Originally Posted by
Mac
Coming in at your age is not that rare in my experience. About half of our hires are coming into LE work after transitioning from a prior career for all sorts of reasons.
My advice, for what it's worth, is:
1) Do it because this is the career you want to be in, doing this because it is what you want to do. If it is just scratching an itch, that's all well and good, but don't enter into the career with a laissez faire attitude. That's a surefire way to put off your coworkers. Some of the 'older' applicants I've seen have a problem with younger officers being in a supervisory role. I was an FTO at 25 years old, training new officers who were 10-15 years old than me. They came in with a wide array of experiences that in some cases were beneficial, but a few thought that their age and life experience alone meant they had achieved a certain status. It caused some issues. Don't make the mistake of thinking that your life experiences equate to a level of respect from your co-workers. In a lot of places, that respect is earned. Show up, shut up, put out. Attitude and effort go a long way!
2) You have to be able to set your own levels of self satisfaction and not rely on the conventional benchmarks like commendations and promotions as a sign that you are doing things the right way. You mentioned reading the posts here, which can show how cynical this career can make even the most well intentioned individual. I can't speak for everywhere, but in my portion of the globe having a background in shooting, martial arts, and physical fitness would make you an anomaly, not the norm. Again, set your own bar for performance and try to surpass it. If you can self-motivate, then you'll do well.
3) Make sure this won't be an issue with your family. My academy class had 25 graduates, 12 were married at the time. Fifteen years later, only 1 is with the same spouse. Shift work, extended absences, residential police academies, etc can all wreak havoc on a family. Make sure that segment of your life is in order.
4) Now is the time to get into this job, from an applicant standpoint. It seems everyone is hiring. Find an agency that fits your idea of what you want to be doing best. Go on ride alongs, talk to recruiters(a lot of departments have them nowadays). As an example, if you are a country boy who has never been out of the sticks, working for a large urban agency might be a bit of a culture shock that could cause some issues early on. It's a bit of a buyers market, so apply wisely.
5) If, and when, you do get on, focus on becoming the best patrol/road/street cop you can be before setting your sights on whatever specialty area you want to dive into. Most guys and girls want to do the cool shit, but you can't do the cool shit well unless you have the basics down first! Police work has fundamentals like everything else, master those and everything else will sort itself out. Make yourself an asset at your entry level position before you start moving up the career ladder.
Good luck!!!!!