New York's finest- starting salary of $25,100

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AfterDark

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This is my first time posting in the community center. But anyways, I have known about the low starting wages for NYPD for quite some time. It's an outrage how low the measly wage is considering the job description. It's a real thankless job and to be paid such a low wage is adding insult to injury.

I know a lot of officers out there would still be officers regardless of the salary since it's a calling. But come on, according to The Patrolman's Benevolent Association (PBA) "bus drivers, gardeners, and city sanitation workers make more money than New York City Police officers." It does get better after six months but it's still pocket change considering the high standard of living in NY. If there are any of New York's finest on here, my hats off to you.

*For LAPD in CA, the starting is around 55-59k. In San Francisco, it's around 70k starting. 25k starting is just way too low.:thumbdn::thumbdn:
http://www.nypd2.org/html/recruit/salary.html
 
As long as qualified individuals continue to accept the job at that pay scale, there is no incentive to increase the salary.
 
Nothing more to say that the first two posts didn't cover except "Wow that really sucks".
 
They won't starve. The salary does rise in a relatively short time. Benefits and retirement are good.

Also, the city has an immense police force. It's about the size of the army that Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire with. :) With so large a force, they aren't committing a lot on each recruit, until they know if he's going to work out.

Contract negotiations for the other public service unions generally watch the police contract, to keep within a certain percentage of what NYPD earns.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
They won't starve. The salary does rise in a relatively short time. Benefits and retirement are good.
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but taking home less than 2k a month, where can a new officer expect to live? i can see it is only while in the academy, and upon graduation there is a substantial raise, relative to their recruit pay. but even with a net pay of ~2500, that is still pretty meager.
 
No wonder the old New Yorker I met some years ago told me NYC cops were so easy to buy off! :eek:
 
The pay rises dramatically for law enforcement in many areas, within 2, 3 even 4 years, and benefits, retirement is better than alot of places. I have no sympthy for saying it's a thankless job, they deal with the scum of the earth etc. Hey they signed up for that. And while the original post states that sanitation workers etc. get paid more I would certainly argue they work harder. I'm not saying that law enforcement does not work hard but it is relative to what one deems hard work. Staying up all night could be hard work for some while looking for law breakers is exciting and manageable to others. So while I value said professions the pay factor does not get my sympthy vote.
What about Teachers, now there is certainly a thankless job.
 
teaching is not a thankless job.

gratitude comes in various forms, though certainly not from everyone you would hope.


i received vastly more thanks and gratitude teaching elementary school than i could ever hope for working in law enforcement.

diamond dog, have you worked in any of the professions which you mention in your post?
 
That is a recruit/in-academy salary. It spikes up a tidy bit post graduation. On par, it pales to other locations. But that is the market.
 
Police work is easy work???? You know not what you speak.

It can be very difficult and it is always "hard". If only once in a 20 year career an officer is shot, pinned down for several hours while subjected to hundreds of rounds and forced to suffer a painful rehab, his job is then one of the "hardest" in the world.......................always.

The NYPD starts at 25K but jumps up after graduation from the Academy. No one enters LE with the thought of getting rich, Cops only hope they make enough to pay their bills and none do so with the expctation the work will be easy...................
 
police and fire carry the responsibility of protecting your life and your property.

what other profession is directly tasked with these duties, not to mention on a civil servants pay?
 
Dr. Mudd said:
No wonder the old New Yorker I met some years ago told me NYC cops were so easy to buy off! :eek:
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The next time you feel the need to slander the NYPD, show some guts and do it in your own words, instead of pretending someone on the spot would know this.

I'm an old New Yorker myself, and I worked with these people. You and your old friend don't come close to the courage and integrity I've seen from them.
 
When including base salary, average overtime and night shift differential, holiday pay, and uniform allowance, a Police Officer earns over $35,000, on average, in the first year; $45,000, on average, in the second year; $77,000, on average, after 6 years
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Wow, sucks to be a NYC Cop.
 
MORIMOTOM said:
teaching is not a thankless job.

gratitude comes in various forms, though certainly not from everyone you would hope.


i received vastly more thanks and gratitude teaching elementary school than i could ever hope for working in law enforcement.

