By Police1 Staff
Police officers arguably have one of the most stressful jobs in America. You can go from sitting in a cruiser or writing reports to sprinting after a suspect or literally fighting for your life at a moment’s notice. You work holidays and days off, spend “free time” in court, get cursed at, spit on, and verbally abused by the civilians you’ve vowed to protect, all for less-than-ideal pay — and that could just be a Monday.
So, who would want to be a police officer? Well, police officers. Though we asked you what your back-up job would be if law enforcement wasn’t an option, the majority of you had a hard time imagining that option, because a cop isn’t just what you do. It’s who you are.
Over 7,000 Police1 Facebook fans were asked if they could do it all over, would they choose to become a cop again? Nearly 70 percent confirmed that there was no other job for them.
Unfortunately for too many officers, deciding what’s next is a reality, whether due to injury, the politics of the job, or from burnout from the stress of the job. So, if you had to do something else, what would it be?
There was no staggering, winner-take all response — but a career in the military topped the list at 22 percent.
With many officers doubling as volunteer firefighters or EMTs in their towns (not to mention the innate passion to help others), it’s no surprise that a career as a first responder came in as a close second.
Sadly, it looks like we won’t see too many former cops serving up their favorite entrees or entering the next American Idol contest, but we suppose that was to be expected.
