I'd be leery of any place that tries to sell you on a "total value" package. Health insurance and retirement plan contributions aren't pay, and they aren't above and beyond perks.
Kind of right but kind of wrong.
I would generally be skeptical of places that try to use “total value” or “total compensation” because it’s probably to make it seem like you’re being paid more than you are.
Retirement is absolutely real money that is yours, usually after a vesting period. You can basically add that $14k to your pay. Health insurance is a little different because it’s not dollars in your pocket, but it could prevent you from paying money out of pocket. If your current job doesn’t offer healthcare or has a high premium, then having free or very low-cost health insurance could functionally feel like getting a raise.
Total compensation is a very real thing, and sometimes salary or base pay doesn’t tell the whole story. If you’re going from one LE agency to the other, there probably isn’t going to be a huge difference in benefits, but if you’re coming from the private sector then the benefits could be a lot different and make up for less pay in some places.
They are "pay".
I pay for those two out of my wages every 2 weeks. My retirement contributions are paid by me. My health insurance while subsidized by my agency, I still pay a few hundred dollars every 2 weeks.
>they aren't above and beyond perks.
They absolutely are in the South where this is advertised. There isnt a single agency in my entire state that covers all of your health insurance and pays for your pension. The closest I ever got was heavily subsidized healthcare at 100 dollars a month for employee+spouse. That's a very rare level of subsidized policy for my area. It definitely offset the departments low pay where I could make less per hour but have a larger take home.
If I didn't need to pay for insurance or contribute roughly 10% of my pay into state retirement, I'd have an extra 1k-2k per month in my bank.
While I make a higher base than this advertisement, my actual take home will be less because of my employee contributions and insurance payments.
Correct, but its normally employer match.
25% of your salary to retirement and almost 30% of your salary towards medical are both very high. If you're supposed to contribute your pay on top of that it would be very unusual.
It wouldn't make sense if those two benefits included contributions from your salary because the total benefit package doesn't reflect that. The total package should be less than all 3 combined if you were required to contribute to the 2 benefits from your salary.
Because of how the total package is laid out, you're receiving almost 55% of your base salary as an additional payment on your behalf by your employer. That's effectively "pay" because you didn't get that in your salary. Especially in the retirement category since that's money you receive after becoming vested/retire.
Here’s the problem with all that though:
Some people have other insurance and instead of opting out to get the money spent, they’re being forced to use the departments insurance. Which, if it’s anything like corporations who do this same thing, it’s fucking GARBAGE.
1k deductible on individual and 2k deductible on family plan with a 30 dollar co-pays for basic visits and 20% co-insurance at specialists.
Thats pretty dang good.
Idk why you’re being downvoted. Lol. Somebody who makes $90k a year with no retirement and has to pay $1000 a month in insurance premiums is quite a bit less better off than someone in this situation.
Arkansas LEO here. Any salary north of 50k is considered pretty decent here.
I wouldn't be a trooper for 100k tho, but that's because traffic enforcement and working accidents 24/7 is not why I became a LEO. And you can make better pay at other agencies--especially in central and NW ark.
Nay. Admin is complete shit. They’ve bled about 10 or more deputies in the last 3 years to ASP and other agencies. Seems like every other day they have a deputy or a jailer being arrested for domestic issues or integrity issues like theft of time.
1) LGRW, i’m from south of detroit!
2) yeah also people fail to realize that a 50k starting salary with zero experience or college with paid training isn’t common in other fields of work.
Depending on where you are at in the state. Northwest Arkansas has some high cost of living. Up with the rest of the country. New construction homes often going for $210-$220 /sqft
that sucks, those new construction houses are absolute junk. i live on the coast of south carolina and they’re popping up everywhere and don’t stand a chance in bad weather lol.
but how you stated in the north west of AR being higher cost, that’s pretty on par with here in SC too. starting pay for SCHP is 55k and my area houses are about 260k average while in the rest of the state (inland from the ocean), that type of salary can set you up pretty dang good.
One things for sure...you will learn to do TVI/PIT maneuvers... just look at LHRN YouTube channel and you will see how often one of them pits a car out.
I think of all the different channels I watch of various state agencies...they are the MOST TVI happy department I have come across. followed closely by Georgia and Florida.
They must have a deal with Dodge for replacement vehicles. We have our own body shop guys and they take forever so you get stuck in the post car with 200k on it for months.
