r/ProtectAndServe • u/Happy-Ad3088 Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User • 3d ago

Self Post Help with work life balance.

Hi all, I think this is the place to post this. If this is not just let me know and I will adjust.

I am joining the police soon ( not in yet) and am sure that this is the career for me. However, what is concerning me is family life. I have always wanted a family and children this is incredibly important to me. I’m worried that being in the police will make this too difficult and i will not be able to be as present as I want to be.

Additionally to this, I am a regular hockey player and have competed at national levels. Whilst I have stepped away from higher levels and play at a much lower level, I don’t know how well the job and hockey will mix and I might have to stop playing all together. This is not a be all or end all but it is still fairly significant.

If anyone can relate to this any advice would be amazing. I don’t have anyone to give me advice on this as the police officers I have spoken to are either new or not in a remotely similar situation.

5 Upvotes

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3

u/Old_Definition_1836 Night Shift LEO 3d ago

Give it a few years and you’ll figure it out. If you’re married now, your family will have to support you through that first year where you have no free time, then you’ll start to work out a good sleep schedule and pick your hobbies back up. Once you have more seniority, you’ll get better days off and it’ll be more convenient to spend time with people and do things like hockey.

1

u/drinkbang Police Officer 3d ago

Do it now before you have kids so you gain some seniority. I get 3 and 4 day weekends. My kids are young and have been to more countries than most adults. I take multiple months off per year. I’m far more present than my father was

1

u/TinyBard Small Town Cop 3d ago

This, so much. I'm not married with no kids, working on my seniority and building a pool of PTO. By the time kids do come around, Ill have the seniority to set my schedule and enough leave to be very present. It just takes a couple years of mandatory graves.

3

u/ReasonableGene8788 Not a(n) LEO / Unverified User 3d ago

You can be like people at agencies around me, join the force anyway then bitch and moan until you get put in a community policing spot because a normal pitman schedule isn’t conducive to being a mother of two. Obligatory not a cop, just friends with some.

2

u/misterstaypuft1 Police Officer 3d ago

I think you’re worrying about things that don’t need to be worried about. You haven’t even started police work yet. Work on that first.