Ready to call it quits with law enforcement for forensic nurse salary texas? If you’re not satisfied with your career as a police officer and want to pursue other fields, you might be considering how to make the transition away from law enforcement.
If so, there are a few signs that law enforcement is not for you. Here are the reasons why quitting police work might be best for your personal well-being:
1. Law enforcement, especially as a police officer, is a dangerous profession.
Yes, policing can be dangerous. Law enforcement officers are allowed to use deadly force in some circumstances; if you aren’t willing to risk being killed or seriously injured on the job, maybe law enforcement isn’t for you.
2. Police work often results in harm to people.
The most obvious reason that it’s not good for your mental health to work in law enforcement is that sometimes the job results in harm to civilians who have done nothing wrong. This type of harm violates basic ethical principles of the profession and is a significant contributing factor to why so many people think it’s not a good idea to become police officers.
3. Law enforcement can be stressful.
On a more positive note, law enforcement is also stressful and demanding. That stress and demand is due to the fact that cops are responsible for dealing with people at their worst, in high-pressure situations that can go south quickly. If you don’t like feeling stress, you probably shouldn’t pursue police work.
4. Enforcement of the law can be dangerous.
The job of enforcement, whether it’s as a police officer or for other agencies, is to make sure that people are obeying the law. Sometimes this results in angry people resisting arrest, so if you don’t like physical confrontation and pain, perhaps you should stay away from law enforcement.
5. You might get hurt on the job and be unable to work.
There are a lot of things that can happen while out on the street (and with your gun). If you’re injured while on duty, it could keep you from working or leave you with a disability. Then there are the added financial burdens of medical expenses and lost wages. These things could be a significant setback for your finances, so you’ll have to answer to your insurance carrier or Medicare if you ever have a medical condition that requires ongoing treatment.
6. You might develop a mental illness while on the job.
There are a number of mental health issues that are associated with police work as well as other law enforcement professions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder and depression. Not working in these fields could ultimately lead to disability.
7. You might be a victim of misconduct while on the job.
As a law enforcement officer, you are more likely to be the victim of some form of crime – including theft, assault, sexual assault and possibly murder. You will have to answer for any wrongdoing at some point if it comes out in the news or if you are required by your agency’s policy to report unethical or criminal behavior.
8. You don’t want to face people who have committed crimes.
One day, you might have to arrest someone who has committed a crime – and that person may feel justified in doing whatever he or she wants to you or others because the police took their rights away without due process or have planted evidence against them. You will have to navigate this personal conflict and defend yourself in court.
9. You might get injured on duty.
Having a serious injury or disability on duty could leave you unable to work for months or sometimes years, draining your finances and leaving you in a financially vulnerable situation. You’ll probably have to file for workers’ compensation and insurance, which will cost you money each month.
10. You might be afraid of people who are different from you or from whom you don’t agree with.
Law enforcement is not always pretty. If you’re going to be a police officer, you have to be willing to face people who you don’t agree with, who hold opposing worldviews or whose cultural beliefs seem strange and dangerous to you. You might also need to deal with people in crisis occasions who are mentally ill or high on drugs, who may act out violently upon seeing a law enforcement officer.
11. Personal differences will get in the way of your working relationships with other officers.
Maybe you’ve been a good team player in the past and have developed close working relationships with other officers in the department, but over time personal stress or differences of opinion about policy, or someone else’s belief that you are not team player enough (i.e., you don’t go along to get along with your friends) could cause a rift or cause you to leave the force.
12. You will be held accountable for decisions as well as actions by fellow officers.
Law enforcement is always like a “who did it” mystery game – if an incident is bad enough, even if no one has been arrested or charged, someone will be held responsible for it.
