decided that the 2 of us in law enforcement was not very safe. Right now I am in school so we do have conflicting hours. However, we always make time for eachother and time with the family. Doing what he loves makes him happy. If being in law enforcement is really what he wants to do, support him. It really isn't a bad choice. Let's face it, there is a lot worse he can do with his life, right? Your family will be fine. It will just take a little getting used to at first. Good luck to you!!

Hi, C.. I'm not sure if this will help...but I was in a relationship for about 3 years with a man who was in Law Enforcement. We were young, so he was new to the force. He worked mostly Late Nights (11-7). Which wasn't so bad, except for me worrying at night. (But this was also in a different part of the country too, where things are not as safe as in Montana) He loved his job & the satisfaction he got from it. Our only issue was the pay....it wasn't great. Now, it does depend on what branch of the force your hubby is going into (city, county, state) & you guys have probably already checked into all that as far as the money goes. I would advise you & your husband to find someone in the business that you can speak openly with & ask as many questions as you can think of...on ANYTHING you're wondering about. Just get all the facts so you guys can make SURE the transition is really what he wants & that way you won't have any surprises after he's already committed to this new career.

It is going to be a huge change for your family. My husband is trying to get on the force now. It is a long process and almost always (at least with the cops in my area) it takes a couple trys to get on, so it may not happen right away. I have sisters that are cops and alot of friends. It is going to change alot. He may have to start working overnights (which we decided wouldn't be so bad for us--he could come home and sleep while I am at work and the girls are at daycare and when we get home @ 5:00 or so, he could wake up and have the entire evenign with us, just as if he was at work during the day too. The only major difference would be that we I would be sleeping alone at night. Yikes! The cops in my city work 4 on then 2 off, and as a rookie he could probably end up working major holidays like Christmas and THanksgiving. Though, it is usually pretty doable for them to take time off if needed whenever. They accrue so much comp time and court time that their paid time off and vacation accrues so quickly. That is a really good thing. It is something that my husband and I sat down and discussed the pros and cons at length. In the end, I decided to give my full support and make whatever necessary sacrafices because it is something that he really wants. It is not a life for every family. They see alot of horrible things that I could not imagine even in my worst nightmares. This is something that I worry about him dealing with. There is a reason that they say cops drink alot. They have to deal with it somehow. I would suggest sitting down and having along talk with your husband and try to know as much as you can going in to it. I am incredibly proud of my sisters and friends and know I will be of my husband too. But the job does come with changes and sacrafices.

I don't really have any advice. I just wanted to say Thank You for your service to the city you live in. It's an admiral profession.