Let's see...
I've wanted to be a cop since I was three (Dad was one), but changed gears in my junior year of high school. Some teachers told me I was a good writer, so I figured I would teach English while I wrote novels in my spare time and become the next Stephen King.
Didn't happen. I made it through one semester at Kane College as an English major before I shaved off my mullet (Oh, it was a good mullet, too!) and switched to criminal justice. Seems the idea of being a cop wouldn't get out of my head.
I made it through about two and a half years at Kane before I mistakenly decided it wasn't for me. Had a lot of personal B.S. (Not the degree) that dragged my grades down enough that I thought of quitting school altogether and going into the military. I tested for the Marine Corps and was almost in when they realized I have asthma. Ooops!
The 'rents talked me into going to Middlesex County College, where I got my associate's degree in criminal justice. Just before I got my diploma, I was hired to work full time as a police dispatcher, which I did for about four years until I was hired by the same department as a full time police officer.
That was eight years ago, and I'm definitely enjoying a great career. I went from patrol to community policing (Bicycle patrol) to the detective bureau, where I work now specializing in crimes committed by juveniles. I work with great people and I get to laugh quite a bit in between the serious times.
Along the way, while I was a dispatcher, I did a lot of wacky stuff to build my resume, such as volunteer for a first aid squad and become an EMT, CPR/First Aid Instructor (I now certify and recertify the cops I work with which sometimes equals overtime!), and I put myself through an auxiliary AND a special law enforcement officer academy and worked part time as an officer in my home town.
Do I use my degree at work? Well, I don't go around quoting things I learned about the history of policing or common practices in policing the community, but the classes on Constitutional rights and case law definitely helped out quite a bit. Plus, where I work, you get an annual bonus for college education: The further you went, the more the bonus. Truth is, in this line of work, you learn every day, even from the people you arrest. Plus, if you play your cards right, you can go to a lot of classes on work time.
In no way am I recommending you run out and change your life and decide to be a cop. This is where I was many years ago and where I am now and I'm pretty happy. You asked, I told.
