Is it too late to think about changing careers and becoming a Game Warden or Deputy Sherriff at 54 years old?

[Rich M]

Nope.

Not sure what about all that appeals to you. It does take a certain type of fella. Seems more like a young man's game chasing folks in the dark.

 

[rodney482]

Look into Sheriff Reserve programs

 

[netman]

Being a deputy is a young man's game. However, if you don't mind tough work hours, nasty diseased clients, driving fast, working in hot/cold weather, a terrible diet, dark humor, sarcasm, an early death, doing cpr, the smell of death, solving other people's problems in 10 minutes that took 25 years to create, being a marriage counselor, making fun of firemen, being Monday morning quarterbacked, getting sued, terrible plea deals, and having a camera recording you all the time then I say give it a go.

It’s still the best job ever!

 

[netman]

The cool thing nobody mentioned is all the crazy ,shocking & jaw dropping shit you see everyday. When you go to a friends party or get together you get to tell the best stories. All of the stories are true too.

 

[Squincher]

You DO NOT want to be in an enforcement position at 54 yoa, unless you are in exceptional physical shape. I'm 29 years in at 52, and I'm going next year before one these 20 year old meth heads beat me to death. I can still do 50 push ups and 50 sit ups in a minute and run 1.5 miles under 12 minutes for the annual PT test, but I'm sore pretty much all the time from the weekly or so wrestling matches in which I find myself. A person would have to have a death wish to start at your age.

I'm sorry if my response seems harsh, but this is a very bad idea. Not only are you gambling your life even moreso than a younger man, but also your freedom and everything you own in the current political climate. You made your choice; find a way to live with it.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Our local county mounty will hire reserve deputies outside of the age limit. You pay your own way through a post academy though.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

What does it cost to go through POST academy?

edit: about $8k, dummy. Google is your friend.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

[Opah]

I volunteer For the CDFW, Get to Protect and patrol a very large Refuge. Right now it is once a month on a weekend and soon 3 days during the week.
All the good stuff, I get to work with Special dove and pheasant hunts for kids, juniors and families. Accommodations are supplied, No pay, bring you own food and drink, but once there you have the 4X4 Gator, Huge JD tractor, CDFW off road truck, For Me at 62 and still working it was a cool thing to do with some very cool perks.

 

[Quin]

If I stay in my current job, I can retire in 5-7 years but I'm the type of person that needs to stay active doing things worth while.

Seems like it would be pretty short sighted to give that up as, in all likelihood, you're not going work long enough to get a full retirement from the Game Dept. Will you be able to actually have a comfortable retirement without full benefits from either place?

I also have to believe you'd be taking a pay cut to do this, probably further reducing your savings. Could you even afford that salary cut now especially if you have to go back to school? Will you have to move to get a job? What happens to the wife's job then? I'm not so sure it makes sense from a financial standpoint...

 

[Marble]

Yes. Too old.

I agree. I'm 44 and 20 years into LE. At 54 the chances are getting injured are just so high.

Thats one of the reasons you don't see very many guys that age still doing it. The injury rate is so high.

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

Oh man. As LE myself, I can tell you that I hope I’m retired at your age. It’s a messed up world out there, and once you get in the enforcement game, the blinders come off, you see what really roams around in your community, and you don’t get to put them back on. Plus, it has moments where it gets really physical. I’ve been in some hairy fights. I couldn’t imagine getting into those same scraps in my mid to late 50s.

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

I thought LEO's had to be no older than 37 upon entering the field.

This is the rule for federal law enforcement. They have a mandatory retirement at the age of 57.

 

[JShane]

12 years in for me. Lets talk about the elephant in the room. PTSD, ASD (acute stress disorder) and cumulative trauma from years of being on suicide scenes, children deaths, the traffic stop that goes south, domestic violence calls where the wife jumps you form behind when you handcuff her husband who just beat her to a pulp. There's a reason cops have a high divorce, die 10 years earlier than the rest of the population, and have a high rate of suicide themselves. This job will affect you whether you like it or not.

 

[87TT]

12 years in for me. Lets talk about the elephant in the room. PTSD, ASD (acute stress disorder) and cumulative trauma from years of being on suicide scenes, children deaths, the traffic stop that goes south, domestic violence calls where the wife jumps you form behind when you handcuff her husband who just beat her to a pulp. There's a reason cops have a high divorce, die 10 years earlier than the rest of the population, and have a high rate of suicide themselves. This job will affect you whether you like it or not.

Sounds like you may need to consider a new career path also.
But then a sheepdog is always gong to be a sheepdog.

 

[JShane]

No im grounded in my faith, not afraid to sit and talk to someone to help work through the hard stuff, and this career isn't who I am its what I do.

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

Sounds like you may need to consider a new career path also.
But then a sheepdog is always gong to be a sheepdog.

I was going to say: folks in the business will all try to talk you out of getting in the business, myself included. There’s this weird force that draws certain people to become LE though. Everyone will tell you how much it sucks, but then you go and do it anyway. Ask me how I know lol.

 

[MTB]

It's better to stick with the evil you know than the evil you don't know..... our idealistic thoughts make everything seem like peaches and cream, until it then becomes reality.

Man if you only have 5-7 years to retire I truly don't understand why you would want to make that change, especially to LE. and if you love to hunt, becoming a game warden you will involuntarily be giving up your entire hunting season because you will be working it on the job.