Plan B

 I was a 14-year veteran officer when I decided I needed to prepare for change. I could no longer expect that I would be an officer for 30 years. The laws were changing, the public view of police was changing, and I was changing. On top of the political complications around policing, there were the crappy schedules, frozen pay, missed holidays and time with family, increased stress, anxiety, and long-term health impacts to deal with.   At 14 years, I was too far in to leave, but too far from retirement to stay. In the event that I wanted to leave law enforcement, I really had very few options. The bulk of my work history was policing, as was my education.  I was stuck and felt that I would be happier in my career if I knew I had options should I choose to pursue them. Even though I still loved my job, I wasn’t sure that I could work a 30-year policing career.   I needed a Plan B.   If you're an officer, have you thought about what you'd do if your police career came to an end, either voluntarily or involuntarily? Disability, burnout, family issues, and disciplinary issues are just a few of the things that could put a brake on your career. Many officers make policing their only career and their service and dedication should be commended. But some officers quit or are fired much earlier in their careers, before they've ever taken the time to consider their backup plan. My advice to ALL officers, including focused career officers, is to always have a Plan B.   So, what does that look like? It can mean simply having a plan for what you'd do if your police career suddenly came to an end. It can also mean actively building a second, backup career while continuing to work as an officer. That's what I did.  

My Plan B

To keep my story short and simple, I discovered the mental health counseling program at my alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, and applied. I was accepted, went to grad school full time while working full time with two young kids, a wife, and a dog, and volunteering in several high-level elected board positions. It was a lot, but I got through it.   I started my small counseling business in 2018. I've grown that small business while continuing to work as a police officer full time, and I now have several employees. I have always enjoyed helping people and this was another career that allowed me to do that.   I tell my story not to give myself a high five or to sound arrogant, but quite the opposite. I want other officers (or anyone in a career that could suddenly come to a halt), to know they can do the same thing. Most officers that I know are dedicated, smart, hard-working, and devoted to their families. They can focus under stress and endure demanding situations. The same qualities that allowed me to succeed are qualities they have, too.   Basically, if I can do it, so can you. You don't need to do what I did by taking on so much at one time and spreading yourself thin, or committing to multiple full-time commitments all at once, though. In fact, I recommend doing it differently. You can achieve everything I did at a more reasonable and slower pace.  

How to Create Your Own Plan B

It's easiest to set up a Plan B if you're currently in school with plans to pursue a career in policing. You can create a backup option by pursuing a double major or getting a degree in something other than criminal justice. You can still get local and federal law enforcement jobs with degrees in accounting, finance, business, and many other areas of study. However, the reverse is not true. It's not impossible, but it's harder to go into accounting or finance if you have a criminal justice degree.   But if you're done with school, have already earned your bachelor's degree, and for example, are eight years into working as an officer, and are stuck between wanting to leave and wanting to stay, you're not out of luck. It's never too late!  In fact, you might be in an ideal position to start working on your Plan B right now without even knowing it.   Here are some steps you can take if you want to explore the possibility of a Plan B for your career:  

• Find something you enjoy doing and re-discover yourself
  
  
• If you aren't sure what else you can or want to do, start out by taking a self-assessment test at self-directed-search.com. This is a scientifically proven test that will tell you what you might be good at, which of your personality traits match which jobs, what those jobs pay, and what the future outlook and prospects are for those jobs. It's 20 minutes and costs ten bucks. Easy and cheap—two things cops love.
  
  
• Once you figure out what you want to do, start researching it. Ask questions like:
  • What is the pay?
  • What are the job prospects?
  • What is the growth outlook for the field?
  • What do you need to do to start working towards that career?
  • Can you do it full-time and pay the bills?
  • Can you do it part-time while you work as a full-time police officer?
  • Will it entertain you and keep you engaged?
  • How much will it cost you to get a degree, training, or education for the job?
    
    
• If you need to pay for training and education, check with your current employer about tuition reimbursement.
  
  
• Call around and ask about the job from those who actually do it. Make sure you fully understand what you are getting into:
  • Don't set yourself up to feel bored two months into your new career. Are you really sure you can stick it out as an accountant if that becomes your main gig?
  • Consider whether your backup career can pay the bills. You might have always wanted to be a juggler, but can you support your family on a juggler's income?
    
    
• Understand the benefits structure at your current job and if you can take anything with you. Consider questions like:
  • When can you retire?
  • Do you get healthcare when you retire?
  • If you can retire, are you retiring early? How does that affect your benefits?
  • If you can't retire, what do you get? Are you vested in a pension? If you are, when do you start to receive payments, and how much?
  • If you can't retire, can you buy your current healthcare plan to continue using afterwards, and if so, how long can you do it?
    
