Ever wondered why you do the job you do?

[Shellywoozle]

After my night shift last night I asked myself this question.

Went on parade and there was only me and one other on shift, I got assaulted (only minor) but found myself still concious about how I treated that person that assaulted me (I was nice), spent ages trying to climb a 7ft metal fence ripping my hands to shreads and ended up taking all my protective kit off to crawl under to get caked in mud just to look in 6 foot nettles and long overgrown shrubs to get stung to death to look for a scrote.

Then to top it off I fell in the nettles in the rough waste land twisting my ankle.

I did 30 mins overtime, just enough for the Queen meaning it was free.

Why oh why !! Office job sounds much more appealing.

Rant over - I love HRH and dont mind her having my 30 mins, just give us some more bobbies and I would love you more !!

[Dave20046]

I had to drive round the country side all day today, there were slow drivers everywhere - I got stuck behind a wagon at one point :(
Sigh, it'll all be worth it come payday.


Chin up woozle :mrgreen:

[christopher]

We had chickens on our desks/monitors in work today...

http://www.edg3.co.uk/photos/2010/07/23/0001.jpg

I'm the one in the red t-shirt. Manageress keeps chickens and they hopped the fence and came in the open door and wandered around the office until someone was bothered to pick 'em up and throw them back outside!

See what you're missing from a desk job ;)

[Bri w]

shelly,

The vast majority of the people are hugely grateful, and appreciative of what you do for a living. Taking on loud and aggressive nettles in the dead of night for nothing takes guts and determination.

Seriously though, for all the moans about the odd plod c0cking things up the vast vast majority do a great job. And just who amongst us civvies could do some of the things you get landed with?

Camomile lotion and vodka - drink the lotion and smear the vodka all over.

[Wideboy]

fooking hell that girth taking a photo of that chicken...... look!!

[Shellywoozle]

shelly,

The vast majority of the people are hugely grateful, and appreciative of what you do for a living. Taking on loud and aggressive nettles in the dead of night for nothing takes guts and determination.

Seriously though, for all the moans about the odd plod c0cking things up the vast vast majority do a great job. And just who amongst us civvies could do some of the things you get landed with?

Camomile lotion and vodka - drink the lotion and smear the vodka all over.

ROFL nooo gotta drink the vodka what a waste ROFL ... me likes vodka.

I would rather tackle a man with a knife than go in dense nettles, bloody big girl when it comes to stuff like that, no way I am covert shouting "OUCH"

At the end of the day I am just a civvy in a flourescent uniform, 6 years in and I still dont feel like a copper. It's funny but I would love a normal job now, one where I knew when I was gonna eat and get home.

Everytime I go to court I visualise Plan B singing in the docks LOL .... ROFL :smt035


Chris - thats a funky chicken !!!!! Is that the norm for your office then, good job she aint a cow farmer in her spare time

[Holdup]

Shell you do your job and keep your town / area a safer place and thats good, sure sometimes you get all the crap but surely it feels good when you finaly catch who ever the bad person is.

I respect police for the job they do and one day i hope to become one, looks like im gunna put it on hold for a couple of years though, due to just starting my apprenticeship, but i agree more police are needed on the streets, especially if those figures that were released are true!

[Viney]

Ever wondered why you do the job you do?'cause im too lazy to do anything else and i sort of fell ito it years ago, and now im holding out for possible redundancy

[Girth]

fooking hell that girth taking a photo of that chicken...... look!!

Damn! My identity has been blown!

[Dave20046]

It's funny but I would love a normal job now, one where I knew when I was gonna eat and get home.


I've never done a job like that.

[Milky Bar Kid]

After my night shift last night I asked myself this question.

Went on parade and there was only me and one other on shift, I got assaulted (only minor) but found myself still concious about how I treated that person that assaulted me (I was nice), spent ages trying to climb a 7ft metal fence ripping my hands to shreads and ended up taking all my protective kit off to crawl under to get caked in mud just to look in 6 foot nettles and long overgrown shrubs to get stung to death to look for a scrote.

Then to top it off I fell in the nettles in the rough waste land twisting my ankle.

I did 30 mins overtime, just enough for the Queen meaning it was free.

Why oh why !! Office job sounds much more appealing.

Rant over - I love HRH and dont mind her having my 30 mins, just give us some more bobbies and I would love you more !!

Ha this sounds so familiar to what I was saying the Cheryl yesterday!

[Milky Bar Kid]

Shell you do your job and keep your town / area a safer place and thats good, sure sometimes you get all the crap but surely it feels good when you finaly catch who ever the bad person is.

