I'm thinking of becoming a police officer.

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The Buff OP

The Buff OP

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Hey y'all, for starters I wanted to be a cop before I even thought about medical school. I ended up going the medicine route (EMT, pre-med) after a life event that made me love medicine.

I'm posting this in the non-trad side so older people can give their POV or if they have gone this route. I currently work as an EMT for an ambulance agency (IF/911) and the pay is just not enough. I want to apply for recruit position, man even the pay during the academy is a lot more than what I make now. My plan is to work night shift as a LEO and go to school in the afternoon.
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The Buff OP said:
Hey y'all, for starters I wanted to be a cop before I even thought about medical school. I ended up going the medicine route (EMT, pre-med) after a life event that made me love medicine.

I'm posting this in the non-trad side so older people can give their POV or if they have gone this route. I currently work as an EMT for an ambulance agency (IF/911) and the pay is just not enough. I want to apply for recruit position, man even the pay during the academy is a lot more than what I make now. My plan is to work night shift as a LEO and go to school in the afternoon.
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What are your goals/where are you at?

While becoming a police officer is a great career, it seems like a waste of time if you want to go to medical school.

I recommend working however you want/need to, without letting it interfere with your path to medical school.
 
edgerock24 said:
What are your goals/where are you at?

While becoming a police officer is a great career, it seems like a waste of time if you want to go to medical school.

I recommend working however you want/need to, without letting it interfere with your path to medical school.
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Good morning,

My plan as of now, is just to take it as a marathon. I have been out of school for a long time (my last semester was in spring 2015). I have long ways to get my degree. I'm in my mid 20s and I feel like I need a career as of now that would not make me poor lol. I make just about 60 cents above the minimum wage in my state. It would be sweet if I could buy a house later and rent it out when I go to med school.

After reading some threads, I found there is some previous cops who are now med students. In addition, some trauma docs and EM docs were cops too (who are medical directors for EMS and tactical medic teams) and that's one of my big interest at the moment. Basically, I would not be the first.
 
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Of course it's possible and if you would enjoy that life then go for it. Logically it won't pay off in the long run as becoming a LEO will delay your school time which will in turn delay your starting salary as a physician but money isn't everything.
 
Blanky said:
Of course it's possible and if you would enjoy that life then go for it. Logically it won't pay off in the long run as becoming a LEO will delay your school time which will in turn delay your starting salary as a physician but money isn't everything.
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Yeah this is what I was thinking. If the OP isn't sure that he wants to go to medical school, then by all means, explore other options like this.
 
edgerock24 said:
If the OP isn't sure that he wants to go to medical school, then by all means, explore other options like this.
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You missed a word there. 😉

I'm 100% set on applying to medical school one day, that thought has not left my mind for the past few years. Life sometimes doesn't go as planned. :annoyed:

Anyone else work full-time and attend night school?
 
Blanky said:
Of course it's possible and if you would enjoy that life then go for it.
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Paperwork galore is the life goals lol. I want to see if I can do some ride alongs before I send in my application.
Blanky said:
Logically it won't pay off in the long run as becoming a LEO will delay your school time which will in turn delay your starting salary as a physician but money isn't everything.
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I have accepted that I won't be applying to med school anytime soon and it will eventually happen.

I'm not gonna lie y'all, at my agency a lot of coworkers are leaving for PD and that spiked my interest for LEO again.
 
I work full time in an ER as a tech 12 hour shifts on days i don't have classes. I have to take summer courses to maintain 30 credits/yr which has been my goal. Last year was 35 credits (Chem 1/2 Bio 1) and this year ill only hit 29 credits (Orgo 1/2 Bio 2 Phy 1/2 Biochem.) I think most LEOs do 12 hour shifts (x3) or 10 hr shifts (x4) and i'm sure that you can work lots of weekends if you go to school during the week.
 