diamond dog, have you worked in any of the professions which you mention in your post?
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Yes I have. Why do you ask? Did I rub you the wrong way? Because that was not my intention. I mention teaching as a thankless job in regards to pay and overall respect in terms of no child left behind and the enforcement on hounding teachers for results in terms of standardized testing. One of my best friends is a LT. for the Fire Dept. and he makes quite a bit of money and has so much time off he does construction on the side just to keep busy. He tells me plenty of stories on what goes on in regards to politics, hiring and general loafing that happens on the job. Am I glad that he does what he does, DAMN straight! When I say that the pay for law enforcement gets no sympathy from me I mean it. Choose another profession. That is not being in no way deragatory towards law enforcement whatsoever. But the pay does increase from first year as not many other professions do, and continues to increase yearly. That cannot be said for most jobs or professions.
Teaching pay increases yearly as well, but it is almost a must to earn a masters to even come close to getting paid mid level what a 2nd or 3rd year police officer makes or at least in my neck of the woods that is the case. Teachers have to constantly participate in professional development and accumulate credits in order to recieve more pay...which means the teacher has to have out of pocket expenses up front to even recieve an ends. Now you throw in the teaching of advanced learners, second language learners and special education inclusion classrooms and that makes for one hell of spreading the teacher thin. The differentiated classroom has to be engaging, challenging and leveled for the vast learns in the classroom. One lesson on say 5th grade division can easily be transformed into 4 different and differentiated lesson plans. Now acquiring the necessary evidence on why that particular lesson is being taught and why a teacher chose to differentiate and possible group children has to be justified with evidence. SO to answer your question, YES I have worked in the profession that I mention. Can you guess in what capacity!:)
 
wolfmann601 said:
Police work is easy work???? You know not what you speak.

It can be very difficult and it is always "hard". If only once in a 20 year career an officer is shot, pinned down for several hours while subjected to hundreds of rounds and forced to suffer a painful rehab, his job is then one of the "hardest" in the world.......................always.

The NYPD starts at 25K but jumps up after graduation from the Academy. No one enters LE with the thought of getting rich, Cops only hope they make enough to pay their bills and none do so with the expctation the work will be easy...................
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Believe me I do not speak of police work being easy. Hey work is work whether you sweep floors, shovel shit or drive a cab. My point simply was regarding pay. Let me be clear on my stance, I support fully the men and women in law enforcement. Do I believe they are paid respectably, I would say more yes than no. I mean look at what the president's sallary is. Some would say that is not alot of money but the perks and what nots that come with the job is significant. I concur with the 1st year at said 25k a year is rather low, but the pay does jump up is all the point I'm making.
 
MORIMOTOM said:
police and fire carry the responsibility of protecting your life and your property.

what other profession is directly tasked with these duties, not to mention on a civil servants pay?
Click to expand...
Well after Hillary gets elected you will be able to add Health Care Workers to the list. :D
 
Hopefully it goes up quite a bit upon graduation. I think in Michigan starting is over 30k for a lot of local forces and our cost of living has to be nearly half of NYC.
 
That does seem pretty low to start, but those of us in front line work know what we're getting into. Without getting into heated duscussion, I think it's difficult to compare front line work to traditional jobs. I've worked both construction/maual labour and fire service and there's no doubt in my mind what is harder when the bell goes off. On a quite day, I'd give a nod to manual work. On an average day, about equal.But I'm willing to bet I work harder during my first bottle(about 40 minutes) at a working job than a full day of roofing. The mental stress is much higher as well. Go to any crime scene or tragic accident/working incident involving death/injury and you'll understand. Cut a 13 yo down from his basement rafters after hanging himself and you'll understand eventhough it might not be physically tasking. I imagine it is the very same for police, except for they also have to deal with the real possibility of someone seeing them as they enemy on certain calls. Most of us have worked at various jobs, but very few can say they've worked on the front line. As result, those of us in the know are better suited to making comparisons. Not complaining , as this is my chosen profession and I'm very proud to say that. I don't think we deserve more money, but we shouldn't get less than other civil servant jobs. That's for sure. And I know a few teachers building houses/owning side businesses on their summers off as well. If someone is inclined to fill their time in or wants to make more money, that's good for them.
Edit: just wondering if there is a residency clause for NYPD?
 
The average pay of all individual Americans is only $24,000. And that's twice as much as I earned some years working as professional archaeologist. So my sympathy level is rather low.

So they earn $25,000 for a short time, then get bumped to $32,000 (more than I made last year), and after only five years they earning almost $60,000! Plus they really rake it in with overtime pay, health benefits, retirement/pension, paid sick leave, and a month's paid vacation. Those are benefits that most Americans can only dream about and my sympathy level just ran to zero...

I'm sure it's a stressful, difficult, thankless job. But I don't see how anyone can argue that NYPD officers are not fairly compensated. Did you guys read the entire page?

When including base salary, average overtime and night shift differential, holiday pay, and uniform allowance, a Police Officer earns over $35,000, on average, in the first year; $45,000, on average, in the second year; $77,000, on average, after 6 years
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* 1 in 6 uniformed members of the NYPD are Detectives. A Detective’s (3rd Grade) average earning is $100,000
*1 in 7 uniformed members of the NYPD are Sergeants. A Sergeant’s average earning is $100,000
*1 in 20 uniformed members of the NYPD are Lieutenants. A Lieutenant’s average earning is $122,000
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