I respect police for the job they do and one day i hope to become one, looks like im gunna put it on hold for a couple of years though, due to just starting my apprenticeship, but i agree more police are needed on the streets, especially if those figures that were released are true!

Bang on. It can be horrible, cold, wet, painful, tiring but that feeling of having done a good job, or made something really horrible, like death, a wee tiny bit easier for a family or catching someone who has affected lots of people is an amazing feeling. 4 yrs on and I wouldn't change it for the world!

[yawny]

the jobs f u c k e d as they say....but we love it all the same

[Milky Bar Kid]

the jobs f u c k e d as they say....but we love it all the same

haha! I take it everyone in every force says that "the jobs f*cked"??

[yorkie_chris]

ROFL nooo gotta drink the vodka what a waste ROFL ... me likes vodka.

I would rather tackle a man with a knife than go in dense nettles, bloody big girl when it comes to stuff like that, no way I am covert shouting "OUCH"

Very cunning tactic there if you ask me. If the scroat was hiding in a bush nearby, him p*ssing himself laughing would immediately alert you to his presence! :smt003

But think about it, rather have stuff like that and a tale to tell than be sat bored witless behind a desk!

[maviczap]

Been there done that and I know how you feel.

But having done desk jobs, its not long before you realise how every day is different, unlike a desk job. I lasted 5 months before I went stir crazy

Sometimes when I'm out past midnight working in the pouring rain in the middle of winter, I too think what the feck am I doing here at my age :confused:

Chin up, the blues will pass (no pun intended)

[Bluefish]

More bobbys shell, apparently only one in ten is on the beat (this weeks news) and i do the job i do as i can't do a decent perm ;)

[G]

I would love a normal job now, one where I knew when I was gonna eat and get home.


Believe me there is nothing more dull than being stuck in the same office, with the same people day in day out, looking at the same boring computer screen.

I've done it for years and it depresses me so much.

Not many people on here know but I applied for the police in January 2009, I have passed everything, and was finally given a start date of November 2010... Now due to the budgets it's all gone on hold with no end in site. You've got a very good thing.

Fortunately I didn't close all the doors and have managed to secure another very cool outdoor job so it's not all bad.

Some people were born to do the same thing day in day out, stuck in the same office, with the same people. From the few times I've met you, you don't strike me as that sort. To much of a people person to be stuck with the same people everyday.

[yawny]

haha! I take it everyone in every force says that "the jobs f*cked"??


lol.....think the peelers were saying that!!

[Biker Biggles]

haha! I take it everyone in every force says that "the jobs f*cked"??
Dont worry its not just plod who say that.
As for the OPs question think the pay aint bad,theres always lots of different career pathways in the plod,and the pension is worth staying for on its own.You will not get another job with anything like it these days

[Shellywoozle]

Dont worry its not just plod who say that.
As for the OPs question think the pay aint bad,theres always lots of different career pathways in the plod,and the pension is worth staying for on its own.You will not get another job with anything like it these days


Pay aint that brill after you take out all the stuff you pay out for, Police Federation, critical illness, half pay scheme, tax, and pension is almost £300 a month. I took home more on my last job to be honest.

I agree on the pension but I have another 24 years and I am debating if I can stick it out that long, maybe longer depending on what they do with the pension scheme.

As for career paths, I wanted to be on the Road Crime Team (Bike Team) the Road Crime Team has been dispanded due to the Government cut backs as has alot of our specialist depts :( so the career path just got reduced by a great deal. That was the whole reason I took my bike test in the 1st place :(

Looks like the beat for me for some time to come LOL

[Ed]

I did 30 mins overtime, just enough for the Queen meaning it was free.

Headline in today's Telegraph 'Police overtime to be slashed':rolleyes:

[minimorecambe]

I work on a Challenging behaviour unit at a nursing home. All the "residents" we have are physically aggressive.
I sometimes dont know why I do my job for the pay that I get, especially when you come home with bruises every day and I have had black eyes, broken fingers etc.

I would love to be a police woman (person) but Im just not fit enough for it and havnt got a car license.

[Essex of Essex]

I do my job because it makes me smile except on the office days, some of the flying days are very special, hundreds of kids into Lapland to see Santa or guiding 80 tonnes of machinery round the bottom of a valley because the wind is blowing the wrong way. These make the days when I try and explain to 200 passengers why we can't go seem less of a problem.

I'm very glad that people like Shelly do the job she does, I know that I'm not suited to it; I just wish we all enjoyed our jobs.

