[EOD1]

OK. As i sit here in sweat in the middle east I am trying to plan for the only job i wanted to do in the civilian world. I was wondering in some one can explain the self sponsor for the academy. It seemed to me for the year between the army and navy that it was not an easy thing to self sponsor due to liability issues. Thanks fellas!

Thanks ladies also! thought i would forget huh!

 

[MARINECOP]

I was in the same boat as you, unfortunately in this profession you are all alone in getting the job unless you know someone or you have taken the civil service test. I started the hard way by putting myself through the academy and it was financially tough. But I was fortunate to have taken the civil service exam and received a part-time job as a police officer to start. I then worked that job for three years when I realized if I wanted to be full-time that I would have to put myself through. First, do you have the GI bill? If you don't, then get it while you are still in the service. I did and they will pay for the full-time academy, but you will not be reimbursed until you graduate. Depending on where you live and who you know, you can ask your local chief of police if that department can sponsor you. You must be sponsored by a agency inorder to be accepted to the full-time academy. Depending on where you are from and how squared away you are maybe someone here can help you out. Good Luck.

 

[EOD1]

Thanks MarineCop. Yes i have the GI Bill. Now if the Chief of police in Millville would be a nice guy and... ah on second thought... maybe i will just change my residency!

 

[ArsonLT]

MarineCop is right.....You must be sponsored by a department or you won't be allowed to attend the academy. In fact Civil Service won't allow you to take the P.A.T Test without being sponsored ( The State wants your $150.00 ). Try and get a Chief to sponsor you.......I would suggest approaching a Police Chief and explaining to him/her that you are a Veteran coming off active duty interested in a LE career and trying to make yourself more marketable to hiring departments. If they will sponsor you will pay for it ( $2300 ) and you could have a legal document drawn up that states that by virtue of the city/town sponsoring you that it is not a promise/offer of employment. I did this for a reserve academy many years ago and it worked! The worst they can say is no......give it a shot!
Good Luck...Thank You for your service to our country! Former Army MP Here!

 

[MARINECOP]

Millville? Take the next civil service exam and try to get a permanent part-time itermittent position on Uxbridge. They always hire a few part-timers from each exam and they are an excellent department, they should sponsor you if you prove yourself well in the part-time field. Like ArsonLT stated, $2300 for the full time academy, but don't forget about the $1500 to $2500 for all of your gear. If all goes well later let me know because I have some gear I can sell you real cheap. Good Luck

 

[Southside]

Don't forget about your health insurance either. Self sponsors are required to have full coverage for the duration. I know that I am in the process and it is not cheap.....I ended up grabbing my insurance through my college. I attended class and made sure my coverage would be in effect till year end.

 

[ryan933]

shawnr76,
Can you elaborate on how you were able to get insurance through your school. I am considering the self sponsor route, and insurance is a major road block.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[EOD1]

marine cop, Its kinda funny that you mention Uxbridge, My wife just moved there, today. The last civil service test i took (3 years ago) I thought i did pretty good ( 98 ) and i was pretty far down the list below residency and vetrans. Kinda funny how i didn't get vetrans status for my 5 years in the army and a tour in Kuwait, bosnia and kosovo. but thats the way the cookie crumbles. The next civil service test will happen while i am over here.

 

[Southside]

shawnr76,
Can you elaborate on how you were able to get insurance through your school. I am considering the self sponsor route, and insurance is a major road block.

Thanks,
Ryan

The school I attend provides me with a coverage package through the year. It costs me a few hundred but well worth it. You have to be full time, but what I did was take enough classes to be considered full time before the academy starts and once it ends I will continue with my classes.

 

[MARINECOP]

You did not get veterans status? How could that be with Bosnia and Kosovo? Did you get the national defense medal? If you got that then you are considered a veteran and you need to contact civil service in-order to get the status. What does your DD-214 say? I will tell you right now, it is going to be almost impossible to get a civil service job off of the next test. Veterans will be getting all the jobs and rightfully so.

 

[ArsonLT]

Did you get the national defense medal? If you got that then you are considered a veteran and you need to contact civil service in-order to get the status.

Are you sure this is all you need for Veterans preference in Mass? I know people that were on active duty for training in the reserves and got the National Defense Medal, but Mass Civil Service does not consider them Veterans. Maybe this has changed?

