Police & Sheriff's Patrol Officers maintain order and protect life and property by enforcing local, tribal, state, or federal laws and ordinances. Perform a combination of the following duties: patrol a specific area; direct traffic; issue traffic summonses; investigate accidents; apprehend and arrest suspects, or serve legal processes of courts. Includes police officers working at educational institutions.
You will need to be skilled in active listening, critical thinking, speaking, social perceptiveness, negotiation, performing for or working directly with the public, getting Information, identifying objects, actions, and events, resolving conflicts and negotiating with others, making decisions and solving problems.
Annual Wage
Entry - $35,719
Mean - $50,010
Experienced - $57,155
Hourly Wage
Entry - $17
Mean - $24
Experienced - $27
The education typically required to enter the occupation ranges from a high school diploma to a college degree. Most police and detectives must graduate from their agency’s training academy before completing a period of on-the-job training. Candidates must be U.S. citizens, usually at least 21 years old, and able to meet rigorous physical and personal qualifications. A felony conviction or drug use may disqualify a candidate.
Candidates for law enforcement appointments usually attend a training academy before becoming an officer. Training includes classroom instruction in state and local laws and constitutional law, civil rights, and police ethics. Recruits also receive training and supervised experience in subjects such as patrol, traffic control, firearm use, self-defense, first aid, and emergency response.
Federal law enforcement agents undergo extensive training, usually at the U.S. Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, or at a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
There are 5,040 projected job openings in Texas this year!
