Early in my career I was in a squad with an patrolman who although 4 years younger had 4 more years on the job than me. And since we were both Irish-Americans originally from North Jersey/New York we became close friends. He was on the list for Sgt. and was the kind of guy who would study every aspect of his chosen career. He had read a study once and told me that we all went through stages in our career. It went something like this:
Stage One...Academy>3 yrs. otj......The rookie...Still in love with the job.
Stage Two...3>8 .....the Ptlm. still building his/her career and family...the guy who can be counted on to show up.
Stage Three....8>15......middle Ptlm....morale can drop and burnout can occur because they finally realize that life isn't fair...and they not going to save the world or be Chief of Police by age 35.
Stage Four....15>20.....Senior Ptlm.....Hours for dollars.
Stage five......20>25....old guys.....if they're still otj then they mostly have made peace with the world....
My friend and partner broke free from this cycle in year 9 but now that I finally reached year 21 myself I understand what he meant.
Any thoughts?
Stage One...Academy>3 yrs. otj......The rookie...Still in love with the job.
Stage Two...3>8 .....the Ptlm. still building his/her career and family...the guy who can be counted on to show up.
Stage Three....8>15......middle Ptlm....morale can drop and burnout can occur because they finally realize that life isn't fair...and they not going to save the world or be Chief of Police by age 35.
Stage Four....15>20.....Senior Ptlm.....Hours for dollars.
Stage five......20>25....old guys.....if they're still otj then they mostly have made peace with the world....
My friend and partner broke free from this cycle in year 9 but now that I finally reached year 21 myself I understand what he meant.
Any thoughts?
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