    
• Look at the long-term financial effects of your backup career choice and take them into account in your decision. Policing doesn't pay very well, but the benefits are generally pretty good, and outclass those of many other professions. Policing perks include:
  • Low cost share on healthcare.
  • Guaranteed pension for life (most agencies, but not all).
  • Life insurance.
  • Dental and vision insurance (generally not great, but they all suck).
  • A recession-proof job. Sure, you may have a pay freeze for several years, but you still have a job.
  • Overtime and part-time prospects.

In short, make sure you can handle any changes to your benefits in a new career.  

• Also understand the long-term negative effects of policing and the potential negative effects on your family of remaining a full-time officer until retirement:
  • Shift work.
  • Odd days off and working the weekends.
  • Working holidays.
  • Stressful job environment.
  • Mental and physical health complications of policing.
    
    
• Re-evaluate your lifestyle and what you want. This will help you figure out a job that's best for your lifestyle. For example:
  • If you are millennial and younger, chances are you are more interested in work-life balance.
  • If you're an old head, you probably want to work more and focus on earning more money for retirement.
     
• KNOW YOURSELF:
  • If you know that you aren't good in a school environment, don't choose a career with rigorous academic requirements. In other words, don't try to go back to school for molecular biology, no matter how cool and fun you think it would be.
  • If you are good in school, consider where and how you excel academically. Consider both the personal and financial implications of going back to school. Would you enjoy going back to school? It might help justify the investment if it would be a positive experience for you and your family.
  • If you know you're good with your hands and a people person, consider trade work. Are there any ways you're handy or are there any hobbies you're good at that you could convert into a job?
  • Don't take on more than you can handle. Looking back, I should have gone to school part time and slowed down. The pace I took caused me a lot of stress and anxiety that could have been avoided.
     
• Make comparisons. Make a list of pros and cons of staying with your current career, leaving, OR DOING BOTH!!!
  • It doesn't have to be either/or—it can be both. For example, you can be a full-time police officer and a part-time financial planner. It won't be easy, but if you already work a part-time job you are simply trading one job for another.
  • Do keep in mind that you can't always do both. Some careers are too demanding to mix, and other secondary careers are dependent on your status as an officer. For example, you can be a financial planner if you aren't a police officer, but you probably can't work a part-time security job if you aren't a police officer.
    
    
• Talk to your family.
  • Beginning a new career or adding a new job will put pressure on them. Make sure they are on board and that they understand the sacrifices that will come.

 This isn't an exhaustive list but is meant to give you enough food for thought to get you started. You'll probably think of other issues, pro and con, as you consider the above. Let what comes up for you help you figure out whether a Plan B makes sense for you.  

Should You Have a Plan B?

If you're reading this and you're not an officer, it might still apply to you. In any volatile field where your career could end any moment, it's a good idea to have an alternative. This is true for anyone with jobs in real estate (realtors or house flippers), finance, and retail, all of which depend on volatile local economies. It's also true for anyone working in high-risk, high-burnout jobs, such as other first responders. Changes in the local and national economy can suddenly change the outlook for people working in many different fields.   There are benefits to coming up with a Plan B even if you never encounter a major setback in your career. If you choose to pursue two careers at the same time, like I did, your second career can offer you additional income and a job in retirement. This is true even if you continue your policing career until you retire. That's not uncommon in the law enforcement world.   And let me be 100% clear—while I recommend having a Plan B, it's probably good enough for most people just to give it some thought so they have a few ideas in their back pocket should they ever need them. The world isn't ending, cops aren't all going to be thrown in jail, and law enforcement will not be abolished. A Plan B is just that—a plan, and one you might never need to use.   In the meantime, if it's something you're considering, I highly recommend taking the SDS test at www.self-directed-search.com test. I am not affiliated with this website or test at all, but I've used it myself and researched it and believe it's a great starting place to give you some ideas. Exploring and developing a backup career plan can quickly become overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. If you take it one step at a time instead of worrying about the entire list, it will make this process much easier. When you're searching for a suspect in a home you don't sprint through the house, you kick one door in at a time and methodically search each room. Same here. It can even be a golden opportunity for you to do some self-reflection to help you figure out whether you're happy in your career and are doing what's best for you and your family. Even if all it does is reaffirm the value you find in being an officer, that's not a small thing, especially in the uncertain times we're all living through.  

DISCLAIMER: I’m not advocating anyone to leave law enforcement. It’s a great job and very rewarding on so many levels. Police officers along with any first responder, have a career that makes a tangible difference in the lives of the people they serve. We need great officers to continue doing this job to keep society safe.   This post was written for ANYONE in ANY profession looking for a change. Recently I have encountered more and more people who may benefit from this post.