Many, if not most, law enforcement officers retire at a relatively young age. Some are fortunate enough to have padded their pensions and squirrelled away vast sums of money over the years to lead a life of leisure in retirement and not work. Others, prior to becoming an officer had or have developed a skill through the years, and move on to be plumbers, electricians, contractors, realtors, lawyers, doctors and everything else you might imagine. These officers are few and far between. If you don’t fall into either of these groups, what are some options for employment going forward?

Full time employment is a consideration for many. Retired LEO’s take full time jobs in a vast number of different industries. They want to leave “the job” completely behind and head off in a different direction. Retired LEO’s who take a natural path toward employment into a law enforcement related field might take a job with the federal government or even a different local municipality. The security and investigations industry collects a vast sum of retired officers, especially detectives. Federal and local government jobs often offer another pension to collect when you are finally ready to call it quits.

Part-time employment appeals most to retired officers. Saved some money, have a nice pension, want to work maybe 2 days a week and go fishing or play golf the rest. There are some officers that find a part-time security/bodyguard/driving gig on their own. The pay is good, the terms may be better and they’re happy. The rest hook up with local security companies to fill slots and satisfy that company’s contracts.

In New York, if you’re a retired officer and doing security work, you will need a NYS Armed Guard License. You can click here and read about the requirements and click here for the application. It takes approximately six weeks to obtain one. If you want to hit the ground running, you can apply for and receive a NYS Armed Guard License well before you retire so you’ll be prepared to start working right away. It is also worth while to get the HR218 certification if your job is taking you across state lines while working as an armed guard. Make yourself aware of your states laws and requirements regarding security employment.