I have a problem, I need advice...

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Tomekeuro85

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I'll start by saying this is relevant to guns in a few ways, but also that I had nowhre else to post this.

I am 20 years old currently goign to Loyola University Chicago, majoring in Psychology wiht a minor in criminal justice. I have always wanted to be a police officer, preferably for Chicago. However, my dad owns a business that I have wokred at for the last 4 years or so and I'm really good at it.

When I graduate, I could go work for Chicago and make about $54,000 to start and about $60,000 in 2 years, by age 23. I will be doing a job that I have always wanted to do, but the downside is that I have to work holidays and I have bosses and the salary isnt the best in the world. Thers also the risk of losing my life but thast not a concern currently, its part of the job and I have to accept it.

On the other hand, I could go work for my dad. I also enjoy this because I have been doing it for so long and I am alraedy good at it. Currently, my dad is well on his way to breaking the $1,000,000 in one year marker of total income (not HIS personal income, the business income), and I could easily be making in the high $80's by age 23 and I'd be a boss. The downside is that Id have to ditch my life goal of becoming a police officer. The good thing is... unlimited(within reason) days off, no boss, I'd be doing a job I enjoy. Also, if I started working there full time instead of part time like I do now, we could increase income another 25% if not more, therefore increasing my income by the same amount.

This involves guns because if I had that much money by age 23, I could have so many guns it would make my head spin. I would probably buy land in a different state to shoot on insteead of this state.

My friend suggested I work for my dad, because "Why start at point A when you can start at point Z?".

I just don't know if I want to completely abandon something I've wanted to do for so long (being a police officer).

Since all of you are older and wiser than me, please give me guidance lol. (that includes guidance on which guns to buy) But seriously, any and all ideas are welcome. I need some of your opinions.
 
My advice is go with the safer job with the higher income. not only will it bring you more money but it will be easier to have a good relationship. I wanted to be an LEO also and then transition into FBI. I joined the army and went into inteligence service. I then went to the state police academy and graduated. Shortly after becoming an LEO I was activated for the Gulf War and went full time. I then went into CID to further the FBI goal. But during that time I started to have a sense of it not being worth all the problems of having my neck on the line all the time. I desired safety, comfort, and a good relationship. therefore I gave it all up and went into the mental health field. My Masters in in psychology so we have that in common. That did not pay well enough so now I work for myself. I would not go back to military or LEO work for anything...or mental health work either.
 
Nothing wrong with wanting to be a cop.

That said, there are many people (myself included) who would have LOVED to have had the chance to have a family business to take over. Instead, we are stuck working in corporate America...sometimes with jobs we like, sometimes not...and never getting to run things the way we'd like.

It would be different if working in the family business was a drudge job you hated, but you said yourself
I could easily be making in the high $80's by age 23 and I'd be a boss. The good thing is... unlimited(within reason) days off, no boss, I'd be doing a job I enjoy.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a no brainer to me.
 
Most cops I know dreamed of being police officers before they got the job.

Most kind of wish they'd done something different with their careers now.

I'm not saying they shouldn't be proud of what they do, or that they're bad people or anything. They're just guys. I'm just saying that 9 out of 10 end up feeling like they probably should have done something else.
 
I would work with your father and try the reserves to see how you really feel.My bother in-law works for himself, but wanted to be a cop. Working as a reserve officer has given him the best of both worlds.
 
Ok, I'll have to be the voice of dissent tonight.

If your Dad is offering you a job now, he'll probably offer it again in 5 or 10 years.

Get out there on your own first. Live your own life your own way. Do the things you dream. Do not take no for an answer. Do not settle for anything.

If you go straight into that job with your dad now, you will always wonder what it would have been like. Take the time to explain it to your dad, he will understand. I guarantee it.

I'm not saying it will be easy. As a matter of fact, it will probably be hard.
(See what The Dread Pirate Roberts had to say below)

That's life. Live it.
 
The Chicago Police force is not one of the more respected ones in the country. Besides Chicago is anti-gun. Do you really want to arrest someone for a gun "crime" that's legal almost anywhere else in the country?
 
I'd have to agree with the current concensus. Particularly since you know you enjoy the work. Work the family business and don't look back.
 
You never want to say "What If" in you're life.

That is not some starry eyed idealism, follow your heart BS either. It will eat at you in the small hours of the night down the road and possibly make you bitter and/or resentful. People WILL always "look back", but what we decide today is our way of hedging our bets on whether we say "I'm glad I got to do that", or "whish I had".

