Quality of life making 45k in Virgina Beach?

[Lionfish Lair]

Do you like what you're doing? You're not going to love being a cop either, because these are only our jobs and there are only a few out there that truly love their jobs. Would you volunteer to spend your free time doing your job for free? No, because that's because it's just a job. It's what you need to do to live your life.

I was? a nurse and the hours are a killer, you will not be a reliable figure at family get together/holidays/whatever and you're wife will always have to say "I'll have to see if Bmw is working". Our unit was like a warzone during holidays because people were pushing and shoving (not literally) to get it off to spend with their family. I am sorry for all that I missed.

I say was? a nurse, because I was injured and won't ever get back to my job, so I don't even know what to call myself now. I "loved" my job, it's what I was made to do and I was awesome at it..... but I wouldn't choose it again now that I'm looking at it from the outside. I went from 6 digits to 0 digits and lemme tell you, go with the money. Money isn't everything, but usually people give it up for their family.... you'd be giving it up for a "calling" and in the meantime you'll be making family things harder...... and perhaps not like it at all.

 

[BryanS4]

I was faced with a somewhat similar situation during the past year, a little different, but I'll share in hopes it helps.

I'm still on what most would consider the younger side, 35 and have always been in the logistics industry since graduating college. I have been extremely fortunate throughout the years to have many great bosses who really cared about the future growth of the employees that worked for them. With that came rapid advancement opportunities from one year to the next.

For me it wasn't all about pay, but rather living in an area that I love and being around friends and family. That is really important, the family part for both my wife and I. I moved early in my career from Tampa to Atlanta and it just wasn't our thing. While it was a great career move for me and ended up opening up a lot of doors, including an opportunity to move back to Tampa, but when we moved back I told myself I'm not leaving again unless I have no other choice.

Fast forward 8 years and I'm now in a position where I have to relocate to keep advancing within the company or find something else. Over an 18 month period I turned down opportunities in NYC, CHI, LA, ATL and MIA. At this point I can tell the writing is all the wall for them getting rid of me. I'm making a considerable amount more than other district managers because they want me long term and if I'm not willing to relocate it's only a matter of time before they let me go and find someone who is willing. It was a pretty nerve wracking few months and many times considered telling the wife and kids that we had to pack up and move, but I decided to stick with my gut and it would all work out.

No less than two weeks after really considering moving out West I got a phone call from a headhunter and the rest is history. I was already making a really good living in the Tampa area and the move out west would have paid another 40k or so, but considering the cost of living it wasn't all that great. At the end of the day I was able to stay living where I wanted and ended up making more than if I moved out west.

Trust you gut/heart and you will make the right decision. Things have a way of working out. Good luck!

 

[Harry_Y]

I would say pray about it.

I work around LEO's and in truth it's on the list of Jobs I would never want to do.
(God bless you if you have what it takes to deal with it; especially with current events).

I've wanted jobs so much and convinced myself that I was making the
right move only to get in the new company and absolutely hate it.

To me the pay seems a bit light. At my current job I can get a ton of overtime
but there are times I'd be willing to pay them just to let me have the time off.
So the overtime while nice does get old and having to work it to survive is hard.

Starting a family is hard (and stressful enough) adding on financial burdens does not help.

 

[tj w]

A lot of people will say follow your heart and go which way it leads. But also consider the monetary factor. It really does take quite to live a comfortable life. Some can do it way less with what they make than others, it just depends on the type of life you live. We all have one time or another wanted to go back and change decisions we've made but in the end its ultimately up to u and ur gf to decide. Make a thorough pro's and con's list on it and that will help. God will provide but only to those who are willing to put in the foot work.

 

[ReefFrenzy]

Just as many have mentioned money is not everything and you should strive to be happy at whatever career you ultimately end up with. One thing you may not realize is that your salary of $45k is the best case BEFORE taxes, healthcare, and other deductions some police departments have hidden in the pay. Your actual take home pay is going to be much less than $45k, trust me I lived it for 8 years with very few raises working for a city police department with 400k citizens in our area. Many officers end up working a lot of "off duty" security gigs to help raise extra money for their families. It is a very demanding career with many stresses on the family. Looking back I loved the time I served and I had the opportunity to help a lot of people in need and also arrest several people that needed to be off the streets. I ended up falling back on my Criminal Justice degree after the NASDQ tanked and the fiber-optic company I was working for in Philly lost funding. For me I didn't have a choice since my $100k a year job dried up in less than a month. Good luck with your choice and I hope you get some good advice from the R2R community.

 

[EricP]

Become an officer in NJ. Here in bergen county you will be making 100K+ in 5 years, depending on the department. Good luck.

 

[RMS18]

Become an officer in NJ. Here in bergen county you will be making 100K+ in 5 years, depending on the department. Good luck.

Yea right getting hired in jersey is impossible unless you know someone or are anything but white. I have taking every civil service test, chiefs and state police. Never scored any lower than a 86 on written always passed physical tests with flying colors.

 

[EricP]

Ah yes. I have a nephew still trying.

 

[ReefFrenzy]

I have taking every civil service test, chiefs and state police. Never scored any lower than a 86 on written always passed physical tests with flying colors.

Tell me about it... I had a Bachelors degree in CRJ and was scoring 100 on the Civil Service exams, was an NRA firearms instructor and received the physical fitness award while in rookie school. Coming from a sales background I always did well on the interview portion as well. I took every civil service exam posted in our area and it got so frustrating trying to get hired in the NJ/PA area which is why we ultimately moved south.

Someone once said to me "Becoming a cop is the hardest job to obtain, and the easiest to lose." Those words are 100% spot on.