Blanky said:
I work full time in an ER as a tech 12 hour shifts on days i don't have classes. I have to take summer courses to maintain 30 credits/yr which has been my goal. Last year was 35 credits (Chem 1/2 Bio 1) and this year ill only hit 29 credits (Orgo 1/2 Bio 2 Phy 1/2 Biochem.) I think most LEOs do 12 hour shifts (x3) or 10 hr shifts (x4) and i'm sure that you can work lots of weekends if you go to school during the week.
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Yeah, the department I want to apply for has 10 hr shifts (4 days a week). Right now I work 48 hours a week. Summer classes must be rough, btw cool dog lol.
 
Why are you not applying to medical school anytime soon if that is your main intent?

I got a PhD in molecular genetics before medical school. It was a good time in my life, but I sorta wish I just would have applied to med school before that. It seems to me the longer you wait the more difficult it can be for you.

For example, you may not be thinking about it now, but during the residency process, it generally helps to be a fresh young (albeit mature) applicant. If you choose to go into a more competitive specialty, being older can sometimes work against you (I guess it can help in some specialties so I've heard...such as psych).

If you have to take out loans for medical school anyway, why delay things? Is there some schooling you have to catch up on (sorry, don't now your backstory)?

Also, every year you wait is theoretically another couple 100k down the drain. However, as someone previously pointed out, money isn't everything.

And as far as getting a house...I guess it could be a money maker, but one of my co-residents rented out a house she owned before residency. We were in NYC and her house was in Georgia. It gave her pretty much nothing but headaches. The last thing you want is for your tenants to call you with a water pipe leak when you're trying to study for step I. Throughout med school and residency I moved five times. It's nice to not be tied down to anything during that time.
 
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Its certainly obvious that delaying medical school is a con financially. OP just needs to determine what he wants out of life and continue to be successful in whatever those goals may be.
 
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Yeah. If the OP was entirely set on going to medical school, he wouldn't be delaying what needs to get done (prereqs, MCAT, etc.).

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Why not become a paramedic? That's something that is actually in-line with medicine and can help you excel during rotations, especially EM (Assuming you want to go into EM). You and I actually have similar stories; we both worked as EMTs and I strongly considered a career in law enforcement. Instead of pursuing LE, I took the MCAT since I felt I would be my strongest having (relatively) recently completed my prereqs. I did well, so I wanted to make sure that my score didnt expire, and used it to apply a year later and between taking the MCAT and applying, I went to paramedic school. I still think about LE all the time though, and I'm pretty sure that once I finish residency, I will try to get involved with LE as a physician

If you want to go to LE, go for it, but odds are that it will pull you further away from medicine because of the time commitments LE requires. You'll be older, and youth is something that is useful during school. My older classmates are among the best critical thinkers in my class, but they lag behind on things that involve rote memorization, which makes up a very large portion of medical school.

It's not impossible to go from EMT -> LE -> Physician, crazier things have been done. Check out this guy: Johnny Kim Q&A with Jonny Kim, MD, 2017 NASA Astronaut Candidate - Student Doctor Network. He went from Navy Seal -> Harvard MD and now he's gonna be a NASA astronaut. You can definitely go from EMT -> LE -> Physician, but it will be a whole lot harder than EMT -> Physician
 
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pericardium said:
Why not become a paramedic? That's something that is actually in-line with medicine and can help you excel during rotations, especially EM (Assuming you want to go into EM). You and I actually have similar stories; we both worked as EMTs and I strongly considered a career in law enforcement. Instead of pursuing LE, I took the MCAT since I felt I would be my strongest having (relatively) recently completed my prereqs. I did well, so I wanted to make sure that my score didnt expire, and used it to apply a year later and between taking the MCAT and applying, I went to paramedic school. I still think about LE all the time though, and I'm pretty sure that once I finish residency, I will try to get involved with LE as a physician

If you want to go to LE, go for it, but odds are that it will pull you further away from medicine because of the time commitments LE requires. You'll be older, and youth is something that is useful during school. My older classmates are among the best critical thinkers in my class, but they lag behind on things that involve rote memorization, which makes up a very large portion of medical school.