 

[EOD1]

i have 2 national defense medals. I have 8 years active duty (5 army, 3 navy). I am here now in the middle east and routinely travel back in forth to all the countries around here including iraq and afganistan, We are pretty much the bomb squad for this whole AOR. In the last 10 years the only place i have not been shot at had been Somalia. I would hope that the places i have been (bosnia, kosovo, iraq, afganistan etc etc) and the jobs i did (Infantry/sniper w/ army, navy bomb squad) would help me in the ways of getting atleast a R/I job some where in MA, RI CONN or NH. I know that vetrans status IS NOT everything or what i have done in the military by no means gives me any special rights. That is why i started this post, i have no problem paying my own way through the full time academy ( i think i can save my nickels and dimes over the next 2.5 years). I believe i have alot of other skills and would benefit a Dept greatly but my military is a going to be the most "visible" on the resume. If i managed to get a R/I job could i use that oppurtunity to self sponsor and pay for the full time acedemy as oppossed to R/I academy? Besides education, it appears to me ( looking through the LEAPs job file) that if you do not have MCJTC Full time acedemy or "know some one" that your job prospects are probally cut by 60-75%. I love the military, I joined to serve this country, no other reason, But after 8 years i realize that at some point and time i have to become a civilian and the only thing i want to do in the civilian world is Law Enforcement. So as i approach 27, and my daughters are almost 1(i have only seen for 2 months and won't see for another 2 1/2 years) i figure that i am not getting any younger and i have done my time and i should come home. The only thing i wanna do is come home to MA. be a father, husband and a cop. Thank you all for all the help. Sorry about the rant- been awake for 4 days... work work work.

 

[MVS]

EOD1, Keep up the good work man! Getting a R/I job shouldn't be hard for you at all. And many of the small towns promote to FT from within and with your military background that can help. Also, many small towns that you work R/I for would be more than happy to sponser (self) for the academy.. it would save them the dough, but also put you in a better position to be promoted to FT from the R/I pool. What you want to do is TOTALLY possible... but it also depends on what part of the state.

Stay safe!

 

[JoninNH]

Any Chiefs of Police you'd recommend to EOD1 or anyone else looking to self sponsor who look favorably upon self sponsoring? EOD1, thanks for all your service and sacrifice!

 

[EOD1]

Thanks guys, as far as what area of the statei would like to stay around my area, however, i don't care where i start out at, my father just retired from Norfolk and he drove from millville to norfolk the whole time he was on the force, I figure if i can get F/T academy, build a reputation, and gain experiance as a R/I any where in the state then there is always the world of lateral transfers! I am going to start in my area (blackstone valley) then work my way out. once again thanks for everyones help.

 

[j809]

Self sponsoring is a great way to get your foot in the door somewhere. I self sponsored also but numerous departments will still not hire you without the experience. If you have no experience and just a FT academy, you have to complete alot of training and most departments want someone they can train in a week and put you out on the road. After self sponsoring you might want to look at some PDs as a part time/reserve officer to get your foot in the door and take every test such as YArmouth/Dennis/Harwich etc. If you score well and interview well, that academy will put you over the top. I know a Chief that said when he receives applications for a job , he makes two piles. FT Academy trained and not FT academy trained. The non trained go to the trash pile and that is what alot of Chiefs do, it's a matter of economics. The rounded individual that most departments look for is FT Academy, College Degree and Experience. Good Luck!

 

[EOD1]

Oh yeah H50, i know that experiance counts, its kinda a catch 22, the whole experience, Academy---Academy =experiance thing! But i am sitting here inthe middle east so the I am lacking in my education but i can fix that, i lack the F/T academy but i can Self Sponsor- the experienca thing i will just have fix when i get home. What do you all think, If i got an R/I job, i would obviously have to go to the R/I academy so could i take that oppurtunity to "Self Sponsor" for the F/T academy? in a sense it would be like "swapping" the R/I academy for the F/T academy. Its not like i could work until i finished either academy.

 

[MVS]

Good point EOD... just go right to the FT academy.

 

[tomahawk]

shawnr76,
Can you elaborate on how you were able to get insurance through your school. I am considering the self sponsor route, and insurance is a major road block.

Thanks,
Ryan

The school I attend provides me with a coverage package through the year. It costs me a few hundred but well worth it. You have to be full time, but what I did was take enough classes to be considered full time before the academy starts and once it ends I will continue with my classes.

Not to get too far off-topic, but most schools require their students to have insurance coverage, and offer plans -- even if they are not full-time. I believe it is a law that you have to have insurance coverage to attend college in the Commonwealth. I know my school would not let me register for classes unless I purchased the school's insurance plan or filled out a waiver detaling insurance coverage I already had.

-Mike :2c: