Police Detective looking for a change
Hi everyone,
I'm 30 years old and I'm a qualified Detective in the Police. I investigate serious organised crime all of which has taken a lot of training and work.
Prior to the Police I was a web developer, and I have a HND in IT & Computing. I've not really done anything with computers for a long time, so a lot of my technical knowledge has gone.
I am very close to signing up to a Top-Up course, so that my HND will become a BSc.
Potentially I may consider leaving the Police. It's an amazing job, but a long career for little reward other than job security and a pension which is good, but has over recent years been cut back and the terms changed. I don't think I want to do another 30 years of non-stop overtime and poor working conditions.
I am considering doing a course in "Business Information Systems". It's part time over 2 years.
I think I may be well suited to project management, or security management... something like that. Even without a career change, I'm still interested in obtaining a full degree, and maybe even a MSc at some stage.
Thanks for reading,
Redrabbit
I'm 30 years old and I'm a qualified Detective in the Police. I investigate serious organised crime all of which has taken a lot of training and work.
Prior to the Police I was a web developer, and I have a HND in IT & Computing. I've not really done anything with computers for a long time, so a lot of my technical knowledge has gone.
I am very close to signing up to a Top-Up course, so that my HND will become a BSc.
Potentially I may consider leaving the Police. It's an amazing job, but a long career for little reward other than job security and a pension which is good, but has over recent years been cut back and the terms changed. I don't think I want to do another 30 years of non-stop overtime and poor working conditions.
I am considering doing a course in "Business Information Systems". It's part time over 2 years.
I think I may be well suited to project management, or security management... something like that. Even without a career change, I'm still interested in obtaining a full degree, and maybe even a MSc at some stage.
Thanks for reading,
Redrabbit
Original post by BenAssirati
Cool, so what was your specific role as a detective within the police force? Truly interesting thread for once.
Hi Ben,
Well I'm still a Police Detective and in fact I'm working lates this weekend!
I investigate serious, organised and complex crime. This can be anything from things such as serious assaults like stabbing, shootings, broken jaws or bones, rapes, child abduction, kidnap, blackmail, bigamy, large scale drug supplying or production, attempted murder, armed robbery. The list goes on.
It's amazing work and it is interesting. However, it is intense and hard work. The vast majority of my time is spent helping or dealing with people who don't want to speak to me. We see the worst of society, the most disfunctional and the most challenging.
At times we do a lot of overtime at short notice. As an example, you may come into work for an early shift, and find that there are 4 people who have been arrested for stabbing someone. What happens at the end of your shift? You can't just go home and leave them in cells. So you stay on and do a 20 hour shift, or similar. My record is 25 hours at work.
It's extremely difficult to get promoted, and lots of government changes have meant that no one really knows what the future holds. I have 30 years service left and feel I want more control over my own destiny. I know the job security is far less in the private sector, and it's not the "greener" place, but at least I may feel more able to change my own circumstances.
Still thinking about what to do though!
RR
Have you considered doing a degree in Forensic Computing? Your background sounds ideal for it, though perhaps you are looking for a complete break.
Not considered that, for a few reasons:
1) I have a HND in IT/Computing. So ideally I'd like to just "top up" which takes 2 years. A full degree would take a lot longer if studied part time and of course would cost more.
2) I'm pretty weak at Maths - not sure if Forensic Computing would be too much
3) I'm actually looking at future options as more Project Management, Business Analyst, IT Manager. I'm not sure I can really get back into the really technical stuff like software development, web development, networking, etc...
1) I have a HND in IT/Computing. So ideally I'd like to just "top up" which takes 2 years. A full degree would take a lot longer if studied part time and of course would cost more.
2) I'm pretty weak at Maths - not sure if Forensic Computing would be too much
3) I'm actually looking at future options as more Project Management, Business Analyst, IT Manager. I'm not sure I can really get back into the really technical stuff like software development, web development, networking, etc...
Ok, the other course sounds much more appropriate then. Good luck with it.
My background is nowhere near as impressive as yours - did just under a year as a lowly ProCon and my longest working shift was a mere 18 hours - but I know where you're coming from with respect to the unscheduled overtime. I completely understand why this would be key factor in wanting to change.
Even if you're "only" a DC, the level of responsibility you have probably exceeds that of a lot of middle managers in "normal" industries. So I think you'd be more than capable of handling the day-to-day demands of IT project management, and it's unlikely you'd have to do anywhere near the amount of overtime you do in your current job (though it's possible you might have to stay away from home for work from time to time).
My only real note of caution is whether it would be interesting enough for you. I'm not a PM, but from observation it does seem they spend a heck of a lot of time with their noses buried in spreadsheets etc. Pretty dull compared to the nature of your current work. On the other hand, as a PM you wouldn't be spending your working days feeling you're constantly in the company of the dregs of society (unless you really hate techies
) and it's a lot less stressful.
Could be worth looking at options that combine your current & previous experience. I'm currently in the process of leaving behind a techie role (software dev) and setting off on a path to what I hope will lead to doing a non-IT degree. I've been looking at Msc options for crime-related subjects (Cybercrime is one option) as a possible step after that. I know front-line police work isn't for me, and being a pure developer has become too limiting, but maybe something that combines the law and technology might suit me. Possible it might suit you too.
