14 replies to this topic

[Ash]

Just passing through, such is my want.

Thought I'd see how my old haunt was doing, see how many oldbies still lurk around.

I'm a cop now. So, yeah. Best behaviour, eh, guys? Especially you, Caspa. I don't want to see any more beating up of Inspectors.

I'm also flying a new rig:

AMD Phenom II Quad-Core 3.2Ghz black edition
Nvidia GTX470 1024MB
4GB DDR3 RAM
2x1TB + 1x500GB + 1x250GB hard drives
Dual-booting WinXP and Win7.

Not the highest-end rig I could've bought with my first police wage, but it kicks the butt of every game I own.

[Mathijs]

[Ash]

I'm not sure I have an adequately snarky comment for that.

[Mathijs]

Lost some of your edge then?

Good to see you back around for a bit.

[Caspa]

I dunno why, but quite fancy a Stella now.

What's the average piggy wage these days anyway?

Edited by Acrimonious, 14 August 2010 - 11:08 PM.

[Ash]

Well, I'm on 22k at the moment. When my training completes in a couple of months it'll go up to 25. Sergeants start at the top end of Constable pay. Inspectors and above? Who knows...

Nowt wrong with a bit of Stella, though - I have a few bottles I might partake of later this afternoon.

[Phil]

Welcome back, Ash.

[olli]

Glad to see you finally got what you were aiming for.

I'm thinking of joining the Special Constable's in my last year of Uni, then when they start a rolling recruitment, apply for a regular bobby. I think I would specialise in firearms or Air Observer...

That's down my "Choose a police career" path anyway.

[Caspa]

So how long till you watercool?

[Ash]

Glad to see you finally got what you were aiming for.

Well, I was aiming to go to Liverpool uni to study forensic psychology. The police is something of a fall-back career. As it happens, I'm enjoying what I'm doing so far.

I'm thinking of joining the Special Constable's in my last year of Uni

If you're going to do that, I would apply immediately (even if this is your first year). The application process to even become a Special is ridiculously long and convoluted. It took me about twelve months for my app to be fully processed and to start training. I anticipate yours would take roughly the same length of time.

As for becoming a Special in the first place, you might want to think about it very carefully. The force and the Police Federation are much quicker to jump on Specials and probationers like me than they are long-serving coppers, purely because they're easier to get rid of. This bit of footage looks bad, but for three cops to be holding him down there has to be a damn good reason. I think Caspa knows what I'm talking about . You don't get paid, you get bog-all training, you're usually the tea-boy on your shift (dealing with shit jobs) and you will get hit much harder by the law than you would if you were wandering along in civvies being Average Joe. Three years for that, yet if you hospitalise a cop you're lucky if you even get put away. Again, I think Caspa knows what I'm talking about.

then when they start a rolling recruitment, apply for a regular bobby.

Your best bet, actually, is to get hold of an application form for your force of choice now, and get that in the works. By the time they start a rolling recruitment you'll be finishing your current academic year, and the worst that'll happen is you have to have a couple of days missing lectures to do your assessment centre, medical, etc. I can honestly say, though, that if I knew I'd be joining the police four and a half years ago, I'd never have gone to uni.

I think I would specialise in firearms or Air Observer...

Do both throughout your service. Just be prepared to join a very long queue for both. There can be 300+ apps for six vacancies. Particularly Firearms - everyone wants to be a gun bobby. Myself included, incidentally. I'm looking at PSU (police support unit - riot training) initially. I'll probably give CID a go for a year or two before I go back to uniform, and also Firearms. I'll have a look what else there is, too.

So how long till you watercool?

Probably my next rig, in a few years. I think I'm futureproof for the time being, though.

[dangerman1337]

Do you have your own place since you got the job? If so how much of a loan/mortgage do you have to pay off and how much each year/month?

Just thinking off my own future really .

[Ash]

Do you have your own place since you got the job? If so how much of a loan/mortgage do you have to pay off and how much each year/month?

Just thinking off my own future really .

No, I don't own my own place. I still live at home, and I will be doing for the foreseeable future. I pay £220 a month to cover my portion of the bills and council tax and to cover for the loan that's been taken out for an extension of the house so I can have my own room and after tax, NI, student loan and police pension, the rest of my pay is mine, save for whatever I have to spend on petrol, and whatever I choose to spend.

Put it this way - it's a fuckton cheaper than what I'd have to fork out if I went out to my own place. You'd be looking at double the outgoings or even more. As it is, I get to save more money. My outgoings'll go up in the new year, as I'm going to get myself a new car, but by the same token my incomings will go up by three grand a year, so it balances up a bit.

If you're moving out, expect to be living hand to mouth. Particularly if your pay-day does not coincide with the day your rent is due. Mine sure as hell doesn't; I am paid every four Thursdays, meaning I get thirteen pay-days a year, but that doesn't always fall on the 1st of every month, which is when my outgoings are due.

[Vortigern]

If you're moving out, expect to be living hand to mouth. Particularly if your pay-day does not coincide with the day your rent is due. Mine sure as hell doesn't; I am paid every four Thursdays, meaning I get thirteen pay-days a year, but that doesn't always fall on the 1st of every month, which is when my outgoings are due.

Get two bank accounts and set up a direct debit to put one month's rent into the second account every pay-day, that way you've always got it covered and at the end of the year you'll have a whole extra month's money to spend. Christmas: covered.

[Ash]

In fairness, my Christmas list is absurdly short and my outgoings are pithy compared to my incomings. I'm happy for it to stay that way, too. My split of the bills is always covered, though I'm looking at setting up a second account in any case.

[Jeeves]

Homebrewing is my moneysaving solution, my outgoings are now limited to the occasional $2.70 bus fare and $2.60 coffee
Congrats on the job Ash. I know someone who wants to be a cop. Bit different here though. Only take half a year to apply and you get a gun soon as you enter training. Think police basic amounts to more training than Special Forces, but still essentially under-trained and a tendency to shoot. My favourite has to be a time a policeman shot someone dead to prevent them from committing suicide, I'd just like it more if it was a stand-out event.