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First of all, sorry for the length of this post; it's a bit complicated with me. I'll try for as much brevity as possible. I'm just not your typical 20-something asking for opinions on chances etc... Let me give you the vitals and condensed life story.
I'm 40 and living in Orange County, CA. Grew up in Chicago and lived there for 35 years before moving out to SoCal with my wife of 12 years. We just wanted to get away from the horrible weather there. Love it here. I come from a strong police family. My father was CPD, as was/is my uncle, three of my cousins, friends, etc... (you get the gist). Ever since I can remember, I had strong aspirations of a law enforcement career. When I was 20, (1995) I entered the USAF. I completed Basic Military Training School and two weeks of their Security Police Academy before I was told my "GUARANTEED MOS" (job) was no longer there. The Air Force admitted fault, resulting in my chance to take an ENTRY LEVEL SEPARATION. I served just under 4 months. Completely on the level, nothing was my fault. On my DD214, the reason for separation is listed as "Defective Enlistment Agreement." After that experience, CPD changed their policy of educational requirements from H.S diploma to 60 semester units. Rather than start college and rack up debt, I began working to earn a paycheck, eventually landing at a law firm in Chicago becoming an assistant office manager. Got married, fostered and adopted 6 special need dogs and cats. We have no kids but still have the pets. My wife is a corporate real estate attorney, so her salary was always more than enough to support us. Because of this, I quit working (had 10 years of various work experience by that time) to take care of and manage all aspects of our household to take any extra pressure off of her. Her jobs is extremely stressful. Her normal workday is usually 14 hours. I've done this household work for the past 12 years. While I've been at home, I also wrote a couple screenplays to keep extra busy. I was a semi-finalist in a couple of international screenwriting competitions the last few years. Nothing really panned out there but I took it seriously. I also managed and played semi-pro baseball for 5 years. Does all of this constitute decent "life experience?" Who knows?
Anyway, I've never forgotten about my desire to pursue a law enforcement career, knowing I'm also getting older and older unfortunately. Two months ago my father passed away and it really made me realize I need to attack this thing now. Also, my wife is now close to retiring and I will not need to manage the household in her absence soon. So, basically in the past, the timing and circumstances weren't quite right for various reasons but things are becoming different now.
Some more pertinent information: I have a spotless criminal record. Never did any drugs. Clean driving record. Solid credit history. I'm also in very good shape for my age. I work out 6 days a week, have a very low bodyfat % and good muscle size. I have some college from Chicago and am currently enrolled at Palomar College to finish my AA Degree. I am planning on self-sponsoring at Palomar Police Academy in next year's class. I know self-sponsoring is taking a chance but I don't have the overall pedigree right now to realistically think I could apply to any department and get hired and then sponsored by them with so many more qualified current and younger applicants. This seems like the best path.
I'm ready to give every drop of blood, sweat and tears to get hired. Some may be more qualified but nobody will outwork me. I'm not hellbent on strictly a police officer appointment. I would take a corrections post, probation, humane officer etc... provided it's law enforcement. I realize that I'm not your typical applicant as I said, so I'll take anything provided it's in SoCal (my wife and I do not want to leave this area). Also, level of pay is not relevant because as I mentioned, we are set financially. I am doing this for every other reason than money. So that's it in a BIG nutshell. Any and all opinions, guidance and suggestions are very much appreciated. Thank you all so much!
I'm 40 and living in Orange County, CA. Grew up in Chicago and lived there for 35 years before moving out to SoCal with my wife of 12 years. We just wanted to get away from the horrible weather there. Love it here. I come from a strong police family. My father was CPD, as was/is my uncle, three of my cousins, friends, etc... (you get the gist). Ever since I can remember, I had strong aspirations of a law enforcement career. When I was 20, (1995) I entered the USAF. I completed Basic Military Training School and two weeks of their Security Police Academy before I was told my "GUARANTEED MOS" (job) was no longer there. The Air Force admitted fault, resulting in my chance to take an ENTRY LEVEL SEPARATION. I served just under 4 months. Completely on the level, nothing was my fault. On my DD214, the reason for separation is listed as "Defective Enlistment Agreement." After that experience, CPD changed their policy of educational requirements from H.S diploma to 60 semester units. Rather than start college and rack up debt, I began working to earn a paycheck, eventually landing at a law firm in Chicago becoming an assistant office manager. Got married, fostered and adopted 6 special need dogs and cats. We have no kids but still have the pets. My wife is a corporate real estate attorney, so her salary was always more than enough to support us. Because of this, I quit working (had 10 years of various work experience by that time) to take care of and manage all aspects of our household to take any extra pressure off of her. Her jobs is extremely stressful. Her normal workday is usually 14 hours. I've done this household work for the past 12 years. While I've been at home, I also wrote a couple screenplays to keep extra busy. I was a semi-finalist in a couple of international screenwriting competitions the last few years. Nothing really panned out there but I took it seriously. I also managed and played semi-pro baseball for 5 years. Does all of this constitute decent "life experience?" Who knows?
Anyway, I've never forgotten about my desire to pursue a law enforcement career, knowing I'm also getting older and older unfortunately. Two months ago my father passed away and it really made me realize I need to attack this thing now. Also, my wife is now close to retiring and I will not need to manage the household in her absence soon. So, basically in the past, the timing and circumstances weren't quite right for various reasons but things are becoming different now.
Some more pertinent information: I have a spotless criminal record. Never did any drugs. Clean driving record. Solid credit history. I'm also in very good shape for my age. I work out 6 days a week, have a very low bodyfat % and good muscle size. I have some college from Chicago and am currently enrolled at Palomar College to finish my AA Degree. I am planning on self-sponsoring at Palomar Police Academy in next year's class. I know self-sponsoring is taking a chance but I don't have the overall pedigree right now to realistically think I could apply to any department and get hired and then sponsored by them with so many more qualified current and younger applicants. This seems like the best path.
I'm ready to give every drop of blood, sweat and tears to get hired. Some may be more qualified but nobody will outwork me. I'm not hellbent on strictly a police officer appointment. I would take a corrections post, probation, humane officer etc... provided it's law enforcement. I realize that I'm not your typical applicant as I said, so I'll take anything provided it's in SoCal (my wife and I do not want to leave this area). Also, level of pay is not relevant because as I mentioned, we are set financially. I am doing this for every other reason than money. So that's it in a BIG nutshell. Any and all opinions, guidance and suggestions are very much appreciated. Thank you all so much!
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