Police Sergeant: An Informational Interview Report
[Thanks to Robert for sharing the informational interview report on how to become a police sergeant and related occupational information.]
The way I came across the person for an informational interview was that he is a friend of my father. The way I made the request to interview him was that I asked my father for his phone number and I called and asked him if I could interview him.
Questions and Answers
- What is your job title and what is the name of the company/organization? Sergeant with the police department for a large metropolitan city.
- How long have you been doing this job? For almost 29 years.
- How did you get into this career? Went on a ride along with a police officer.
- Briefly, can you let me know how you got to where you are today? I got where I am from graduating from college and by working hard for 15 years as an officer before getting promoted to sergeant.
- What is a typical day like? A typical day is always different. I usually start off going to briefings and then I head out to my district. I learn of any information needed to perform my job well. I then patrol my district and respond to any calls for service.
- What are your daily responsibilities? I attend briefings before every shift to learn of any news relevant to our operations. As a Sergeant I patrol my district and supervise a team of officers. I respond to calls for service as well as make sure that the public is aware that I am being proactive in the community.
- What skills are required for your job? You must have good people skills. You must learn how to talk to people and be good at defusing possibly dangerous situations. You must be a person with good common sense.
- What majors and/or minors do you recommend for someone interested in this field? The majors and minors I recommend for this field would be criminal justice, sociology, and social work. And to learn a second language because you will come in contact with people that don’t speak English.
- What courses and/or advanced degree(s) would be helpful for me? Like I said before any second language would be very beneficial. English is always helpful because we write a lot of reports that are used in court.
- What experience is necessary to enter this field? You should have experience coming in contact with people. Experiences in your everyday life will be very beneficial in police work.
- What activities do you enjoy doing the most? What are 3 things that you enjoy most about working at your company/organization? The activities that I enjoy the most are working out after a hard days work by letting go of all the stress. The three things that I enjoy most are working with the community, helping those that are in need, and making a good impression on kids so that they understand that police officers are here to help.
- What do you like most/least about your job? I like that I can make a difference in my community. I like that I don’t have someone constantly looking over me. I can make my day busy by being proactive in my district. The things that I dislike are that there are some people who disrespect the police and that don’t understand that they are trying to do what’s best for everyone.
- How did you get into this organization/industry? What other organizations have you worked for? I got into this job by going on a ride along with a police officer. After graduating from college I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. After I went on that ride along it took me in the direction of police work.
- What is unique to your industry, organization, or office? What is unique about my job is that I don’t work in an office from 9-5. Most people who work have a list of tasks that they must complete before they go home. For me my tasks come throughout the day and may be more frequent on some days.
What is your work environment like? My work environment varies from day to day. Things are not the same every day.
- How does your organization fill job openings? Is that typical of other organizations in your field? The police department fills job openings by posting openings on the internet, newspapers, and magazines. They make applicants take numerous tests and interviews to make sure they are right for the job. This is very typical for similar departments in the area.
- Are there other organizations in this field that I might explore for opportunities?
There are the Department of Corrections, you can work work for Probations, and for the Sheriffs department.
- What is the economic forecast for this industry? The economic forecast for this industry is good because there will always be criminals and there will always be a need for police officers.
- Currently, how secure are positions in your field? The jobs in the police field are very safe because at this time there are many people retiring and the need for police officers is rising.
- What is the growth and promotion potential in your field? There are very many promotion opportunities in the police field. As an officer you can get promoted to sergeant by taking a test and being placed on a list with many other officers that took the test as well.
- What kind of opportunities are there for advancement, and how would one qualify? There are many opportunities for advancement not only in the police department but as well as in the US government. You can get promoted within the department or can move on to the FBI, CIA, or many other government organizations.
- What areas are growing/changing in this field? The areas that are growing in this field are the technology advances. They are coming up with better ways of deterring crime. They are also finding easier ways to deal with criminals by using tasers that are safer than using a baton.
- What is a typical starting salary in this field? The typical starting salary for officers at our police department is around 75,000 dollar per year and goes up to over 100,000 dollars for a top step officer. And as you get promoted the salary goes up.
- If I wanted to start in this career area, how would you recommend that I go about it? I recommend that you take the minimum of 40 units and by taking criminal justice classes so that you have a better idea what the job consists of.
- What advice do you have for someone preparing for a career in this field? My advice would be to always be a leader, to be in good physical shape, and to learn to deal with many different kinds of people.
What I Learned
A lot of the information wasn’t new to me because I did a lot of research on the department before I conducted my interview. The one type of information that was new to me was the salary of police officers. I didn’t realize how much they got paid. I believe whatever they get paid they deserve every penny. It is one of the most dangerous jobs you can have. The information that I thought that was entertaining was what they do everyday. It just seems that they create work for themselves. They can be as busy as they want to be. I believe that the information gave me a positive impression on the profession. These police officers really do care about the citizens they are protecting.
For me I already made up my mind that I wanted to become a police officer.This just made me realize how much I really want to do it. After conducting this interview I applied to take the written test for the local police department. The overall informational interviewing experience was very eye opening to the passion for the job you must have. The informational interview was helpful because it gave me insights to the job that I didn’t know before. It showed me that not only are they protecting the citizens but they are also protecting their fellow officers.
Thank You Note
Dear Sergeant,
I just wanted to thank you for your time and the opportunity to interview you. It gave me a lot of insight on the job of public safety. I didn’t realize the passion one must have to work for such a tough job. Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Robert
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