 

[RMS18]

Tell me about it... I had a Bachelors degree in CRJ and was scoring 100 on the Civil Service exams, was an NRA firearms instructor and received the physical fitness award while in rookie school. Coming from a sales background I always did well on the interview portion as well. I took every civil service exam posted in our area and it got so frustrating trying to get hired in the NJ/PA area which is why we ultimately moved south.

Someone once said to me "Becoming a cop is the hardest job to obtain, and the easiest to lose." Those words are 100% spot on.

Your LE now? What state?

 

[ReefFrenzy]

I was a deputy sheriff outside of Philly for 2 years and then moved to NC in 2005 and worked for the city if Winston-Salem, NC for just under 8 years. I resigned March 10th three years ago when the fish food business became too busy to juggle both.

 

[michaelrc51]

I am surprised you can't get on the force here in NJ. I know so many LEOs here it's crazy.

You have a heck of a decision to make. I wish I could make even $100k a year and I have been a technician for 20 years now. The salary you make here is nice but if being a LEO is what you think you really want to do you are going to have to deal with a large pay cut eventually so why not get it over with and do it now?
If you don't want to leave NJ keep applying to every LEO job you can.

 

[blackdogal73]

If this is a "calling" that you are pulled toward, seriously think about taking the opportunity to do so now.

It will be much easier now, with just a fiance, to make this type of move. When you have children, things become much more complicated in this situation.

If you have the time to try, live the 45k lifestyle now. Sit down with your girl and go through ALL aspects of this decision. Even if you stay at your current salary and job, you could use it as an experiment for those SHTF moments. Live only on what you would bring home as a LE officer, and put the rest in the bank.

If after a couple of months, you can be satisfied on 45K, use the saved money for the wedding/move/house, and go for it!

If the 45k lifestyle just isn't palatable, look for ways to make your current work more enjoyable. While work isn't everything, it IS necessary and comprises a large portion of our lives.

There are tons of ways to cut costs and still enjoy items that we like. I had a BMW, and found a car i could buy outright. Rent where i lived was more expensive than the house I'm buying in a differnt location.

Consider everything, INCLUDING the amount that can't quantified by doing something emotionally and mentally rewarding.

 

[reid429]

Texas is where it's at. Cost of living is cheaper and most Dfw area agencies pay pretty good too

 

[pelphrey]

I would agree with those that commented above stating if you feel this is a calling do it. My wife and I combined make a very nice living for being in our mid 30's. We live well below our means, we just both know we would like to retire one day so we save save save. I'm not educated on what LE offers as far as retirement and pension plans, but that could very well persuade me to make the jump or not. The other major factor for my wife and I will be college education for our kids. We aren't obligated to pay anything, but if we plan correctly and teach our kids to be responsible we could very well push our kids into the real world with either very little or no college debt. College education is only getting more and more expensive, by the time our kids reach that point a bachelor degree will probably be 130-150k. Assuming you all want kids they get expensive very quickly and day care fee's are hard to swallow.

Money isn't everything, but it does make a lot of things easier in life. If you can make the financial adjustment I don't see why anyone couldn't make it work. I really think the most important factor in all of this is that you have a girl friend who will one day be your wife by your side. She has faith in your judgement and is willing to make the leap with you. I'm a firm believer that in any relationship when you work as a team anything is possible.

Good luck and I hope that you find what you are looking for!

 

[Mussin]

Sounds like you have a nice life now.. The grass using always greener.

 

[Breadman03]

http://www.yesvirginiabeach.com/business-environment/demographics

You would be in the bottom half of the income bracket there.

http://www.areavibes.com/virginia+beach-va/livability/

Cost of living is pretty high.

The grass is always greener on the other side. Then you see where the dogs peed.

 

[cb684]

IMO in every job there is the part that you enjoy and the part that you would be glad did not exist. Also, being happy in a job has a lot to do with different aspects of it, including the environment you work, and not only of the actual task you have to do. If was my son, I would tell him that a good strategy would be to tweak the job you have to minimize the parts you don't like (maybe moving on to a different company, or advancing in your career), and find a way (maybe as a volunteer) to do the things you would like to do but are not part of your current job.
Lack of money, has its way do spoil the good feeling of doing what you think you love. Also, if you want to get married and have a family chances are that you would switch cars anyways. But in that case, it would be to provide the best you can for something that you love more than the car: you family.
So if I was not happy doing what I do, I would change my job/life for sure, but always being careful to not loose what I worked hard to achieve...


When deciding on something like that I like to think what I would advice my son to do, that is because I would be far more careful advising him, than I would myself.

 

[RMAS0934]

One thing to think about is the schedule, shifts, and situations you'll be in. This cab be difficult when starting a family. Starting out, your schedules may not be the same (with the wife), so you'll miss out on time there, and if/when kids come along how difficult would it be managing that with whatever shifts you'll be working? I started out in anti-terrorism security. I was not a government employee, but we were contracted by the government for work. I was always interested in law enforcement a thought that to be my calling as well. However, once I got married and the kid talk started, I worried about time with them. I started researching possible jobs related to law enforcement and changed my plan and pursued work in forensics (forensic psych). I don't know if you'd be interested in a line of work that is closely involved with the law, but that route may be something worth checking out? Pray about it and best of luck!

 

[Kdc527]

I did the same thing about 5 years ago I was in the opposite of what you are dealing with I loved what I did and worked for a family business pay was low and expectation were high. I decided to make a switch and go a different route. I now make way more money and able to allow my wife to work less spend more time with our children. The money is definitely important. This day and age things keep getting more and more costly and the cost of living will never go down. I don't enjoy my job as much as working for my family but I make enough money that I can spend way more time with my wife and children in a nice house with a nice fish tank none of which I could do on 45k a year.