[appollo1]

Shell

I can understand how you feel when you have a particularly bad shift. As others have said there has to be shifts you have where you get a lot of job satisfaction.

I do the job I do as it was something I always wanted to do. I have been fortunate in being able to travel to parts of the world where I wouldn't even think of going to. Of course there are places I would rather not go (Afghan next year) but if i didn't go then I would always be wondering what it would have been like. There is always the worry for my family that things could go bad and the worse could happen.

I am full of admiration for all police officers in this country as you have a difficult job to do with most people now especially kids having no respect for authority. When I was younger, not that it ever happened (honest), if a police officer ever had to speak to me i would sh** myself especially if my mum was ever to find out.

In my job i only have just over 2 years left then I will have to find something else and it scares me to think about what is out there, what i want to do and what i would be good at.

Keep your chins up ;) Shell and think of all the good jobs more than the bad ones.

[Von Teese]

Left the police at the beginning of this year as some of you already know.
Went back to Veterinary Nursing...love it and never looked back.

When think about the things I used to have to do I actually feel ill about it.
I wonder how I put up with it for so long.

You should really consider your options, I thought I would miss it but in reality, Im so much happier now.

Start my new job today as Head Nurse, really excited!

Shell, there are so many other jobs out there that will make you happy, dont stick with the devil you know if you are risking yourself, your happiness and your sanity.

[robh539]

Shell you do your job and keep your town / area a safer place and thats good, sure sometimes you get all the crap but surely it feels good when you finaly catch who ever the bad person is.

I respect police for the job they do and one day i hope to become one, looks like im gunna put it on hold for a couple of years though, due to just starting my apprenticeship, but i agree more police are needed on the streets, especially if those figures that were released are true!

I have wondered the same about my job.

I 100% agree with above, and total respect and for you all. I have wanted to join the police for a year or so now. So as a start i will be applying as a special as a way in.

don't stay in a job that you despise it will make you bitter, that what I discovered. :)

[Quedos]

As one of those who drives a desk for a living - i used to love my job - dealing with the young ones and project managing activities and the likes - but it all be taken away due to cut and I am asking the same things. I cannot do the job I love due to health problems and it greives me as I know I want to be in that trade but I value my health more.

I still ask what what the the point and have been for the past. I enjoy the work with the partners - Fire and rescue and the police but there nothing left - so been applying for jobs enough is enough.

I believe that the police are tainted by a few and that they do a good job - its a job that i could never do and I'm grateful that there are people who do it for us. But if you really don't like it then don't stay in a job it will start to eat away at you. Write down all the good things and bad things about the job it will help you see what you really think about it

[chasey]

I hate my job. Stuck in an office Monday to Friday. I spend all week looking forward to the two days I am not in the office. There are people that have been at the company I work for for 30+years...doing the same job. Some have not even progressed a run up the ladder in there departments. I could not think of anything worse. An office job is not for me. I would love to be outside come rain, shine, snow, hale..

Applying for the army again in Jan so hoping to get out of this hole.

Shell - the Police (bar the ones that gave me three points for spending) do a fantastic job on the whole and it's a challenging career/lifestyle. I am sure if you were stuck in an office 5 days a week after doing that you would loathe it in no time.

[lily]

I love my job, I love the mix of what I do.... I am always busy and always pushing deadlines and running around like a blue bum fly. It's noticed quicky when I'm not in or not at my desk.... and have even been found in the toilets in my lunch hour and told I was needed on the phone. I just don't like the company, as they under value everyone!

The worse time of my job is November as this is review time, doing the payroll means that unfortunaly you get to see what the slackers have got and what the hard workers haven't!

Working for a small PLC isn't fun, you get to see that the directors pockets get lined while the staff suffer.

I've gone though 7 boss in 4 years, and I report to the Company Secretary that sits on the board of directors. You get spoke to as if you are worse than something they may have steped in. Yet sometimes you can have a laugh and a joke with you.

You never know where you stand! And are on egg shells all the time until you have the feel for what mood the directors are in. (this is a daily think)

It's 9 till 5.30 and if you leave a couple of mins early a point is made, yet others can come and go as they wish without it being commented on. The current company secretary my boss (been here over 6 months now so one of the longest) she is fine with a bit of give or take.

[Pedrosa]

I presently have a humble job which thankfully puts food on my table. Hell yeah I have earned pretty decent cash at times in the past but so what? About 3 years ago my financial world came crashing down around me and frankly I got wiped out. I was amazed at times how much I could make like 30 euros stretch.Not nice times,but enriching if you can survive them.

