Being a Aspiring LEO for most of my life, but I think I've already ruined my chances.

[ChevyGuy]

Hello everyone i have so many questions I was wondering if you some police officers could maybe help?
I smoked weed twice about 5 months ago, I know I'm an idiot... But can those 2 mistakes ruin my whole career in becoming a police officer? I live in California if that will help getting an answer.
I have a clean record and I'm currently 17 I turn 18 next month, and will be starting college to get a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice, and with the schedule I have now I will be able to complete that dream in 2 years 8 months which will make me 20 ½ which is the minimum age to start academy here where I live.

Sorry if I sound like a little kid its just something that has been bothering me for quiet awhile.

[AtlCop]

Experimental marijuana use is not usually a lifetime disqualification. Many agencies will require five years since you used before they will hire you though. Continued marijuana use could certainly disqualify you though.

You made a bad choice. Don't do it again and move on.

Keep your nose clean. If you know that this is the profession that you want to be in, you can't afford to get in trouble and/or engage in criminal acts.

[SmallCityCop]

+1 to the above.

I would suggest a different Degree, however, in case you need something to fall back on if police work isn't for you, or for when you retire.

[PhilipCal]

OK, you want to be a cop, yet you smoke some weed twice. What sort of sense does that make? Did you want to be a cop before you smoked, or has it just suddenly become your "dream"?.

Sounds a little rough I know, but it simply doesn't make sense for a potential applicant to do something which will at the very least, delay his opportunity to become an Officer. As my colleagues have correctly noted, two time use of marijuana will usually fall within the tolerance or experimentation allowed by many agencies.

You're probably looking at a minimum of three to five years before you can apply, depending on an a given department's policy. In regard to a degree: If CJ is what you desire, go for it. That said, I commend you to the advice of my colleague who suggested you consider another degree field. I'd at least consider another option.

In the meantime, build a solid record of citizenship. Avoid people and situations who will jeopardize you ambitions and goals. Stay away from any illegal substances.

[ChevyGuy]

I appreciate your answer and i will try to look at another degree besides CJ maybe English?
And I did it because I was stupid I didn't think it was such a big deal back then in till i graduated high school and started doing more and more research about becoming a police officer. It didn't turn into a dream in till unfortunately I got robbed at gun point for my phone about 7 months back, and every since then the only thing I want to do is become a police officer.

[Shush]

7 months ago you were robbed and decided your mission in life was to be a cop.
2 months later, you smoke weed.

7 months of wanting revenge doesn't make a "dream". Go to school and get a business degree, then think about this again. You don't know what you really want yet.


(edit to add)--- Your title says "been an aspiring LEO most of my life" -- then you go on to say for the last 7 months since you were robbed. I am not even going to make the comments I WANT to make. Instead I will just say - read that all a few times, then read the "sorry if I sound like a little kid"...... but - yeah. Wow.

[SmallCityCop]

I say at least 5 or 10 years before ANY agency even LOOKS at you.

[ChevyGuy]

I've wanted to be a cop since I was a child, but I always had this huge thing of being afraid of death and there was no way I could be brave enough to actually become one. That all changed when I got robbed and no its not REVENGE its the fact that every time I see a cop I feel safer. The fact that they're the ones who run into places while others are running out, they defend people who cant defend themselves and I know I'm not the only one who feels safe when a cop is near by so why wouldn't I want to be someone who makes people feel that way. I smoked weed because I thought maybe it will help with anxiety but all it did was make me disgusted with myself and is something I will regret for the rest of my life.

[IAM Rand]

Don't worry about a thing. Just remember Bill Clinton. He didn't inhale, just claim that and then when they question you further ask them what they mean by the word "Is" is, is or something like that.

[allen_gamble]

Sorry if I sound like a little kid its just something that has been bothering me for quiet awhile.

You DO sound like a kid, but that's because you pretty much ARE a kid.

If you think you still want to be a cop, keep out of trouble in the coming years and get your degree or get a job or consider military service. I think few people at age 21 are mature enough to be police officers. I know I sure wasn't. In 5 years or more, you'll have more life experience and be a better candidate. At that point the "experimentation" might not be such a big deal. But for now, you should probably just put police on the back burner and concentrate on growing up. People tend to change tremendously (for better or worse) between high school and the end of college or a few years of military service.

[PhilipCal]

I've wanted to be a cop since I was a child, but I always had this huge thing of being afraid of death and there was no way I could be brave enough to actually become one. That all changed when I got robbed and no its not REVENGE its the fact that every time I see a cop I feel safer. The fact that they're the ones who run into places while others are running out, they defend people who cant defend themselves and I know I'm not the only one who feels safe when a cop is near by so why wouldn't I want to be someone who makes people feel that way. I smoked weed because I thought maybe it will help with anxiety but all it did was make me disgusted with myself and is something I will regret for the rest of my life.

I really think a very thoughtful review of your decision (to be a cop) is in order.

[ChevyGuy]

Experimental marijuana use is not usually a lifetime disqualification. Many agencies will require five years since you used before they will hire you though. Continued marijuana use could certainly disqualify you though.

You made a bad choice. Don't do it again and move on.

Keep your nose clean. If you know that this is the profession that you want to be in, you can't afford to get in trouble and/or engage in criminal acts.

So would a bachelors degree in Computer Science help me just as much as a CJ degree

[mac266]

He's 17 guys, give him a break. Junior, my colleagues are right: Two-time use won't permanently prohibit you from getting hired. DON'T DO IT AGAIN, go to college for something other than CJ, and then re-evaluate your career path. By the time you graduate, you may decide the career is not for you, and you may decide it is. At your age you might change your mind 5 times during college, who knows?

As to Computer Science, there are *LOTS* of jobs available in the computer arena. If you do become a cop, you could use those skills in many different types of investigations, and if you don't become a cop you can get a job in IT or something related.

[AtlCop]

A computer science degree could open a lot of doors for you. Chemistry and accounting could also be useful.

The bottom line is that you will be hard pressed to find an agency that is looking specifically for a CJ degree. Your agency will teach you how to police so a CJ degree is of little use to them. On the other hand, people to investigate cyber crime, financial crime, and forensic experts are very valuable to them because that is some expensive training. If they have a candidate with a strong foundation in those areas, it makes sense to most people who are in charge of hiring.

And... You have a lucrative fallback career if law enforcement doesn't work out. You aren't going to much with a criminal justice degree outside this line of work and that is what a lot of people fail to realize.

[CruiserClass]

1) You're still a kid. Its nice you think you know what you want to do, but it's subject to change.

2) More and more places don't really care about weed *IF* there is time between when you smoked and when you applied. I work with lots of folks who admit to smoking while in high school or college and then got hired in their late 20's or early 30's.

3) Major in something you're interested in, or its a long 4 years. Minor in CJ if you want, but don't think a degree in CJ makes you desirable. It makes you part of the herd. Foreign languages are gold. Depending on if you want to specialize at some point, computer science or accounting may make sense IF you already enjoy that sort of thing.