Availability Of Overtime Hours

[kflo01]

This is probably a its different for each department type question but how much OT is available to for your standard patrol officer? I would think and I could be wrong from a newbie\rookie officer putting in as much OT as possible without burning yourself out would behoove you no? It would have speed you along in learning your craft.

Seeing the more you did something the more proficient you'd become at it which in turn would breed more confidence. Also from a salary stand point. If you say make 40k base how much could you expect to make extra in OT in a year? Another general question I know.

[CCCSD]

You don’t look for a job based on OT. It’s there until it’s not.

[kflo01]

You don’t look for a job based on OT. It’s there until it’s not.

Gotcha. Thanks.

[just joe]

Some departments offer almost zero OT, while others have more OT than officers want. I don't think OT is going to make you progress significantly faster than anyone else.

[L-1]

Our guys get about $250 per month in overtime just for putting on and taking off their uniforms before and after shift (yes, the courts say they have to be paid for that). Beyond that, they average around $10k per year for other, routine overtime.

Before I retired we had OT coming out the kazoo in my office, mainly for working road repair and construction details and we were sometimes hard pressed to find people to fill the slots. It got to the point that HQ had to issue directives limiting how many hours an office could work in a 24 period. Some of our overtime whores were raking in $200k & $300k per year in total salary with their OT. I really shouldn't call them that because they were actually working the hours that no one wanted, but I sometimes wondered if they had real life outside the department, how much was left after taxes, or if they actually had time to use the boats and swimming pools they were buying with their OT money.

We will be going on tactical alert shortly in anticipation of election related violence. 12 hour shifts, all days off cancelled. Someone got their calculator out and figured that';s going to cost the department 3.5 million per day. I don't know how much of that will come out of the OT budget.

[SOCAleo]

Sometimes there's OT, or more OT than anyone wants or can handle and sometimes so little OT that co-workers are literally filing grievances over newbie's snagging it before senior officers had a chance to take it.

And sometimes there is no OT available at all. OT budgets get depleted too so.....

Here is some advise, never ever base your monthly budget or your compensation package on OT. My monthly budget is always based on my base pay, so when I work OT it is like an extra amount of money that I can do whatever I want with it. If you are wanting that big spend purchase my suggestion is to save all of your OT money and pay it with cash, because if you take on that monthly finance payment and you can't get any of that OTizzle you are screwed!

With that being said, I've been an officer in California for about 14 years and I can safely say that on average I have made, at the least, approximately $10,000 annually from OT. And that is with maxing out my 200 hour comp bank pretty much annually. I do work a lot of OT though. There was one year however that I avoided all OT at all costs, but still was required to work some due to minimum staffing issues. I still ended up getting like 8k in OT pay.

[just joe]

Excellent advice. If you need OT to pay for your boat and motorcycle, you don't need your boat and motorcycle.

[Iowa #1603]

TOTALLY agency dependent...............sometimes date and time specific

[orangebottle]

When I started at my department, there was almost unlimited overtime available for whomever wanted it. This consisted of shift coverage for thin staffing, special details, trainings, and LOTS of events (concerts, sports games, etc.). It was the first department I ever worked for where they never batted an eye at how much OT I submitted.

In the post-COVID world, that's all changed. In anticipation of pretty significant budget cuts, every hour of OT is now scrutinized by the administration. It's avoided if at all possible. Plus, lots of those events, details, and trainings disappeared. I anticipate my income will be down by $5k-$7k this year.

Luckily, I'm not in a position where I have to rely on my OT money; my contribution to the family budget is based on my base salary. Anything beyond that is gravy.

One thing I noticed is that newer, younger officers seem to have a better sense of life-balance these days. Many of them avoid OT if they can. Back when I began, most newbs would sell out their mothers to get a shot at OT money.

I suppose a case could be made for working more to gain experience faster. But I think that has to be weighed against the toll on your body, your life, and your family. Between the daily grind of a regular schedule, plus OT and/or side-gigs, there's a reason so many cops end up divorced or with triple-bypasses.

[just joe]

It's like pulling teeth to get young officers to work overtime. They value their time off more than money.

[kflo01]

Our guys get about $250 per month in overtime just for putting on and taking off their uniforms before and after shift (yes, the courts say they have to be paid for that). Beyond that, they average around $10k per year for other, routine overtime.