Even if you're "only" a DC, the level of responsibility you have probably exceeds that of a lot of middle managers in "normal" industries. So I think you'd be more than capable of handling the day-to-day demands of IT project management, and it's unlikely you'd have to do anywhere near the amount of overtime you do in your current job (though it's possible you might have to stay away from home for work from time to time).
My only real note of caution is whether it would be interesting enough for you. I'm not a PM, but from observation it does seem they spend a heck of a lot of time with their noses buried in spreadsheets etc. Pretty dull compared to the nature of your current work. On the other hand, as a PM you wouldn't be spending your working days feeling you're constantly in the company of the dregs of society (unless you really hate techies
) and it's a lot less stressful. Could be worth looking at options that combine your current & previous experience. I'm currently in the process of leaving behind a techie role (software dev) and setting off on a path to what I hope will lead to doing a non-IT degree. I've been looking at Msc options for crime-related subjects (Cybercrime is one option) as a possible step after that. I know front-line police work isn't for me, and being a pure developer has become too limiting, but maybe something that combines the law and technology might suit me. Possible it might suit you too.
Original post by jimmy_looks_2ice
My background is nowhere near as impressive as yours - did just under a year as a lowly ProCon and my longest working shift was a mere 18 hours - but I know where you're coming from with respect to the unscheduled overtime. I completely understand why this would be key factor in wanting to change.
Even if you're "only" a DC, the level of responsibility you have probably exceeds that of a lot of middle managers in "normal" industries. So I think you'd be more than capable of handling the day-to-day demands of IT project management, and it's unlikely you'd have to do anywhere near the amount of overtime you do in your current job (though it's possible you might have to stay away from home for work from time to time).
My only real note of caution is whether it would be interesting enough for you. I'm not a PM, but from observation it does seem they spend a heck of a lot of time with their noses buried in spreadsheets etc. Pretty dull compared to the nature of your current work. On the other hand, as a PM you wouldn't be spending your working days feeling you're constantly in the company of the dregs of society (unless you really hate techies) and it's a lot less stressful.
Could be worth looking at options that combine your current & previous experience. I'm currently in the process of leaving behind a techie role (software dev) and setting off on a path to what I hope will lead to doing a non-IT degree. I've been looking at Msc options for crime-related subjects (Cybercrime is one option) as a possible step after that. I know front-line police work isn't for me, and being a pure developer has become too limiting, but maybe something that combines the law and technology might suit me. Possible it might suit you too.
Even if you're "only" a DC, the level of responsibility you have probably exceeds that of a lot of middle managers in "normal" industries. So I think you'd be more than capable of handling the day-to-day demands of IT project management, and it's unlikely you'd have to do anywhere near the amount of overtime you do in your current job (though it's possible you might have to stay away from home for work from time to time).
My only real note of caution is whether it would be interesting enough for you. I'm not a PM, but from observation it does seem they spend a heck of a lot of time with their noses buried in spreadsheets etc. Pretty dull compared to the nature of your current work. On the other hand, as a PM you wouldn't be spending your working days feeling you're constantly in the company of the dregs of society (unless you really hate techies
) and it's a lot less stressful. Could be worth looking at options that combine your current & previous experience. I'm currently in the process of leaving behind a techie role (software dev) and setting off on a path to what I hope will lead to doing a non-IT degree. I've been looking at Msc options for crime-related subjects (Cybercrime is one option) as a possible step after that. I know front-line police work isn't for me, and being a pure developer has become too limiting, but maybe something that combines the law and technology might suit me. Possible it might suit you too.
Thanks for the response. Nice to know that you understand and can relate to my experiences.
I did consider cyber crime as an option. Maths is a bit of a weak area so looking more at general management.
I'm doubting myself a little as most jobs i look at (just to see what's around) I don't have any clue about what most are asking for. Also, even if I did the BSc, I would still have no experience.
My salary in the Police is soon to be £36k/year so ideally I would like to change into something around that figure, with a view of earning more.
Original post by redrabbit29
My salary in the Police is soon to be £36k/year so ideally I would like to change into something around that figure, with a view of earning more.
You will probably have to settle for quite a bit less to start with, but should be able to work your way up to that salary and potentially more. It's been a few years since I worked in the industry, but I would say your best route would be to aim for a role as a business analyst, and then work your way up to project manager from there.
I've got an opportunity to potentially change department in the Police, to be a Cyber Crime Detective in an Serious & Organised Crime Unit. This will be both prevention, investigation and detection of incidents. Forensically testing devices, photographing them, etc...
I was thinking about going for this job, as well as doing my BSc Business Information Systems degree over 2 years.
Then that is good experience too. During that time I may even be able to pick up and re-learn some old skills.
This may be a good route into Cyber Security and without a paycut if I can show relevant experience... just a thought
I was thinking about going for this job, as well as doing my BSc Business Information Systems degree over 2 years.
Then that is good experience too. During that time I may even be able to pick up and re-learn some old skills.
This may be a good route into Cyber Security and without a paycut if I can show relevant experience... just a thought
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