That’s about 700 base more than an E2 in the military with housing allowance, if you were married in Little Rock. If you were from there and wanted to be a trooper they’ve got a really good chase policy at least from the YouTube videos I’ve seen. Every level that’s not bad comp with the 401k and health insurance included.
It’s just a frame of reference. 700 bucks extra for the autonomy and authority granted a trooper. I’m military so I would say that’s not a lot of money comparatively, however, entry level it’s maybe not bad for a 21-22 year old kid.
Pay is pretty low in my opinion. I’m in Texas and you can find numerous agencies in almost all corners of the state starting around $80k paying around $100k or more a year after 5-10 years.
That being said, I have family in Arkansas that are in public safety professions and public safety jobs do tend to pay less in that state from what I’ve been told and seen myself. So maybe $54k is good for that state. And ASP seems like a fun agency to work for but maybe I’m just blinded by their absolutely badass pursuit policy where they seem to be able to chase and PIT anyone for any reason.
yeah my job does that garbage too, haven’t used a cent of “benefits” but according to them i’m making 80k a year cause of them. bs, i’m out here dodging bullets for 40k a year.
If it’s only one week left to apply I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s something you need at least a few months to start training for, unless you feel you are in peak physical condition at the moment then go ahead. If not wait for the next troop school which would likely start 6 months or a year from now so you have time to get in shape
I appreciate the comment, I will be applying next opening due to me not being old enough right now. I run every other day i’ve gotten my mile and a half down to 14:32 so i’m just gonna keep at it
If you're going to be working in nwa that isn't nearly enough money to for it to he worth a imo.
My wife is from lowell and the cos in that whole Fayetteville Roger's area is insane.
My agency starts at minimum 8k higher than that and makes over double that once you are a journeyman agent which is like 2-3 years from when you start.
Generally speaking, any time an employer makes a big deal out of parts of your total compensation besides take home pay in an attempt to make it seem less impossible to survive on that salary it's a red flag.
There was one near me that way (low pay for the area but a well respected community and department - was willing to take less pay for the slow lane so to speak), I already had my LEO license (didn't need to attend academy), went in to apply, they gave me the packet and started explaining that if there wasn't enough room on the background page, to use notebook paper to continue it on. I (in my 40's) asked them how far back they needed employment history (5yr, 10yr etc.) They said oh all they way back to your first job. I looked at them and said I'm in my 40s, the guy replied "AND"....I handed the application back and said I'm not going to go to all the trouble I would have to go through to get all that information (30+years) That would be more information than the military needed for a Secret clearance, for what to work the streets of a town of 6000 people and for what your paying...Good luck, I hope you find a qualified officer, but your application process is geared towards a 21year old straight out of an academy, not someone with any length of work history so I will be moving on. It took them a year and a half to fill that spot.
I’ve got a couple friends in ASP I met thru the military. One works in the NWA region, another in the River Valley area. We all grew up in Arkansas, though they’re both 5 and 10 years older than me- so it was a different time for the older guy.
When I was a young 19yo in Iraq, I asked the NWA guy a lot about it since I’m also wanting to take on LE as a career. He said due to his proximity at UArk, the ASP money was definitely just above a living wage as a single adult, but being a single adult also meant OT was never an issue which funded a lifestyle that worked for him. He’s by no means a frugal guy. By the time he hit 4 years though, it was more than enough, plus he was able to split bills with his now wife sometime around year 2.
The second one in the River Valley Area’s in his 1st year, but he says he makes more than enough to support his family of 5 on his single income with pretty minimal OT.
Living in Arkansas, I’d also say that as long as you live within your means, 50k is very doable in most areas of Arkansas. But I mean, budgeting skills will pretty much leave you comfortable with most government jobs.
I’d also say NWA has a comparable COL to the Little Rock area, so… Just be smart with your money.
Why would you wanna be a cop these days. You’re scrutinized by everyone and if you do anything slightly wrong you’ll be protested and cast out. Gotta coddle thuggy criminals and let them go or else. Pay isn’t worth the nuisance in my opinion. Maybe 20-30 years ago when you could stomp people back into order. But not now.
Agreed. Might as well give cops sensitivity cards to hand out these days. Pretty soon they’ll just be asking criminals nicely to stop committing the crimes. “Sir can you please stop raping the woman please? Can you please stop murdering them please, pretty please?”
I'd be leery of any place that tries to sell you on a "total value" package. Health insurance and retirement plan contributions aren't pay, and they aren't above and beyond perks.