[rob13]

I'm in a very similar position to Shell, 5 years in and beginning to wonder whether I should stick with it or look elsewhere.

Pro's
Love working outdoors
Variety of work

Cons
Shift work
Having to change plans at very short notice due to being kept on after work
Bureaucracy
The General Public who have to use the police as a tool to sort their lives out.

Now I'm not griping at the entire Gen Pub but the ones who seem to use us for sorting out their problems with they created - drunken arguments, name calling over FB and people who waste our time by making a report one minute, and retracting it the next.

Its all about the end product, of which there is very little. I'm seriously looking at my options, although there doesnt seem to be many open doors at the moment.

If I did leave, it would be to go into the private sector, and I'd be looking for a job which wouldnt be in the same place every day. I've considered doing some kind of RICS accredited course to go surveying but I hear that opportunities are thin on the ground.

[grh1904]

I'm in a very similar position to Shell, 5 years in and beginning to wonder whether I should stick with it or look elsewhere.

Pro's
Love working outdoors
Variety of work

Cons
Shift work
Having to change plans at very short notice due to being kept on after work
Bureaucracy
The General Public who have to use the police as a tool to sort their lives out.

Now I'm not griping at the entire Gen Pub but the ones who seem to use us for sorting out their problems with they created - drunken arguments, name calling over FB and people who waste our time by making a report one minute, and retracting it the next.

Its all about the end product, of which there is very little.

Got it one Rob.

I've got 9 years in & it's a similar situation for me.

Reading these posts has made me do a bit of a mental review of what I've done this year (at work). I went back into uniform and back onto a 24hr response team just before Christmas. I've had more stress trying to "firefight" than anything else. By that I mean picking up a job where there is a named/identifiable suspect - usually for shoplifting, thefts, hit n run accidents etc, & then I spend more time arguing with my Sgt's & Insp over why 3 or 4 weeks later I still haven't pulled them in.

I can pull up the incident log & show them that the "ex-boyfriends new girl-friend has called me names on facebook & bad mouthed me" incident that I was detailed to attend took about 4 hours to resolve. By the time I spoke to her, went to speak to the other party who made counter allegations, went back to put these to the original complainant, returned to the office to prepare a harrassment warning notice for the other party, went back to their house to serve said notice only to find that my original complainant had been back on FB "slagging off" the other party about how the Police were now involved & "you're gonna get what's coming to you"; "yo effing Fugly fat slag etc" WHILE I WAS TYPING UP THE WARNING NOTICE - went back to the office to do another warning notice for the original complainant & went to serve it on her!!!!!!

Obviously while this is going on I struggle to find the time to do any "real" Police work. My victims then have little or no faith in the Police because I then have to put off my arrest for another day. Half the shift has now gone & because I can't guarantee getting the arrest, interview & take the case to the CPS completed in the remaining 4 or 5 hours, I'm told in no uncertain terms NO OVERTIME, unless I want it as time off in lieu. Seeing as how I'm still owed 36hrs TOIL as well as 12 rest days in lieu & get knocked back when I ask for these due to "insufficient resources" & have been owed this time off & RDIL for over 12 months - this is a non starter for me cos I know I'll never get it back.

:rant:

Just re-read what I wrote & it does come across a lil bit soap box-ish, not meant that way, sorry.

[Owenski]

Very cunning tactic there if you ask me. If the scroat was hiding in a bush nearby, him p*ssing himself laughing would immediately alert you to his presence! :smt003

But think about it, rather have stuff like that and a tale to tell than be sat bored witless behind a desk!

bingo!
Grass is always greener etc, I sit here thinking how ideal it sounds walking around or workin on site etc jus something other than staring at the same desk/wall/monitor 35hrs a week.
The good weeks are the one where Im so busy I dont have time to realise Im working.
Trust me, if you went from the street to a desk it would feel like sucicide

[Jamesy D]

Just spoke to my dad and he goes "That is exactly why I am no longer on borough, I'm tired of the petty public." He got tired of shift work and has changed jobs, but still is in the Met, just works in a specialist planning role which he absolutely loves.

Personally, I'm unemployed at the moment (changing very soon hopefully) but I couldn't imagine myself in an office environment. Everything I have an interest is something unique or exciting, like Motorcycle racing, joining HM forces and all that lark. I'd just get incredibly bored if I was doing the same thing, day in day out.

Although I have just applied for part-time work at HG, but that's a little different.

