Hello,

My name is Rob, I'm 22 years old and I'm from Connecticut. I'm serving with the United States Air Force as an active duty enlisted Airman. I've been in the military for 2 years going on 3. Additionally, I'm getting ready for an upcoming deployment, so my process is slower than usual.  I joined the forums to find out more information on what it takes to be an LEO. I have little knowledge or even how and where to begin. Once I get back from deployment, I plan on transitioning from Active Duty to Air National Guard. I'm stationed in South Carolina, but I plan on becoming an LEO for the state of Florida. Thanks for reading my introduction. lol 

Welcome Rob. Plenty of info on this site plus a lot of knowledgeable veterans on here. Feel free to ask any questions.

Welcome to PL from the midwest, and thank you for your service.

Thank you all for the support!

Cedardale says ...

I think you can self-sponser in the police academy in FL, you might want to look into that when you get out, and the GI bill will pay for your academy schooling.

You are correct, I've just confirmed with someone that you can indeed self-sponser. So I'm assuming the whole process goes like this:


 

1. Police Academy (Get state certified upon completion)


2. Apply for a job in a Department.


3. Go through their application process. (Such as the polygraph, medical, etc.)


4. Hired.

Put in simplest form, I know it can take up to a year just to get hired, but I'm assuming it's something like that?

Welcome to PL.. Thanks for your service...

Thanks everyone for the friendly welcomes, it feels good to be apart of this community!


Cedardale says ...

Some FL agencies will hire non-certified personnel and put them through a police academy, though many, especially smaller ones, prefer to hire already certified people. You have the process roughly down, in step 3 I would say oral interview and  background check are important parts of it, though you generally are not directly involved in the background check.  If you are already certified the process of getting hired may be faster perhaps a few months or even less, processing time varies a lot between agencies.

Also, it is usually advantageous to apply for LE openings well before you graduate the academy, since as you noted, the process can take a long time.  If you get lucky, you may have a job offer that starts on your completion of the academy.

 

Thank you, I'm really excited to begin my process! 

 Welcome to PL from PA.  Thank you for your service.  

 Welcome to PL from NJ.