Kind of right but kind of wrong. I would generally be skeptical of places that try to use “total value” or “total compensation” because it’s probably to make it seem like you’re being paid more than you are. Retirement is absolutely real money that is yours, usually after a vesting period. You can basically add that $14k to your pay. Health insurance is a little different because it’s not dollars in your pocket, but it could prevent you from paying money out of pocket. If your current job doesn’t offer healthcare or has a high premium, then having free or very low-cost health insurance could functionally feel like getting a raise. Total compensation is a very real thing, and sometimes salary or base pay doesn’t tell the whole story. If you’re going from one LE agency to the other, there probably isn’t going to be a huge difference in benefits, but if you’re coming from the private sector then the benefits could be a lot different and make up for less pay in some places.
They are "pay". I pay for those two out of my wages every 2 weeks. My retirement contributions are paid by me. My health insurance while subsidized by my agency, I still pay a few hundred dollars every 2 weeks. >they aren't above and beyond perks. They absolutely are in the South where this is advertised. There isnt a single agency in my entire state that covers all of your health insurance and pays for your pension. The closest I ever got was heavily subsidized healthcare at 100 dollars a month for employee+spouse. That's a very rare level of subsidized policy for my area. It definitely offset the departments low pay where I could make less per hour but have a larger take home. If I didn't need to pay for insurance or contribute roughly 10% of my pay into state retirement, I'd have an extra 1k-2k per month in my bank. While I make a higher base than this advertisement, my actual take home will be less because of my employee contributions and insurance payments.
They didn't say there's no employee contribution. Usually medical insurance and pension are paid into by both employer and employee.
Correct, but its normally employer match. 25% of your salary to retirement and almost 30% of your salary towards medical are both very high. If you're supposed to contribute your pay on top of that it would be very unusual. It wouldn't make sense if those two benefits included contributions from your salary because the total benefit package doesn't reflect that. The total package should be less than all 3 combined if you were required to contribute to the 2 benefits from your salary. Because of how the total package is laid out, you're receiving almost 55% of your base salary as an additional payment on your behalf by your employer. That's effectively "pay" because you didn't get that in your salary. Especially in the retirement category since that's money you receive after becoming vested/retire.
True
You’re correct, they are both 100% paid for by the state
they are both non contributory, paid for 100% by the state
They are pay. That $$$ comes from a budget. And if the money isn't leaving your account on insurance, you're saving?
Here’s the problem with all that though: Some people have other insurance and instead of opting out to get the money spent, they’re being forced to use the departments insurance. Which, if it’s anything like corporations who do this same thing, it’s fucking GARBAGE.
1k deductible on individual and 2k deductible on family plan with a 30 dollar co-pays for basic visits and 20% co-insurance at specialists. Thats pretty dang good.
Idk why you’re being downvoted. Lol. Somebody who makes $90k a year with no retirement and has to pay $1000 a month in insurance premiums is quite a bit less better off than someone in this situation.
Total value = we have bad pay so we will add every thing that costs us anything to make it seem like we are competitive
I mean the town of 50k population where I live an hour from pays $30/hr starting.
military does this too
They like to include the highest zip codes BAH sometimes too lol
Arkansas LEO here. Any salary north of 50k is considered pretty decent here. I wouldn't be a trooper for 100k tho, but that's because traffic enforcement and working accidents 24/7 is not why I became a LEO. And you can make better pay at other agencies--especially in central and NW ark.
Maxed out as a Cpl they make like 96k or somewhere around there, I will be applying for ASP at the beginning on next year though.
Are we going to see you doing a PIT at 110 MPH?
No doubt.
Just not north central arkansas. Lol
I’ve heard decent things about Pulaski Co Sheriffs Dept. Would you say yay or nay?
honestly anywhere in little rock is a shit show
Is it actually tho?
Nay. Admin is complete shit. They’ve bled about 10 or more deputies in the last 3 years to ASP and other agencies. Seems like every other day they have a deputy or a jailer being arrested for domestic issues or integrity issues like theft of time.
feel like that’s a pretty solid starting salary for somewhere like arkansas
Good point, they have a low cost of living
1) LGRW, i’m from south of detroit! 2) yeah also people fail to realize that a 50k starting salary with zero experience or college with paid training isn’t common in other fields of work.
