So I will start off by saying I am 32 years old married and have 4 beautiful children 11, 7, 5 and 3. I took the police officer exam thinking nothing would come of it and I did great on the test and am going through the hiring process. The starting salary is 46k. I currently make 50k and I do not have the option for OT where I am currently employed nor a 401k. I currently work M-F 8-4 paid holidays etc. but my benefits are terrible. My kids are covered under another health insurance plan so they are fine until they are 18. It’s just my wife and I who have bad insurance. I know when I start as a PO I will be doing whatever shifts are left after the other officers pick their schedules due to seniority. I also know that I will have mandated 16 hour shifts due to being a rookie. Of course I have been doing my research and I have read a lot of bad things about the strain it puts on your family life. I also spoke with one of my friends who has been a PO for 7 years and he just separated from his wife 2 months ago due to the sacrifice of time that is required. I have never missed anything when it comes to my kids. I don’t think the money and career are more important than my kids and especially my wife. My wife and I have a unbreakable bond. I’m just worried about the time away from my family and missing events that I normally do not miss.

Any help is greatly appreciated and thank you for taking the time out to read this. I look forward to reading your responses.