Cadet Pay....

[Chevyfan25]

Is time declared overtime only if instructor led or does anytime you spend in the halls (ie. practicing,re-freshing, studying) count as overtime? My family will not be around and I will have a lot of time to dedicate to the academy.

[undertow999]

I was just wondering how the amount of pay for a cadet in the academy is determined? On the CHP website, it says the monthly pay , while in the Academy, is $3,268-$4,108. I was just curious of which factors determine the pay you receive? I was thinking that if officers from other agencies are starting the academy, their prior experience played a part in the pay they received, but I wasn't sure. Anyone know? Thanks

[TheForceCHP]

i don't know for sure, but i am hopping that it has something to do with education. hopefully somebody does know the answer though

[undertow999]

yea, that would be nice, hopefully some of the officers on here can help us out with this question.

[Kurt]

Dude, I'm just stoked that we get paid. Even $3,200 a month including free housing and food makes for a lot of disposable income. Too bad I have to give up my hobby of motorcycle racing while at the academy because that extra cash would allow me to do some serious work to my bike. :biggrin:

[undertow999]

Yea no kidding. It is awesome that we get paid, and it being a live in academy it gives us alot of money to save. But one thing is that when we get out, we have to move anywhere in the state, so we will need money for that. But nonetheless it's awesome we get paid.

off topic: what bike do you have?

[DESERT RAT]

I brought home almost $2700 a month while in the academy. I gadgeated(sic) in August of 2005, and had a degree. Many have said it before, if you hope to get rich from this job, you have chosen the wrong career field. If you wanna have a interesting,"oh my god I cant believe that just happend" type job, then this is the one for you.

[Kurt]

Many have said it before, if you hope to get rich from this job, you have chosen the wrong career field. If you wanna have a interesting,"oh my god I cant believe that just happend" type job, then this is the one for you.

True, and I'm more interested in the "oh my god . . . ." aspect, but the pay does seem pretty good from my standpoint.

Undertow, I race an SV650.

[undertow999]

I brought home almost $2700 a month while in the academy. I gadgeated(sic) in August of 2005, and had a degree. Many have said it before, if you hope to get rich from this job, you have chosen the wrong career field. If you wanna have a interesting,"oh my god I cant believe that just happend" type job, then this is the one for you.

$2700/month is way more than a take home now, so that will be fine with me. I have no real desire to be really wealthy, I just want to be comfortable. Ya know, there are alot of people that only do their job for the money and hate it. I would much rather have the "oh my god" feeling than the feeling of being wealthy with a boring or deadend job. I think there is much more to this job than money, and i can't wait to actually experience it. BUt on the subject of money, the CHP pays pretty well for a LE profession, and you can't beat the retirement. Thanks for your help.

Kurt: nice, my brother bought a R6 about a year ago, thats a fun bike. So if you get on with the CHP, you gonna try and get on patrol w/ a motorcycle?

[CaliforniaHighwayPatrol]

I am happy we get paid too. I am payin $60,000 to go to college to practically fall asleep in a class.

[resipsa]

Just some general information......my background investigator informed me that the pay warrants are the same for all cadets of a similar class (e.g., CTC III-05), whether or not they earned Associate's of Bachelor's degrees prior to entering the Academy. The educational incentive pay comes into play after graduation from the Academy (when you are officially hired as an Officer). I was told that the reason the cadet pay is given a range of $3,268-$4,108 is that some months include mandatory overtime pay, and the pay increases in small increments with each monthly pay warrant. That's right...a monthly paycheck, not a weekly paycheck - so cadets must budget their monthly expenses accordingly!

From http://www.chp.ca.gov:
Salary, Overtime, and Incentives

The base salary for a CHP cadet is $3,268-$4,108. Cadets earn seven hours of overtime at the base pay for an additional $186.27. The CHP Academy is a "live-in" facility, and CHP cadets receive full room and board free and a monthly salary during their Academy training.

The annual base salary for an officer upon graduation is approximately $50,952. Officers receive a five percent base salary increase each year for five years until they reach top step salary of $61,944.

[pupdog]

Same here; cadet pay is a lot more than I've ever made! And during an academy where your food & shelter is provided? I sympathize with the cadets who send that home to a family, but I'm single, so when my day comes, it's all going in the kitty for a down payment on a house! Well, except for gas to get home on weekends.

[Kurt]

Kurt: So if you get on with the CHP, you gonna try and get on patrol w/ a motorcycle?

Heck yes - that is unless they do switch over to the Harley-Davidsons like it looks like they will (HD won the contract over BMW). Those BMW's are awesome. HD will have to come up with something completely new for me to consider it "awesome." :lol: Another special unit I'd be interested in would be a K-9 unit. I like dogs.