[kwak zzr]

I dont know why i do the job i do? (Royal Mail) started working for them in 1988 as a cadet lol now i manage there :) its like an addiction you start to live and breath the job and its far more involved than you'd belive :)

[rob13]

I did actually go back to a desk 2 years ago and pushed it for near enough 12 months before I went back active. In that 12 months, I didnt complain about the job once, as my social life was sorted, I could do what I wanted, could plan things in advance and could plan my working time accordingly.

I'm not going to let the recession play its part in making me decide whether I stay or go. I'm conscious that i've got a 3-4week holiday coming up in November so cant really jump ship before then as employers wouldnt take too kindly to it, but after talking about it for the past 3 years, I think it really is about time that I looked for alternative employment.

[Berlin]

I do the job I'm doing now because I haven't got around to doing the next one yet :)

I wonder what it'll be? :)

C

[kwak zzr]

I dont know why i do the job i do? (Royal Mail) started working for them in 1988 as a cadet lol now i manage there :) its like an addiction you start to live and breath the job and its far more involved than you'd belive :)

oh and i only do 4 days a week which i love :)

[Paul the 6th]

Jack of all trades. Master of none*. Except my name is Paul & not jack.

Still not quite sure what I want to do with my life :)



*= apart from CorelDraw/photoshop/general graphic design jobs... I'm banging at those :D

[pete m]

I dont think many people are born to work the 9-5 tread mill - they fall into it, you get dependent om the money and some people stay for 30yrs +, especially civil servants / police civilan staff with the big pension dangling and getting ever nearer....

Personally speaking, bike courier was the worst job ive ever done , and i longed for a warm office where you can do some socialising and net browsing and your not frozen to death and hate bikes at the end of the day...

DK about day to day policing, but Scotland Yard sounds like a really poisonous place to work .....thats the trubble with offices - the politics :mad:

[dill89]

waow i have just had a read through this entire thread, and i'm currently 21 and at university, hopefully graduating at 24, but reading all of this has made me inspired to not be stuck in an office job.. im definitley not the office worker type, im too energetic and happy for all that larking about, but in all honesty don't have a clue what kind of career i want to go into... Personally I can see myself possibly changing jobs quite a lot in the future, just trying to get a feel for what I like and what I don't like...

Kinda scary to think about :S

[Paul the 6th]

well ya can't live your entire life in a single day so there's no point trying to think about a lifetimes-worth of worry, ever. And if at first you don't succeed, destroy any evidence which suggests you ever tried ;)

[thefallenangel]

As an electrician you'd think no politics and simple work but working for Welsh Water adds some much politics and crap into it it's crazy.

Pro's

Works Van
Easy work
No pressures
Working out and about

Cons

Politics
Poorly Paid
Poorly Equipped

I enjoy the job it's just the politics which mess it up.

[Milky Bar Kid]

Reading these posts has made me do a bit of a mental review of what I've done this year (at work). I went back into uniform and back onto a 24hr response team just before Christmas. I've had more stress trying to "firefight" than anything else. By that I mean picking up a job where there is a named/identifiable suspect - usually for shoplifting, thefts, hit n run accidents etc, & then I spend more time arguing with my Sgt's & Insp over why 3 or 4 weeks later I still haven't pulled them in.

I can pull up the incident log & show them that the "ex-boyfriends new girl-friend has called me names on facebook & bad mouthed me" incident that I was detailed to attend took about 4 hours to resolve. By the time I spoke to her, went to speak to the other party who made counter allegations, went back to put these to the original complainant, returned to the office to prepare a harrassment warning notice for the other party, went back to their house to serve said notice only to find that my original complainant had been back on FB "slagging off" the other party about how the Police were now involved & "you're gonna get what's coming to you"; "yo effing Fugly fat slag etc" WHILE I WAS TYPING UP THE WARNING NOTICE - went back to the office to do another warning notice for the original complainant & went to serve it on her!!!!!!

Obviously while this is going on I struggle to find the time to do any "real" Police work. My victims then have little or no faith in the Police because I then have to put off my arrest for another day. Half the shift has now gone & because I can't guarantee getting the arrest, interview & take the case to the CPS completed in the remaining 4 or 5 hours, I'm told in no uncertain terms NO OVERTIME, unless I want it as time off in lieu. Seeing as how I'm still owed 36hrs TOIL as well as 12 rest days in lieu & get knocked back when I ask for these due to "insufficient resources" & have been owed this time off & RDIL for over 12 months - this is a non starter for me cos I know I'll never get it back.

