I know there’s a boatload of questions about SWAT, but it seems like nobody ever gets a really good, thorough answer. So, I’m hoping this can tie up those loose ends, as well as answer my own questions.
I’ve recently made a major change to my life plan regarding what profession I would like to pursue. I would like to become a SWAT team member. I understand that’s a big goal in itself, as the common route is to become a police officer for three or so years and hopefully get selected for SWAT from there. There are other routes, such as military, but I think that for my goal it would be best to get a college degree and then go into a police force. This way, should I decide SWAT isn’t right for me, I can try to get selected for other things like the Secret Service, various jobs at security companies, or go back to school and get a job working for the FBI.
My first question is what degree should I get? Clearly Law Enforcement would be a good option, but the university I attend right now doesn’t offer that major (University of Minnesota TC). Are there other majors that you can get that would set you up for a career as a SWAT officer, or would it be better to look at other colleges that have Law Enforcement?
Getting the degree is important, but where do I go from there? I’m under the impression that you get your associate’s in Law Enforcement and then apply to a police academy. Upon completion of that you go on to working at a police force and apply to SWAT school after the required/recommended amount of time at that police force. Correct me if I’m wrong, and any guidance would be appreciated. Also, maybe some timeframes as to how long each takes? Associates is generally 2 years, but what about Police Academy and SWAT school?
My next question is what does the job market look like? I’m not afraid of a little competition, but if it’s next to impossible to get a job in a police force, and more importantly a position on their SWAT team, then I wouldn’t want to go down that road.
How can you transfer to different police stations? As with most people, I would like to go out into the world and succeed. Moving somewhere like Detroit and getting on their prestigious SWAT team would be amazing, but are there requirements to do so?
Most of all, is SWAT a desirable career choice? This question will be difficult to answer if you’ve never worked on a SWAT team, so I don’t expect most of you to have an answer. About me: I love helping people, and I don’t mind working incredibly hard to achieve my goals. I’m fit and continue to workout, and I’m a good marksman. I also work well with teams, I have exceptional social skills, and I am intelligent. Things I want to get out of the job: I want to do something where, at the end of the day, I can know that I helped someone. In addition, does this career provide a “livable” salary? It’s hard to put a dollar value on something, especially if you really enjoy it, but is this something where I can provide for myself and a family someday?
One last question – does SWAT have anything against tattoos? I don’t have any yet, but I would really like to get one. It’s for my dad who is battling Diabetes, so it is very important to me. The only thing standing in the way of that is if my career choice doesn’t support tattoos, so if anybody knows that would be really cool.
If you made it all the way through that lengthy question, I’m glad you took time to read this and hopefully help me out 🙂 If you have any tips or answers I’d really appreciate you sharing. Also, any tips about Yahoo Answers would be nice – this is my first ever post haha. Thanks!