Anyway, back on topic - hooray for Cadet pay!

[dw]

Current Cadet pay is in the neighborhood of $3,400/month (gross), sans overtime.

[Tom]

OT!!!!! What the.......:evil: :evil: :evil:

Tom

[dw]

OT!!!!! What the.......:evil: :evil: :evil:

Tom

FLSA, baby!

[Tom]

Man, we joined at the wrong time. I think I need some back-pay OT for all my weekends at the resort and spa!!!:cry:

Tom

[Mac]

Man, we joined at the wrong time. I think I need some back-pay OT for all my weekends at the resort and spa!!!:cry:
LOL....yeah, I was pre-FLSA too....never saw an 8-hour day the whole time we were there, and don't recall any overtime or CTO for study halls, night shoots, weekends or Wednesday night restrictions! :shock:

[makakona]

Man, we joined at the wrong time. I think I need some back-pay OT for all my weekends at the resort and spa!!!:cry:
LOL....yeah, I was pre-FLSA too....never saw an 8-hour day the whole time we were there, and don't recall any overtime or CTO for study halls, night shoots, weekends or Wednesday night restrictions! :shock:

no eight hour days while there? really?! when my husband was in, class ran over eight hours frequently enough to remember it, haha... never mind actually meeting the eight hours.

[Lovetoscratch]

Just curious if you're currently a State employee, does your salary rollover while attending the academy? Thanks

[snowdog]

Is time declared overtime only if instructor led or does anytime you spend in the halls (ie. practicing,re-freshing, studying) count as overtime? My family will not be around and I will have a lot of time to dedicate to the academy.

Wishful thinking. All of your OT and CTO is figured out from day one. Everything else is on your own dime.

[23112]

Is time declared overtime only if instructor led or does anytime you spend in the halls (ie. practicing,re-freshing, studying) count as overtime? My family will not be around and I will have a lot of time to dedicate to the academy.

The amount of overtime you get at the Academy is a fixed amount; nobody makes more than anybody else. The practicing, refreshing, and studying are all done in excess of the alleged "8 hours," but it's all part of making it through that place. There's no such thing as a true 8-hour day while you're there--expect to be going for 14-16 hours a day.

Depending on your office, there's plenty of overtime for the Officers in the CHP. Good luck!

[raemee]

I was just wondering how the amount of pay for a cadet in the academy is determined? On the CHP website, it says the monthly pay , while in the Academy, is $3,268-$4,108. I was just curious of which factors determine the pay you receive? I was thinking that if officers from other agencies are starting the academy, their prior experience played a part in the pay they received, but I wasn't sure. Anyone know? Thanks

The numbers on the CHP website are:

"The base salary for a CHP cadet is $3,868 (includes seven hours mandatory overtime) while attending the Academy. In addition, cadets receive free room and board. Effective the first month following their Academy reporting date, cadets receive full health and dental benefits for themselves and their dependents.

The annual base salary for an officer upon graduation is approximately $56,880. Officers receive a five percent base salary increase each year for five years until they reach top step salary of $69,144."

http://www.chp.ca.gov/recruiting/html/osalary.html

[Lovetoscratch]

Just curious if you're currently a State employee, does your salary rollover while attending the academy? Thanks

[aggienut]

*****

[Chipper]

Just curious if you're currently a State employee, does your salary rollover while attending the academy? Thanks

Yes, that is why the cadet pay range is from 3868-4??? (I can't recall the exact amount). If you are already a state employee and you are making more than 3868, but less than the top step cadet, you will come in at your current pay.

[Chippysgt]

Yeah, some pay more and have less demanding academy structure


But when you get done with our academy you are a member of the California Highway Patrol............:cool:

[snowdog]

It seems the department is targeting the younger applicants with lower financial commitments at that pay scale (and those who have not spent years climbing up the pay scale).

For people like me, academy is 7 months of a pay cut (my gross last year was more than first year officer pay) and would think it does discourage those "older" like myself with established careers and degrees.

This is just one of the reasons the POST academies are looking much nicer. They pay more (some as much as 4,700 a month) and you get to go home at night and on the weekends which, should they pay less, allows you to take a part time job to fill the income gap should you (like me) have one to fill.

And no....two cars, wife, child, homeowner...I have NO room for less cash flow, I am considering law enforcement in part because of the income growth potential (unlike the industry in which I work now).