Before I retired we had OT coming out the kazoo in my office, mainly for working road repair and construction details and we were sometimes hard pressed to find people to fill the slots. It got to the point that HQ had to issue directives limiting how many hours an office could work in a 24 period. Some of our overtime whores were raking in $200k & $300k per year in total salary with their OT. I really shouldn't call them that because they were actually working the hours that no one wanted, but I sometimes wondered if they had real life outside the department, how much was left after taxes, or if they actually had time to use the boats and swimming pools they were buying with their OT money.

We will be going on tactical alert shortly in anticipation of election related violence. 12 hour shifts, all days off cancelled. Someone got their calculator out and figured that';s going to cost the department 3.5 million per day. I don't know how much of that will come out of the OT budget.

Thanks that is the answer I was looking for. I have a coworker whos brother in law is a Deputy Sherrif for Suffolk county Sherrifs Department in New york. Guys salary was 139k but did 84k in OT. WTF? How'd the hell did he do that. He must NEVER have been home. Geez.

Thanks for the reply.

[Iowa #1603]

Thanks that is the answer I was looking for. I have a coworker whos brother in law is a Deputy Sherrif for Suffolk county Sherrifs Department in New york. Guys salary was 139k but did 84k in OT. WTF? How'd the hell did he do that. He must NEVER have been home. Geez.

Thanks for the reply.

A friend of mine here in Iowa had a base salary of about 75K He grossed about 150K his last 4 or 5 yrs but yes he was never home.
It all counted for his pension ................he has a sweet pension................family life not so much

[Aidokea]

This is probably a its different for each department type question but how much OT is available to for your standard patrol officer?

All of it.

I would think and I could be wrong from a newbie\rookie officer putting in as much OT as possible...

They are expected to pick up the slack, but most don't do it as much as we'd like.

...without burning yourself out would behoove you no? It would have speed you along in learning your craft.

Seeing the more you did something the more proficient you'd become at it which in turn would breed more confidence.

Working three 17-hour doubles back to back with 0-3 hours of sleep in between doesn't make anyone more proficient. It makes us ESL.

Also from a salary stand point. If you say make 40k base how much could you expect to make extra in OT in a year? Another general question I know.

40K? I wouldn't even get out of bed for 40K. I was a Field Training Officer, and I don't remember the last time I saw a new officer make less than $100K their first year on the road.

[just joe]

Depends where you are at. A lot of officer in the Midwest are starting in the 40k range.

[Iowa #1603]

And dont'' even think about the south

[Aidokea]

Yikes. That just blows my mind.

I'm sure glad I earned my pension some place that pays decent.

Now I can take it and spend it some place that my dollar goes further...

[Iowa #1603]

Of course my 6 acres & house have a less than 2k taxes a year
& the 40 acres of farming land are about 2 k also

[tanksoldier]

I’m on track to earn over $10k in OT this year... and I’m a school resource officer. I booked 15 hours of OT this week. 3 from a HS football game, 12 from an investigation... kids go to school, but parents are available after hours and on weekends.

The patrol guys average less than me, but they do have DUI shifts and that sort of thing... and we have exactly 4 patrol officers so when one goes on vacation they earn lots of OT to cover. One of our guys worked 11 nights in a row recently... that’s 110 hours on an 80 hour pay period.

40K? I wouldn't even get out of bed for 40K. I was a Field Training Officer, and I don't remember the last time I saw a new officer make less than $100K their first year on the road.

We start at$54k, there are departments nearby that start in the $40k range.

[scotty_appleton814]

Suburban Chicago dept. We start at over $70k here. $98K to out in 4.5 years.

[Aidokea]

Yeah, but it's Chicago...

[scotty_appleton814]

I don't work in Chicago

[Iowa #1603]

Suburban Chicago dept. We start at over $70k here. $98K to out in 4.5 years.

Drive 60 miles west and see what the salaries are

150 miles and you are talking about average starting at 40 - 50K unless you are in one of the larger cities and then it will be maybe 60K

[SOCAleo]

Most California agencies pay between 90k to 110k a year base pay. With minimal overtime, pulling in about 100k to 120k a year is very doable and your kids will still know who you are. Depending on where you live in California you can do pretty well on that salary.