Maywood

[anthonyH8Syou]

@ the camel and item9

thanks for the good feedback guys. @camel : awkward may have been the wrong word, this is the reason forums get so messy and argumentative. what i should have said is that i dont think that any one of the young men i had to test with went into that test thinking that they were going to be a racist crooked cop. it was a lot of young men and women some of which looked fresh out of their first year at college of dupage. lol. im just not entirely sure it was necessary. some of the things that were said really did come off as a sort of "bash" on new guys that havent even gotten the job yet. if any of this makes any sense. Now what im about to say is a person opinion...im not speaking for anyone else that was there. but when the rookie spoke about his time at maywood, and the female officer got up and stomped all over what he said. that, for me, was AWKWARD. That man was asked by his chief to get up and speak about his time, and he did so, with his own views and opinions. And his superior got up and made him look like a biased ***. And she had her own reasons, thats fine. im not judging. but thats my opinion.

@item9: yeah to reiterate i didn't want to make slower suburban policing seem lame or boring. but id be lying if i said i wouldn't rather work for a department with a..."higher tempy". thats just me though. the environment i'm used to working in is austere and fast paced. ive said it before and ill say it again, i havent the slightest clue what civilian police departments entail. so keep that in mind. here...to put it simply...in the service we had grunts and POG's (pronounced "pogues", which stands for Persons Other than Grunts). grunts bash on POG's, let me rephrase, we respectfully bash on POGs...lol...if that makes any sense. I gather from this thread that its not really the same for civilian police.

now with all that said, looks like i have some more time between contracts for work...which is a little scary, i dont like to be between contracts for too long. but hopefully ill get some kind of feedback from maywood in the meantime. thanks for info on the time frames. very helpful.

[Joe Snuffy]

At the end of the day you don't need a bachelors in police work, unless if its for promotional eligibility.

No one said you need a bachelors for this job. Let me put it like this. There are 10 departments taking apps. 2 depts only require high school education, 5 require an associates, 3 require a bachelors. This is how I see competitive: only the applicant with a bachelors can put in 10 applications. He can be as dumb as a brick but he can apply to those other places as well as the ones you applied to.That alone increases his probability in certain aspects. I'm not talking about applicant versus applicant in the same process. I met plenty of people in undergrad and grad school that probably need a youtube video to tie their shoes correctly. Cops are good for surprising you though because we are viewed in such a homogeneous view. When you meet expert martial artists, students of philosophy and world religions, civil war reenactors, fluent Japanese linguists, former stock brokers, and people that build their own rifles...you're like huh? Your hobby is what?!?!?!

[kevmat9]

You got that right.

[anthonyH8Syou]

well for an update: i tested well, placed in the top 20 of the 75 folks that passed. they requested my 5 preference points so i shot "selectionworks" my dd-214 military papers. just standing by to stand by now. ill keep ya updated.

[The Camel]

Good job, man! Those preference points can make a huge difference. They may send an e-mail with the initial eligibility list after pref points have been added, or schedule interviews; every department does it a little differently.

Good luck!

[southpaw1]

Definitely! He's in a great position for this department. Good luck as well guys!

[scoop34]

well for an update: i tested well, placed in the top 20 of the 75 folks that passed. they requested my 5 preference points so i shot "selectionworks" my dd-214 military papers. just standing by to stand by now. ill keep ya updated.

Exact same boat as you brother. Now to play the waiting game...

[UGSAce52]

Police experience/ military/higher education matter in the process. I'll use education for this example. Let's say the police and fire commission is down to 3 candidates that they are interested in equally, two have Associate Degrees and one has a Bachelors, all qualifications even besides the education, the board will pick the candidate with more education.

Now I'm not saying it isn't possible to get on with an Associates Degree, I got on myself with one before completing my undergrad, all I'm saying is from a competitive point of view you want to stand out as much as possible.