Don't be so quick to blame the pay scale on the Department. Our salaries are determined through collective bargaining with the State and then must be approved by the Legislature. Believe us, if we could make as much monetarily as many muncipal departments we would. But don't forget to factor in the benefits and retirement. It has often been said that we try to match other agencies salaries while they try to match our retirement. Another thing, I don't know of a single first year Officer that grosses what is listed. They all make much more because once those FTO chains are cut and they are on their own they are all in the fight for grabbing as much OT as possible.
When you say POST Academies are paying as much as 4,700 a month, you must be refering to attending an Academy while sponsored by a Department that has hired you. That means you have to go through their testing process and get hired otherwise the Academy is on your dime. And I don't care what full time Academy it is you are attending, you aren't going to have time to hold down a part time job. It's an almost certain recipe for disaster.
Just an observation on my part here, but reading your previous posts it seems like you are setting yourself up to fail and are trying to convince yourself that this is a no win situation. If it's not for you, fine and just say so. If going home every evening is important then just say so and move on without putting the blame on the Department for not targeting you specifically. There are a number of cadets, past present and future, who had a wife, kids, cars, and took a cut in pay to make this work for them. Not because they just wanted to work in law enforcement but because they wanted to work for the CHP and they made it work. They understood that there would be a short period of sacrifices followed by a long period of rewards and looking forward to the big reward in 10-12 years when they are hopefully able to transfer to God's country where they can afford to buy that little piece of heaven and are now the highest paid law enforcement in the area with a 15 minute commute through clean air without gridlock. You can't do that in with a big city Department. But if you don't mind spending your career in the big city, as many don't, then go for the gusto.
If you are going to remain in the testing process with us I would suggest a more positive attitude because the hard part hasn't even begun. If you are fortunate enough to make it to the Academy your will to pursue this job will really be tested and they will easily push you to your breaking point. If this is not the Department for you, thanks for considering us and good luck.

[ResQ]

well aggie...i'm wtih snowdog

I took a 50% pay cut...I am older and had clawed my way from $4.25/hour to where I was before the academy...my neighbor is in a POST academy and getting paid and all he does is study on the weekends...we even watch his dog during the week because his time is not his own, so your theory there is not ALL true... and if you are maxed out financially and cannot make this work then it doesn't sound like financial responsibility is a strong point (something that could keep you out of ANY law enforcement job).

I hear what you are saying, but this is more of a labor of love than a plan to get rich off of the state, so...

when you want it that bad, there isn't much that can be a true obstacle.

best of luck

oh and snowdog...I loved the part about the no commute traffic and fresh woodsy air...outstanding! I think you have been reading my mind

[aggienut]

Yikes. Sorry...did not mean to stir the pot like that. I agree with many of the points made. A few more from me:

Snowdog:

I don't set up to fail-I prepare for the worst so I am ready if it happens. Defensive pessimism. It has always worked for me and I am not ready to stop now.

ResQ-Pilot:

I worked full time, had a wife and child, commuted and got straight A's from a top ten university. That was for for 5 years. I think I can do it for 7 months. Financially...I will only say this: no bad items on my credit with a over a decade of history. Enough said.

I appreciate everyones comments and enjoy the disscussions. Here is to success!!! :cool:

[Lovetoscratch]

Thank you Chipper, and Chippysgt. Be safe

[snowdog]

Yikes. Sorry...did not mean to stir the pot like that. I agree with many of the points made. A few more from me:

Snowdog:

I don't set up to fail-I prepare for the worst so I am ready if it happens. Defensive pessimism. It has always worked for me and I am not ready to stop now.

ResQ-Pilot:

I worked full time, had a wife and child, commuted and got straight A's from a top ten university. That was for for 5 years. I think I can do it for 7 months. Financially...I will only say this: no bad items on my credit with a over a decade of history. Enough said.

I appreciate everyones comments and enjoy the disscussions. Here is to success!!! :cool:

I hope I didn't insinuate that you are setting yourself up, I was only trying to refer to the impression that you may be projecting. I say this with just a little bit of experience as a background investigator who is constantly evaluating and analyzing every little statement that an applicant makes. And, those of us with this experience have a pretty good track record of being able to predict who will survive the QAP and backgrounds, who will likely get psych dq'd, who will drop out and who will graduate. Regarding your financial responsibility, sounds like you are in the same boat as many others. Living right at their limit with little wiggle room for change. I think if you look at my bank account I'm probably right there with you. But, we pay our bills on time and that is what really counts.
Aggie, maybe you, or somebody else, can tell me why the exchange between us has disappeared from this thread. I know you didn't say anything out of line and I hope my response wasn't interpreted as attacking you. I was just offering a different view and hopefully constructive advice. DW, you know why?