:rant:

Just re-read what I wrote & it does come across a lil bit soap box-ish, not meant that way, sorry.

I totally understand that and have been in the same boat on many occasions.

We have pretty much been running on skeleton staff for the past few months and I think, well, pretty much know, it is only going to get worse. I regularly have the same "discussion" with my Sgt about why I haven't been and obtained statements from extra witnesses or detained the offender etc etc etc and I don't know what planet it is he lives on but he thinks that you can sort it all in 10 minutes and that'll be it over with!

Due to the staffing, I have recently work many ridiculously long shifts, such as 0800 - 0130 and then back in for 0800.

But although it gets me wound up, it stresses me at times, I would be lying if I said I would want to change it.

[Sir Trev]

Attention those of you who work in an office. Where do you work? I also fly a desk but I'm in by 7:30 and lucky to get away ten hours later! Catching up at the weekend is also common. Will those of you who work 9-5 please stop rubbing it in!!

After 20 years of desk work the best few years I did was internal audit - I got to travel around Europe but you know, you get really fed up of departure lounges and identikit corporate hotels after a very short while. Since moving jobs in March I've not been on any trips at all and that's also getting boring.

Work is rarely fulfilling whether you're outside, in front of a PC all day, or stuck in never ending meetings/conference calls trying to make sure project managers actually manage their projects to their deadlines (as I do).

[pete m]

hate to say it Trev , but i work 11am - 5pm .....

and dont work Mondays .....:D

[Sally]

Work in an office 37.5 hrs a week if theres no overtime, on a computer doing CAD design for instrument/electrial systems/hook ups for a oil services company.
Can get a bit repetitive, but hey, its good banter with the guys and I get paid a bloody good wage for my age.

Theres a large drinking culture with oil companies, so never short of a night out, so its not all bad :p

[Shellywoozle]

Well I feel my job is just getting worse .... can't really go into it on an open forum but I can officially say i HATE it and it is not so much the job I have decided.

If it carries on like this I will defo be looking for another job, dont't know how much more I can take. I have that sick feeling hours before I have to go to work and I am on my 2nd 11 hour shift today. I get home from work and count the hours inbetween shifts and then feel sick again.

Think Woozl has had enough of being a response officer and it's either a change of force or career as I am not the happy Woozle I once was.

I know there is not alot out there at the mo and things are not secure, I will try and use my law training and put that to some use but I don't know what in.

Arggghhhh I need the AR for a wipeout .... even today I thought that for the AR i have to take annual leave which means days off work, which means more pressure for the workload in my tray when I get back .... should I go will it be worth it???

Any other forces annual leave been cancelled yet for 2012????

[Gordon72]

I know how you feel,
I worked as a paramedic in ireland for 5 years untill the politics and general bitching started to affect my home life.
With the support of my wife i left with no job lined up and moved back to the uk.
I am now working as a farmer after a couple of years driving lorries and allthough at times i still miss the interaction with people and the adrenaline rush when the 999 calls came in i do not regret the action i took.
Just remember it is a job and it does not define who you are.
WORK TO LIVE DON'T LIVE TO WORK

[Shellywoozle]

I know how you feel,
I worked as a paramedic in ireland for 5 years untill the politics and general bitching started to affect my home life.
With the support of my wife i left with no job lined up and moved back to the uk.
I am now working as a farmer after a couple of years driving lorries and allthough at times i still miss the interaction with people and the adrenaline rush when the 999 calls came in i do not regret the action i took.
Just remember it is a job and it does not define who you are.
WORK TO LIVE DON'T LIVE TO WORK


Yeah I live by the Work to live rukle, people don't know me as a bobby as I dont act like one out of hours. But the security is the only good thing and I need the guts to take that jump.

I need to grow a set.

[martin15s]

I served 30 years in the Metropolitan Police, leaving as an Inspector. Joined "to make a difference" to the community. Often long, hard shifts, sun, rain, snow and ice - but still remember many satisfying times. Best years were in Traffic Division as a sergeant - more like a paid hobby for over 18 years - riding bikes, patrol cars, lorries, cranes - anything. Been retired 12 years now (left age 49) and thoroughly enjoying life in Spain. It WAS a great job but as others have said, the job's f*c*ed. Too much interference. - By the way, often had only 2 or less on nights 30 years ago - some things never change. Really glad I joined, had some fantastic times - many sad and traumatic times - but I do believe I helped to make a difference.