Interesting way to say it, however the departments I've tested with give the same amount preference points regardless if you have an Associates, bachelors or a masters.

who would you hire the guy with an associates and experience lets say an Auxiliary officer or reserve. Or the guy with a bachelors degree and no work experience in any type of job.

Does education trump experience?

[UGSAce52]

I don't think you understand what I was trying to interpret, reread my post. I never said education trumps experience. Your two comparisions are not equivalent of each other. But say you have two candidates that have experience and one has a four year and the other has a two year, I'm going to put my money on the police and fire commission picking the candidate with the same amount of experience and more education.

Nobody is saying that a person with a four year degree is the end all be all. What I am saying is from a competitive standpoint, I would want every single edge that I can possibly get in this tight job market.

I understood your post fully I was just giving you another scenario to see what your thoughts are.

[Item9]

Interesting way to say it, however the departments I've tested with give the same amount preference points regardless if you have an Associates, bachelors or a masters.

who would you hire the guy with an associates and experience lets say an Auxiliary officer or reserve. Or the guy with a bachelors degree and no work experience in any type of job.

Does education trump experience?

Depending on the department, they might want to hire an officer that they can mold, or don't have to break any bad habits for.

There are certain departments that have reputations that could prevent a person from getting hired. That's why you read about certain places, especially in the south burbs, that recycle officers and brass between bordering departments.

It also depends on the officer's experience. On first thought, of course I would rather have an experienced officer over not. Then I think about people I know with 3 or 4 years on the job that are already slugs. Would you rather work with them, or a person that's green but willing to work hard? Why is someone with experience leaving their department?

On the other hand, I know people with degrees that can barely count, and military people that I wouldn't trust to clean my gutters. There are winners and losers in every category.

These are all things that would ideally be discovered during the interview and background, but sometimes they aren't.

[dogcop]

Ultimately it doesn't matter what we "think" about the above. All that matters is what the Brass and the Police and Fire Board that are doing the hiring think. Speculation is useless. But it's a no brainer that education and/or experience won't hurt.

[Joe Snuffy]

Depending on the department, they might want to hire an officer that they can mold, or don't have to break any bad habits for.

There are certain departments that have reputations that could prevent a person from getting hired. That's why you read about certain places, especially in the south burbs, that recycle officers and brass between bordering departments.

It also depends on the officer's experience. On first thought, of course I would rather have an experienced officer over not. Then I think about people I know with 3 or 4 years on the job that are already slugs. Would you rather work with them, or a person that's green but willing to work hard? Why is someone with experience leaving their department?

On the other hand, I know people with degrees that can barely count, and military people that I wouldn't trust to clean my gutters. There are winners and losers in every category.

These are all things that would ideally be discovered during the interview and background, but sometimes they aren't.

You've met some of degree holding and military friends I see!

[anthonyH8Syou]

As always, thanks for your ever useful information dude.

[anthonyH8Syou]

well the new adjusted eligibility list came out, the preference points didn't get me where i was hoping. but thats that "god i hope my rediculous 5 years of military service actually helps me" mentality. haha. I did however earn an interview according to the e-mail, and within a few weeks i should be recieving the time and place. so with that being said, I generally interview very well. however im sure PD's are looking for very specific things. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance fellas.

[Joe Snuffy]

well the new adjusted eligibility list came out, the preference points didn't get me where i was hoping. but thats that "god i hope my rediculous 5 years of military service actually helps me" mentality. haha. I did however earn an interview according to the e-mail, and within a few weeks i should be recieving the time and place. so with that being said, I generally interview very well. however im sure PD's are looking for very specific things. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance fellas.

Be yourself. Every dept has its own personality and culture. Being someone else might land you a job, don't get me wrong. This is just not the career to not like where you work. There is enough to be worried about without that being another issue. One dept's trash is another dept's
treasure. We were just talking about my dept losing or letting some great guys go over the years and overwhelmingly they go other places and succeed. You could be great and have a dept not want you. SO WHAT. THEIR LOSS. The guys where you get on will be happy to have you and you'll be happy too.