It's not impossible to go from EMT -> LE -> Physician, crazier things have been done. Check out this guy: Johnny Kim Q&A with Jonny Kim, MD, 2017 NASA Astronaut Candidate - Student Doctor Network. He went from Navy Seal -> Harvard MD and now he's gonna be a NASA astronaut. You can definitely go from EMT -> LE -> Physician, but it will be a whole lot harder than EMT -> Physician
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I have tried to go for medic before, but I backed out. Back in Texas it is worth it (good pay), but here in Arizona it is a bad investment. Medics here make about $13-14 an hour and the program is not cheap. I see LE as a good investment because you get paid to learn a new craft. From word of mouth, I heard you get paid more if you have your EMT and some departments will actually send you to paramedic school. Doesn't sound legit to me, but I guess if you were to become a tactical medic for SWAT. I hear that being older and in residency is tough, but lets say I end up going for surgery, I think it will still be tough as an attending when I'm 50+.
 
Dral said:
Why are you not applying to medical school anytime soon if that is your main intent?

I got a PhD in molecular genetics before medical school. It was a good time in my life, but I sorta wish I just would have applied to med school before that. It seems to me the longer you wait the more difficult it can be for you.

For example, you may not be thinking about it now, but during the residency process, it generally helps to be a fresh young (albeit mature) applicant. If you choose to go into a more competitive specialty, being older can sometimes work against you (I guess it can help in some specialties so I've heard...such as psych).

If you have to take out loans for medical school anyway, why delay things? Is there some schooling you have to catch up on (sorry, don't now your backstory)?

Also, every year you wait is theoretically another couple 100k down the drain. However, as someone previously pointed out, money isn't everything.

And as far as getting a house...I guess it could be a money maker, but one of my co-residents rented out a house she owned before residency. We were in NYC and her house was in Georgia. It gave her pretty much nothing but headaches. The last thing you want is for your tenants to call you with a water pipe leak when you're trying to study for step I. Throughout med school and residency I moved five times. It's nice to not be tied down to anything during that time.
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I'll pm you further details.

I just want to change things up in my life at the moment. Medical school will always be there. I'm going to apply and see how it goes. If I end up not liking LE, then I still have my plan for medical school and I guess I'll work at Walmart for money lol.
 
Yes, medical school will still be there but I think your being a little to complacent. I suggest spending your gap years buffing up your app and applying soon. The universe isn't deterministic. You never know what might happen in your life that may actually prevent you from applying.
 
OP doesn't know what he wants to do with his life, and he appears to be a guy who likes change and variety. In that case, there's no reason why he shouldn't go into law enforcement if he thinks he'd enjoy it. Going into medicine now, when he's clearly not 100% committed, would be unwise.
 
As a former LEO, I can tell you that your schedule is not permanent and will get switched around many many times.
Plus, you'll be so drained out after your shift, you'll need your rest and probably won't have too much time for school.
My recommendation is to apply to Med school. It'll all be worth it in the end!
 
I see there is new replies, cool beans.

Thanks for the input y'all and yes I am very indecisive lol.
 
Bumping this because I have a similar question - I am a nontrad who plans on applying to medical schools this spring (mostly done with my post-bacc, with a 3.8 gpa). At the same time, I applied to a large police department a while back and recently found out I am eligible to continue processing with them. My question is: let's say I process with them, get hired to start their academy next summer (this is a realistic timeline based on the department) - would I be able to defer medical school for a year to "try out" the job? Or would even requesting such a thing cause them to laugh at me/rescind the acceptance?

While this may seem like a "joyride" career, on the one hand people often say "if you can picture yourself doing anything else you should try it." Additionally, this department often pays for 4 year bachelors degrees for their cadets, who pay it back by serving 2 years... so from the department's perspective I'm sure they prefer people who make it the full 20, but this wouldn't be a complete loss either.
 