As you're a psych major, I say take this long-time 12 stepper's advice and throw "Maslow's Heierachy" out the window because it is easrier to do what you want (self-actualize) when you are young before you have commitments to others besides just yourself. I've seen quite a few people start second carrers involving less money, but doing what they want late in life whishing they'd done it 20 years ago.

I count myself lucky that I get to do something I love. Even though I've sold out to the corporate world recently and am more of a manager than a real cook, that is only for the next few years (someone had to have the insurance while the wife went back to school so one of us could have a lucrative carreer).

The pay is NOT good. I live paycheck to paycheck and from basicly 18-25 (and some part of 27) was living in a state of dodgeing bill collector's and playing catch up while renting rooms from people and driving beater cars.

I will get back to "real" restaurants and not corporate 1k+ room resorts, but this stint will help my resume. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. As long as you know it is not forever you can put up w/it and not resent it (or having to cut off your long hair for "the Man").

One of my dreams was to be a "gypsy" chef and travel around the country hitting the peak seasons in places (I've always lived and worked in places other people come for vacations). Once I knew I would be settling down w/ someone after a couple years of "shacking" up I "just did it" and went to Aspen CO and worked for 6 months (had an offer to go to Cape Cod for the summer while I was there too, but i knew I was coming back w/ a ring).
It was absolutely one of the greatest experiences of my life. Sure I worked 7 days for a few months and six the rest of the time, but I got to Ski to and from work (and open a new place and create the menu from scratch) and for a Floridian that was a trip. THE BEST PART THOUGH, IS I GET TO SAY I DID IT.

In a few years, by 35-40, I will probably settle in to teaching at a culinary school (there's one in about every major US city now) which will mean no weekends and holidays off.
Believe me when I say finding a special somone to put up w/ a chef's life and hours (worse than a cop's except for the fear of me not coming home one day) is not easy. Restaraunt manager has the highest rate of divorce of any profession. If someone can deal w/ that then that really is the person for you. My wife also did what she loved, even though it paid poorly and would still be doing it if not for an accident that physicaly prevents her from ever doing it again; someone like that is who you have a chance of a stable relationship w/ if you follow this road.

I've even thought of becoming an auxilary cop, that was one of my carrer options before I fell into restaurants and found "home". But for Joe Civilian to become an auxilary is not actually that easy.

As someone else stated your father's business will be there in 2,3, or even 10 years (though another dept might be better than Chi-town in the meantime). You'll also be bringing valuable real world skills (like a cop's abilities to "read" people, etc) and experience to the business then too instead of just a degree. It will also give you experience to become any kind of part-timer/volunterr/auxillary you want later.

Yes that money and the freedom will be great (and people like me will envy you it when trying to scrape up the mortgage and working evry Fri night and holiday), and I do not think you should turn it down. You'll probably appreciate it more once you've punched a clock for a few years too.

Do you want, "taking over the family business" to be all you can tell your children you've ever been. Then wait untill they go off to college and you can financially afford it to go be the thing you always wanted to (yes there are 50+yr old rookies on police forces).

But what the hell do I know. I'm not quite 30 yet, I'm just one of I think the few people in life who can say "no regrets" (yet).

EDITED for grammer, readability, and spelling
 
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Currently, my dad is well on his way to breaking the $1,000,000 in one year marker of total income (not HIS personal income, the business income), and I could easily be making in the high $80's by age 23 and I'd be a boss.
Click to expand...
Well, being a mobster is kinda contrary to being a cop, isn't it?

All kidding aside...I wanted to be a cop too until my roommate became a cop and I found out exactly how boring the job can be. Add to that the danger involved and the inadequate pay and it's not all it seems.

If you get along okay with your father and you feel you can be successful there, go there. In the long run you'll be happier. Police work can take a real toll on your mental and physical health.

Greg
 
Well, if you had said that you didn't care for the family business, I wouldv'e said go be a cop. But, if you enjoy that business, that's probably the way to go.

I have had several WIDELY different careers in my life, and the ones I truly excelled at, were the ones I enjoyed most...And a couple of those were my own businesses. Owning a solid business if the fastest way to create personal wealth in this country. Sounds like you have a real opportunity for a jump start. You can do OK working for others, but better on your own (just ask Bill Gates). Just realize that owning your own (or managing part of one) can be alot of work...12 hour days, 6 or 7 days a week aren't uncommon, but of course this depends on the business.

Now money doesn't buy happiness, BUT IT REALLY HELPS!
 
Go with the family business. You will wind up with more than a divorce, ulcers, and a 20 year service pin.