[husky03]

yeh feel my fellow brother and sister cops pain, things are bad all over the country for us at the moment and to be honest its gonna get mucho worse, the pressure is gonna be unimaginable and we will see some great coppers leaving and going down another path-i'm lucky i'm on the bikes as its a total different policing, when my three years up i'm gonna be looking for a posting out in the sticks way up north,seems to be the only place you'll still be able to "police" a community the way it should be-too many ar$e kissers and nob munchers trying to get ahead by doing decent coppers over at the moment.Just be sure to duck when it hits the fan, cause joe public is in for a major eye opener in the near future.

[Bibio]

i do the job i do because of love.

[Sir Trev]

hate to say it Trev , but i work 11am - 5pm .....

and dont work Mondays .....:D

:smt089

If I didn't have such a ridiculous mortgage I'd gladly go back down a few rungs and be a spreadsheet monkey again. Can't do it though unless we move to a much smaller house and I've worked too hard for what I've got to do that.

Just got another 20 years to go and with a bit of luck I'll have enough put by/pension to retire. 20 years... Pass the razor blades!

[Bibio]

Just got another 20 years to go and with a bit of luck I'll have enough put by/pension to retire. 20 years... Pass the razor blades!

OMG you are living your life to retire. sorry dude no disrespect n all that and you will probably have a very nice retirement while i'm still struggling along, but WTF. i may be strange (no i am strange) but as long as there is a roof over my head and i have food i'm happy.

funny with all that has happened in my life recently its made me realise even more how short and fragile life is.

[pete m]

like i said many police get trapped by thier own pension and cant leave cos too much is invesyted in it...so you get people been there 18yrs and are like wise thinking , only 20yrs to go and ill will belaughing....

If any of you boys n gals in blue want to do a blog for 2onTrack , or memoirs, pm me and we will work out how to disguise you and the benefits you will acrue.....things like trackdays and free kit, not financial im afraid.....:)

you will be in good company, ive already received the first blog from Ben Bostrom for 2onTrack, to be published soon:cool:

[Von Teese]

I have that sick feeling hours before I have to go to work and I am on my 2nd 11 hour shift today. I get home from work and count the hours inbetween shifts and then feel sick again.

should I go will it be worth it???

Any other forces annual leave been cancelled yet for 2012???


I need to grow a set.
Shells, +1 to the first bit, I used to drive into the Nick carpark and want to go straight out the exit gate opposite.
I feel sick even thinking about what I used to do and am confident I made the right decision leaving.
As for annual leave in 2012, we were told last year that we wont get any over the Olympics and for the 3 months prior to and post either.....niiiiiiccce!

As for going to the AR, it will definately be worth it, at least you and I can have a little chat, I can give you tea and sympathy and tell you that it doesnt feel that bad leaving, I thought I would miss it but I really dont at all, not even the driving around on blues and twos, not even putting doors in, not even the thrill of PSU etc...nothing, I miss nothing at all, I did have all that excitement but its behind me now and I love my job again.

Been retired 12 years now (left age 49) and thoroughly enjoying life in Spain. It WAS a great job but as others have said, the job's f*c*ed. Too much interference. - By the way, often had only 2 or less on nights 30 years ago - some things never change.
Glad you had the good bit but as you well know, things are really not what they used to be back then, I noticed the change after a mere 2 years in the job and that was in 2005!!
I also joined to 'make the difference' and it does feel good to look back on those cases, however I left for the same reasons. These days you cannot 'make the difference' hands tied etc. I decided that if I wasnt able to help people I was going back to care for animals.

yeh feel my fellow brother and sister cops pain, things are bad all over the country for us at the moment and to be honest its gonna get mucho worse...and stuff
+1, Northants are having £8 million cut over the next 3 years...and we were struggling BEFORE that....who knows!!

OMG you are living your life to retire. sorry dude no disrespect n all that and you will probably have a very nice retirement while i'm still struggling along, but WTF. i may be strange (no i am strange) but as long as there is a roof over my head and i have food i'm happy.

funny with all that has happened in my life recently its made me realise even more how short and fragile life is.
Well said Bibio, very true and exactly how I feel right now after leaving a horrible job to go back to one that doesnt pay as much but has made me so much happier.

[Red Herring]

I consider myself fairly lucky as I still look forward to going to work as much now as I did when I first joined up 24 years ago. Sure there has been the odd rough day along the way, but if you keep busy and have a good team around you they soon blow over. Most of the grief I've ever had has been caused by senior management rather than the public. Nobody likes politics in any job but sometimes you just have to accept that some people will have different priorities to you.

