Salary Range
$25,000 to $100,000+
Police officers perform many duties relating to public safety. Their responsibilities include not only preserving the peace, preventing criminal acts, enforcing the law, investigating crimes, and arresting those who violate the law but also directing traffic, community relations work, and controlling crowds at public events. Police officers are employed at the federal, state, county, and city level.
State police officers patrol highways and enforce the laws and regulations that govern the use of those highways, in addition to performing general police work. Police officers are under oath to uphold the law 24 hours a day. There are approximately 665,280 police and sheriff's patrol officers employed in the United States.
Minimum Education Level
High School DiplomaCertification/License
NoneOutlook
About as Fast as the AverageConventional
Helpful
Problem-Solving
Deputy Chief of Police
Police Officer II
Police Officer I
- Airport Security Personnel
- Bail Bondsmen
- Bailiffs
- Bodyguards
- Border Patrol Agents
- Bounty Hunters
- Corrections Officers
- Court Interpreters and Translators
- Court Reporters
- Crime Analysts
- Criminal Lawyers
- Customs Officials
- Deputy U.S. Marshals
- Detectives
- Directors of Security
- Emergency Management Directors
- Emergency Medical Technicians
- Emergency Services Dispatchers
- FBI Agents
- Fire Inspectors
- Fire Investigators
- Fire Protection Engineers
- Fire Safety Directors
- Fire Safety Technicians
- Firefighters
- Fish and Game Wardens
- Forensic Experts
- Forensic Meteorologists
- Forest Fire Prevention Specialists
- Fraud Examiners, Investigators, and Analysts
- Genetic Genealogists
- Intelligence Officers
- Judges
- Lawyers
- Legal Nurse Consultants
- Legal Secretaries
- Paralegals
- Park Rangers
- Parole Officers
- Polygraph Examiners
- Process Servers
- Secret Service Special Agents
- Security Consultants
- Security Guards
- Wildland Firefighters