PaulBlartMallDoc said:
Bumping this because I have a similar question - I am a nontrad who plans on applying to medical schools this spring (mostly done with my post-bacc, with a 3.8 gpa). At the same time, I applied to a large police department a while back and recently found out I am eligible to continue processing with them. My question is: let's say I process with them, get hired to start their academy next summer (this is a realistic timeline based on the department) - would I be able to defer medical school for a year to "try out" the job? Or would even requesting such a thing cause them to laugh at me/rescind the acceptance?

While this may seem like a "joyride" career, on the one hand people often say "if you can picture yourself doing anything else you should try it." Additionally, this department often pays for 4 year bachelors degrees for their cadets, who pay it back by serving 2 years... so from the department's perspective I'm sure they prefer people who make it the full 20, but this wouldn't be a complete loss either.
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It's school dependent for whether you would be able to defer. Some schools are more loose with deferments, some are not. Whether it's granted, it seems a bigger questions should be whether this is a good idea or not. I would say no, but I suppose it's a personal choice. Defer applying to medical school if you want to "try out" this career. Don't rely on a deferment that may or may not get granted.
 
This is just stupid now. You want to get an acceptance and then decide to go work as a police officer? Yikes
 
xffan624 said:
It's school dependent for whether you would be able to defer. Some schools are more loose with deferments, some are not. Whether it's granted, it seems a bigger questions should be whether this is a good idea or not. I would say no, but I suppose it's a personal choice. Defer applying to medical school if you want to "try out" this career. Don't rely on a deferment that may or may not get granted.
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Solid points. I would definitely agree it *logically* seems like a bad decision to start a new career if you intend to eventually apply for medical school (particularly financially), as others said to the OP of this thread.

Finding out this (PD) was still an option for me kind of caught me off guard, my reasoning regarding the deferment is that neither option is guaranteed. I may not get into medical school, and I may not get to the end of the hiring pipeline. I'd rather not defer applying to medical school an extra year for something that may not happen. So IF I actually was accepted for both, I was asking if deferring medical school for that reason would be laughed off (or if it could result in rescinding my application) in most cases... or would even be possible - I guess what you're saying is that's a school by school issue.
 
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PaulBlartMallDoc said:
Solid points. I would definitely agree it *logically* seems like a bad decision to start a new career if you intend to eventually apply for medical school (particularly financially), as others said to the OP of this thread, however "it is a fool who looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart." I appreciate the life advice from all, but that's not what I was asking about.

Finding out this (PD) was still an option for me kind of caught me off guard, my reasoning regarding the deferment is that neither option is guaranteed. I may not get into medical school, and I may not get to the end of the hiring pipeline. I'd rather not defer applying to medical school an extra year for something that may not happen. So IF I actually was accepted for both, I was asking if deferring medical school for that reason would be laughed off (or if it could result in rescinding my application) in most cases... or would even be possible - I guess what you're saying is that's a school by school issue.
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This will not happen, even if the person on the other end of the phone is laughing. Premeds have this vision that the schools that accept them are just waiting for an excuse to say "psych! we don't want you". If a school accepts you, they want you. You have to do something pretty egregiously bad to get them to change their mind. The worst they will do re: an inappropriate request for deferral is say no or state that there is specific criteria for granting deferrals and your request does not meet it. This is all assuming you have an acceptance.
 
xffan624 said:
This will not happen, even if the person on the other end of the phone is laughing. Premeds have this vision that the schools that accept them are just waiting for an excuse to say "psych! we don't want you". If a school accepts you, they want you. You have to do something pretty egregiously bad to get them to change their mind. The worst they will do re: an inappropriate request for deferral is say no or state that there is specific criteria for granting deferrals and your request does not meet it. This is all assuming you have an acceptance.
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I appreciate the response. When I was searching for an answer I actually found something on Reddit implying your acceptance could be rescinded on a thread about deferments, so that's good to hear it was just premed neuroticism.
 
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