The only word of encouragement I can offer Shell is that if you work hard and stick to the basics, ie: nailing the bad guys and helping those that need it, then not only will it help you stay motivated but eventually you will stand out from those around you and you'll get the opportunities to develop your career in the direction you want.

[Sir Trev]

OMG you are living your life to retire.

Don't worry Bibio - I'm not thinking like that. It's the thought of having to do another 20 years of what I do that's the downer, not thinking ahead to when I can retire.

Shelly - Red H makes a good point here. Keep your head down and stay focussed on the priorities. Roles, teams and managers change and it won't always be the same. We've all been through patches like you have and we all feel for you. I looked for another job once as the back-stabbing climber of a manager I had at the time was an absolute **** - she was transferred to another team due to the complaints against her and the atmosphere in the department changed over night. I stayed in that company for another eight years before we got taken over and reduncancy made the choice for most of us.

[kwak zzr]

I know a lady who worked for HSBC she had a good roll and the pay an perks were good too - SHE HATED THE JOB!

she's now is a nurse at New Cross Hospital and love the job altho it is alot less pay.

[Von Teese]

To be fair, Red Herring is a Traffic Officer.
Special ops always have a much better working life, they are double crewed and dont have to deal with half the crap that the front-line cannon fodder do.
Trouble is, getting into those roles isnt easy anymore because everyone wants them.

[BernardBikerchick]

I wonder every single day - simple answer is and has been for years now just to pay the bills - (me and another 9 millions prob feel the same!!) hate every single working hour in this place hate the way i am treated hate the whole thing pile of rubbish. hopefully new job will be better in a few weeks

[Shellywoozle]

Cheers folks words all taken in but I am failing to see any good in the job at the mo.

Going in early tonight to get a statement done as I feel I have let the IP down by cancelling ..... more of my own time, and I am wondering why on earth I am bothering as I wont get thanked, in fact I know I will get told I am not gatting paid for it.

Job hunting will start after the AR, I did decide yesterday I wasnt coming due to workload but after my 11 hours stint yesterdaty/today then nearly getting wiped out on the way home as a pursiut happened right in front, well the bandit car was 2 inches from my 10 plate new motor, I decided I was going and the Police would have to go on hold. !!

Grrrrrr gotta go in at 8, dont wanna :(

[Red Herring]

To be fair, Red Herring is a Traffic Officer.
Special ops always have a much better working life, they are double crewed and dont have to deal with half the crap that the front-line cannon fodder do.
Trouble is, getting into those roles isnt easy anymore because everyone wants them.


You cheeky git.....:D I might have been a Traffic Sgt for a while but then I saw the light and got a proper job.....

Yes I am still in Special Ops and yes you are right about not having to deal with all the cr4p that section have to, but where do you think I recruit my officers from? There isn't a single officer on my team that came from another specialist department, they all came from division and I headhunted them because they had a good reputation as grafters. Like I said, reputations count for a lot. The best judge of an officer is their peers.

[Biker Biggles]

Most of the grief I've ever had has been caused by senior management rather than the public.

Nothing specific to the police this.Its the same in many workplaces and is every bit as bad where I work.These people cause untold amounts of stress to the workforce as seen by numerous posts by different people in this thread.Good workers are reduced to shadows of their former selves and eventually either leave or get the boot.Welcome to the expendable workforce culture where people are just numbers to be used and discarded like like a bit of bog paper.
Im sure we can blame Gordon Brown or the unions for it if we try hard enough though.

[Owenski]

You cheeky git.....:D I might have been a Traffic Sgt for a while but then I saw the light and got a proper job.....

Yes I am still in Special Ops and yes you are right about not having to deal with all the cr4p that section have to, but where do you think I recruit my officers from? There isn't a single officer on my team that came from another specialist department, they all came from division and I headhunted them because they had a good reputation as grafters. Like I said, reputations count for a lot. The best judge of an officer is their peers.

I want to work for you, purely because I think you'd be like a yoda figure.

[Red Herring]

I want to work for you, purely because I think you'd be like a yoda figure.

I had to look that up to make sure you weren't being rude....

From Wikipedia...."Rather than immediately identifying himself, Yoda tests Lozzo by initially presenting himself as a comical, backwater individual, deliberately provoking both Lozzo and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker)........ etc etc..."

Maybe......:D

[Owenski]

Lol, na wasnt been rude it was a compliment.
I could sit there cross legged on the floor waiting for the information to be absorbed.

You've just got that ora of someone who knows loads actually interesting stuff rather than someone who just drones on about useless drivvle.