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The differences between militaries and police officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a police officer has an average salary of $52,638, which is higher than the $51,584 average annual salary of a military.
The top three skills for a military include veterans, hand tools and ladders. The most important skills for a police officer are patrol, public safety, and law enforcement agencies.
| Military | Police Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $51,584 | $52,638 |
| Hourly rate | $24.80 | $25.31 |
| Growth rate | - | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 7,632 | 116,287 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 2 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 24 | 40 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
The military is responsible for maintaining peace and order within society. Militaries conduct patrolling operations, including reporting suspicious activities in designated areas, assisting in traffic enforcement, securing public events, and attending military defense training. They also support law enforcement agencies on investigating criminal activities and law violations. The military must have excellent organizational skills, as well as time-management and multitasking. They should always be observant, ensuring that their areas are free from any threats and potential terrorist attacks.
Police officers are responsible for keeping peace and security in a community. They uphold and enforce the law. They ensure that people in their assigned community follow the law. They also ensure that proper sanctions are given out to anyone who does not follow. Some police officers are assigned in the field, meaning they work outside of police stations. Those assigned to police stations are responsible for maintaining administrative matters as well, aside from maintaining peace and order. Police officers are expected to be trustworthy, to work with honor, and to keep their integrity intact.
Militaries and police officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Military | Police Officer | |
| Average salary | $51,584 | $52,638 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $108,000 | Between $38,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Clara, CA | Anchorage, AK |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Baker Hughes | Icma-rc |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between a military and a police officer in terms of educational background:
| Military | Police Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | - | Pennsylvania State University |
Here are the differences between militaries' and police officers' demographics:
| Military | Police Officer | |
| Average age | 24 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.6% Female, 27.4% | Male, 83.2% Female, 16.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 15.3% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 7.0% White, 51.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 12.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 3.3% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 7% |