I spent a lot of years in LE and thought I loved it.. I left to take over the family business and thought I would miss LE.. I did for about 2 days, then I began to come down from the stress level I had been enduring all that time and began to find out how the other half lived..

I have never regretted getting out of LE.. and I better off financially, and emotionally.


Try the reserve route if you must. It will probably get the LE desires out of your system pretty quick.

Good luck in your choice.
 
I would stick with Dad. He needs someone to eventually take over the business and you can help grow it together. It should give you a great sense of satisfaction in the process. You also did not say that you weren't interested in this business or profession.

In the real world, opportunities with a psychology degree are limited even with a masters. Things pretty much start at the PhD level in that field. But with the background, you are well suited educationally for a career in criminal justice.

Life has many turning points. You started on a path defined by your child hood dreams. May people have degrees in one area and work in a totally different one. I think the key is that you enjoy it. You would be a leg up in the business world starting with a profitable business rather than just having a job.
 
Part of what drives a person to being successful in life is doing something that is both interesting and challenging. You have to get up and go to work every day of your life, so you want what you're doing to be something you look forward to and something that will be challenging to really become the master of.

I went through several careers when I was younger, and I can honestly say with the exception of one job, I truly enjoyed every single day of work and felt challenged by each of my jobs.

Having this sort of attitude eventually lead to a great income and early retirement. In short, if you love what you do, believe in what you do, want to the become the master of what you do..financial reward will follow.

I've actually had dinner with Bill Gates once and several of my friends have asked me what he's like. I told them that Bill Gates would be doing exactly what he's doing now even if he weren't making any money at it. He does what he does because he's passionate about it, and that passion leads to financial reward.

In short, choose what you are most passionate about and do it with vigor and the financial rewards will follow.
 
Let me tell you something.

Money in the bank, and a .45 under my pillow each giveth the peace that passeth all understanding.

A job that you like and are good at, even if imperfect, removes a lot of the abrasives out of life that grind your soul.

The constant love of a good, well selected woman, the laughter of children, and the wet slurp of a dog licking your nose brings a joy to your house that has no equal.

Never underestimate the value of owning something substantial, be it a house, a car, or a business.
 
It sounds like you're not too keen on having bosses. That is one thing to think about. In a law enforcement career you are going to have many many different bosses over the course of your lifetime. In the family business, there only will be one: you. If you don't like being told what to do or how to do it, then law enforcement may not be your calling. There are sacrifices to walking the thin blue line, one of them could be some of your other personal dreams.
 
Man thats a tough decision. First off I have complete respect for cops in this sense. They have to put up with more crap than I could deal with. Dealing with druggies that are so sketchy, getting accused of excessive force,getting accused of touching people inappropriatly,etc... On top of that you ahve the rick of getting hurt and or killed. IMO the pay isnt worth that. To some people it is becuase they dont have anything to really fall back on but you do. You can work for/with your Dad(which has its rewards) and not worry about losing your life while on th job. I dont know anyhting about actually being a cop but I do know about working for my Dad. My Dad owns his one buisness. A pretty big one at that. He has 7 offices in 8 states. I just wanted to let you know my situation to help comapre to. Its really tough. For me at least. Its a real touchy situation sometimes. He expects alot from me, and I perform, but where others would get applauded, I dont, Its expectied for me. Sure your Dad could be totally different than mine(for your sake I hope!:D ). What Im saying is the cop route has its ups and down(getting jurt/helping others) so does working for your Dad(damaging your relationship/spending time with your Dad,growing up like him per say,strengthening your relationship). Personally I would chose the Family route becuase I have a 4 year old and a fiancee. Good luck though man!
 
I cannot Emphasize this enough.

DO NOT CHOOSE A JOB BECAUSE OF ITS SALARY

Out of High School I was working, 60+ hours, a week in Fort Worth, TX, doing quite well. Bought a house in Benbrook, had two room mates and always had money at the end of the month.

Joined the Miltary, at my last duty station in Maryland, got married and decided to get out.

In Maryland, as a civilian, I make over twice (close to two and half) times what I made in Fort Worth. After Income Taxes, Property taxes, taxes, taxes, taxes, and a mortgage payment, I have a fourth of the disposable income at the end of the month.

Just waiting for my wife to finish school and we're moving back.

Your salary isn't "how much you make," your disposable income is "how much you make". Hash out you're after-tax and after-mortgage income, adjust it for cost of living, and then make a decision.

$54-60k doesn't go very far in Chicago, $30k goes a lot farther in Texas.
 
family implication.....

If you want to get married and raise a family.....there are some major implications going both ways.