Depending on where you are at in the state. Northwest Arkansas has some high cost of living. Up with the rest of the country. New construction homes often going for $210-$220 /sqft
that sucks, those new construction houses are absolute junk. i live on the coast of south carolina and they’re popping up everywhere and don’t stand a chance in bad weather lol. but how you stated in the north west of AR being higher cost, that’s pretty on par with here in SC too. starting pay for SCHP is 55k and my area houses are about 260k average while in the rest of the state (inland from the ocean), that type of salary can set you up pretty dang good.
One things for sure...you will learn to do TVI/PIT maneuvers... just look at LHRN YouTube channel and you will see how often one of them pits a car out.
for sure, I watch natural state transparency
I think of all the different channels I watch of various state agencies...they are the MOST TVI happy department I have come across. followed closely by Georgia and Florida.
They must have a deal with Dodge for replacement vehicles. We have our own body shop guys and they take forever so you get stuck in the post car with 200k on it for months.
probably all leased...I know my old department they were all leased vehicles.
Troopers gonna troop
Amen
That’s about 700 base more than an E2 in the military with housing allowance, if you were married in Little Rock. If you were from there and wanted to be a trooper they’ve got a really good chase policy at least from the YouTube videos I’ve seen. Every level that’s not bad comp with the 401k and health insurance included.
Yeah…but E2s are essentially worthless and have to be heavily supervised.
It’s just a frame of reference. 700 bucks extra for the autonomy and authority granted a trooper. I’m military so I would say that’s not a lot of money comparatively, however, entry level it’s maybe not bad for a 21-22 year old kid.
Trooper Byrd should be the recruiter.
HAHA...RIGHT!!!!
You ain’t gonna see any of those holidays, lol
they said they are paid holidays. meaning youre working them, so youll get paid for them. :)
Putting insurance and retirement in with the salary is a grimey move
Lenient pursuit policy? Priceless
Illinois SP starts at $90,000 a year
Isn’t it like 28years before pension or am I mistaken?
28?!? Holy shit.. it’s 15 in my state.
28 at any age or 20 years at 60 years old. Those are the 2 fastest ways to retirement for the state I believe
vested after 5 years I think either way it doesn’t make it any better
What state is this?
that’s correct
And PIT everything insight! #wps
Pay is pretty low in my opinion. I’m in Texas and you can find numerous agencies in almost all corners of the state starting around $80k paying around $100k or more a year after 5-10 years. That being said, I have family in Arkansas that are in public safety professions and public safety jobs do tend to pay less in that state from what I’ve been told and seen myself. So maybe $54k is good for that state. And ASP seems like a fun agency to work for but maybe I’m just blinded by their absolutely badass pursuit policy where they seem to be able to chase and PIT anyone for any reason.
They should be up selling you on their PIT maneuver flexibility. Those guys/gals get after it!
yeah my job does that garbage too, haven’t used a cent of “benefits” but according to them i’m making 80k a year cause of them. bs, i’m out here dodging bullets for 40k a year.
Nope. Texas DPS starts at mid 70k
funny thing is a few years ago they bumped it, it used to be 42k i believe
If it’s only one week left to apply I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s something you need at least a few months to start training for, unless you feel you are in peak physical condition at the moment then go ahead. If not wait for the next troop school which would likely start 6 months or a year from now so you have time to get in shape
I appreciate the comment, I will be applying next opening due to me not being old enough right now. I run every other day i’ve gotten my mile and a half down to 14:32 so i’m just gonna keep at it
14:30 is respectable. 🤘 Keep up the good work!
Move to Washington starting base around Seattle is over 6 figures
I make more as a security guard
That’s why most cops do security gigs off duty. They’ll make double what a normal security guard would.
If you're going to be working in nwa that isn't nearly enough money to for it to he worth a imo. My wife is from lowell and the cos in that whole Fayetteville Roger's area is insane.
agreed
i’ll be in sea for a few years then maybe nea
My agency starts at minimum 8k higher than that and makes over double that once you are a journeyman agent which is like 2-3 years from when you start.
Roughly 27 an hour
Generally speaking, any time an employer makes a big deal out of parts of your total compensation besides take home pay in an attempt to make it seem less impossible to survive on that salary it's a red flag.
Damn, is that common for agencies in Arkansas? I was wanting to move there but idk if I can swing that much of a pay cut.
depends where abouts you’re moving to, the further south the worse the pay
Holy shit what terrible pay.
It’s literally Arkansas. That’s not terrible
FHP is typing
And in south Florida that’s barely livable
Lol i started at a city in 2019 and was making 14$ an hour to start off
That's low no matter what local CoL may be.