1. If your a cop....it's very similar to being in the military....they say "jump"...you jump...they say "be here in 10 min.", you leave jrs. birthday party and go. They say "all vacation canceled, all officers on duty for XYZ event".....so long to your plane tickets and reservations for Disney.

2. If your a cop, you will be doing something that you feel really makes a difference.

3. If you run a business, you will likely employ other people.....being a good employer and boss makes a big difference too.

4. Economic security.....you'll never get rich being a cop....but you will have good health coverage and be able to retire young.....assuming you can put up with the cr@p and stress for 20+ years.

As a business owner, your upside potential is HUGE....you're very unlikely to ever clear a six digit income as a cop. In business, your economic security will rests in your ability to make smart decisions and run the business well. There is definately a downside risk.... i.e. splurge the profits & botch your cash flow, and you'll find out just how quick bankruptcy can happen. But it sounds like your walking into and established and stable busines, with most of the start up risks behind you. None the less, MANY businesses do not survive the passing of the torch from one generation to the next .... it takes a lot of maturity to deny yourself immediate gratification and keep the business moving in the right direction (new equipment, new products/services, new markets, etc....). You'll have greater potential to pass on the same benefits to your own kids some day.

5. In a well established business, you can train a trusted employee to run the show eventually and pretty much work part time, or maybe even decide to bust your but and build a second business. As a cop, you'll get paid for the hours you work, period.....and time off will be hard to come by. Even if your union has a good contract negotiated, you'll find a lot of cops with 100's of hours of comp. time and vacation time on the books, but no opportunity to get away from their job responsibilies to take them.

6. I strongly suspect that being a cop will change your outlook on life and humanity. I don't think you can investigate 100s of child molestations (as a detective), put a bullet in someones ear (as a SWAT sniper), or scrape body parts off an engine block (as an accident investigators) and not have it affect you deeply. You can become "jaded" or an incredibly stable, strong and mature man. No gurantees either way.

7. POLITICS.........no department is with out them! As a police officer you will be working in a totally PC environment. You better be prepared to accept promotions going to less qualified peers who fit into. "a more PC desireable catagory" than you. You may get a flaming ______ (you fill in the blank with your own worse nightmare) for a boss, with a huge chip on their shoulder, who detests people like YOU.....and guess what.....your going to be stuck and miserable, potentially for a long time.

Also, as a cop, you may very well be called upon to enforce some very bad policy or law that you strongly disagree with. You can find yourself in deep "Kimchee" if you decide that you can't ethically agree to do "your job."

Owning a business has it's own, but distinctly different politics....you're customer is your boss and is job #1 (at least if you want to stay in business). Yet, you set the standards and make the rules.....and you can (though it's not easy) tell the customer to take their money elsewhere.

8. Family loyalty....that's all about your unique situation....what other options does your Dad have? Are you the only child who can take the business over. Your Pops probably didn't invest his lifes work into building a business, without some thought that he was really doing it for his kids.

9. Family conflict....there's big potential for tensions and disagreements related to the business messing up good relations with your parents/siblings.
If at all possible, insist that the arrangements be made so that in some way YOU become the sole owner!!!! Most all partnerships fail eventually (this view strongly supported by my co-worker who moonlights doing taxes and accounting.....he's seen so many "ideal" partnerships end in a flaming wreck).

Only you can make the call!

I hope this gives you some fuel for thought.

As for me personally....after close to 9 years in the Navy....I don't ever want to be under that kind of obligation to follow another man's "orders" like that again. Nor do I want to be the "hatchet man" for another persons messed up policies again (though it was the right thing for me at the time and I have few regrets about my service...and I KNOW I contributed to a very important cause).

After 7 years in the manufacturing sector....I desperately want to start my own business and run the show (and reep the benefits of my labor 100%).

My Dad also ran his own business, for years. So I've seen a lot of the ups and downs (and sat through many a lecture). But I never had the opportunity to come on board with him.

But that's just me.....
 
Re. Barbara

A LOT of small business owners who maintain status in the reserves have there businesses SUNK when they get called up. A small business requires the owners attention every day (even though it may not be 8-12 hours a day after the business is established).

I think this is especially bad advice if the likelyhood of being called up is very high (i.e. like today).
 
Go for the Cash!!!

Ask around many people get degrees and never go into the field they studied. I know there are head aches but their is nothing like going into business for your self. If you are driven to Law Enforcement and it is something you just have to do then go after the Federal Jobs because the retirement is better and generally the training is better too.

Like I said go for the Cash and never look back!!!
 
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