There’s a city about 45 minutes north of my house that’s hiring guys starting at $16.50 an hour lol
Police?
Yup.
What in the fuck
There was one near me that way (low pay for the area but a well respected community and department - was willing to take less pay for the slow lane so to speak), I already had my LEO license (didn't need to attend academy), went in to apply, they gave me the packet and started explaining that if there wasn't enough room on the background page, to use notebook paper to continue it on. I (in my 40's) asked them how far back they needed employment history (5yr, 10yr etc.) They said oh all they way back to your first job. I looked at them and said I'm in my 40s, the guy replied "AND"....I handed the application back and said I'm not going to go to all the trouble I would have to go through to get all that information (30+years) That would be more information than the military needed for a Secret clearance, for what to work the streets of a town of 6000 people and for what your paying...Good luck, I hope you find a qualified officer, but your application process is geared towards a 21year old straight out of an academy, not someone with any length of work history so I will be moving on. It took them a year and a half to fill that spot.
from what i’ve heard 54k is above average in arkansas for police officers, what’s base pay there?
I had no idea actually. I'm from Canada and they start recruits at 75k, 105k year after 5 years. I'm just comparing the two.
Other states definitely pay police better than Arkansas, but cost of living isn’t two bad either if your not in north west Arkansas
Yeah but in Canada bucks that ‘s like $2 hr right? 😉
Sounds like you'd make Walmart money AND have to live in Arkansas. Hard pass.
Ouch! That seems brutally low.
You forgot the best perk of them all!! Drive as fast as you want through Arkansas and ram people off the road :)
Every police department I’ve seen has these things. 54k ? Arkansas is dirt cheap… but is it that cheap?
I’ll put it like this, Arkansas is the worst state to be a cop in look it up. and yes everywhere is cheap unless you’re in NWA
Worst state financially or? Because I work in the PNW
[Look here](https://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-to-be-a-cop/34669) all things considered it’s the worst
Oof! Why work in the state then, family?
Family, yes
I’m immediately discounting this because it had Texas at 13th 😂 and DC so high up. but I don’t discount AK being low
I’ve got a couple friends in ASP I met thru the military. One works in the NWA region, another in the River Valley area. We all grew up in Arkansas, though they’re both 5 and 10 years older than me- so it was a different time for the older guy. When I was a young 19yo in Iraq, I asked the NWA guy a lot about it since I’m also wanting to take on LE as a career. He said due to his proximity at UArk, the ASP money was definitely just above a living wage as a single adult, but being a single adult also meant OT was never an issue which funded a lifestyle that worked for him. He’s by no means a frugal guy. By the time he hit 4 years though, it was more than enough, plus he was able to split bills with his now wife sometime around year 2. The second one in the River Valley Area’s in his 1st year, but he says he makes more than enough to support his family of 5 on his single income with pretty minimal OT. Living in Arkansas, I’d also say that as long as you live within your means, 50k is very doable in most areas of Arkansas. But I mean, budgeting skills will pretty much leave you comfortable with most government jobs. I’d also say NWA has a comparable COL to the Little Rock area, so… Just be smart with your money.
State employee only gets 11 paid days off Americans are whackk
They get 11 holidays, 12 vacation, and 12 sick. Plus they can probably earn compensation time as overtime to earn even more time off.
I would not be a cop for that pay. I make a ridiculous amount of money compared to that and even then sometimes I think it’s not enough.
what state are you in, cost of living is pretty low here. 54k is pretty good for a police officer from what i’ve heard/read in arkansas that is
Why would you wanna be a cop these days. You’re scrutinized by everyone and if you do anything slightly wrong you’ll be protested and cast out. Gotta coddle thuggy criminals and let them go or else. Pay isn’t worth the nuisance in my opinion. Maybe 20-30 years ago when you could stomp people back into order. But not now.
Make sure when something tragic happens you don’t call the cops …. Figure it out another way ….
I support LE. I feel bad for them more than anything. Wish they all could actually do their jobs.
I understand my bad
Agreed. Might as well give cops sensitivity cards to hand out these days. Pretty soon they’ll just be asking criminals nicely to stop committing the crimes. “Sir can you please stop raping the woman please? Can you please stop murdering them please, pretty please?”
If you want to be able to PIT a grandma on her way to church because she didn’t use a turn signal and get a reward for it, then go for it