Peace Officer vs. Police Officer

A peace officer is someone who can be a member of a police force, while a police officer is someone who is always a member of a police force. A peace officer is a type of police officer who enforces laws and ordinances. They may also investigate crimes. Most peace officers' tasks are making arrests, conducting investigations, and issuing citations for traffic violations. Responding to emergency calls, such as domestic violence incidents or fires is also within a peace officer's purview.

How To Become A Peace Officer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a peace officer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Latarcia Barnes PhD

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a peace officer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.09 an hour? That's $37,631 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 20,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a peace officer?

Dr. Latarcia Barnes PhD

Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology, Associate Professor

Federal law enforcement is a great profession to enter. There is retirement after 20 years, great career advancement, and great benefits

ScorePeace OfficerUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,631

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.97%

Asian 2.90%

Black or African American 11.96%

Hispanic or Latino 21.60%

Unknown 4.57%

White 58.00%

Gender

female 22.58%

male 77.42%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a peace officer

Explore peace officer education requirements

Most common peace officer degrees

Bachelor's

37.8 %

Associate

28.4 %

High School Diploma

16.9 %

Start to develop specific peace officer skills

Skills	Percentages
Patrol	26.46%
Public Safety	11.85%
Motor Vehicle	7.25%
Law Enforcement Agencies	7.08%
Emergency Situations	7.08%

Complete relevant peace officer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New peace officers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a peace officer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real peace officer resumes.

Research peace officer duties and responsibilities

Lead process improvement committee for officers to communicate with senior leadership desire changes for patrol division.
Conduct complex criminal investigations in correctional, patrol and investigative unit settings.
Administer CPR and first aid.
Train in CPR and other immediate care for self and others.

Prepare your peace officer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your peace officer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a peace officer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable peace officer resume templates

Build a professional peace officer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your peace officer resume.

Apply for peace officer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a peace officer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do peace officers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Peace officer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2022

Cons

The pay is not worth what you have to do sometimes

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020

Pros

Its a good job you get to know what kind of people enter a strip club or private parties trying g to start problems and you have to always be there to help out the rest of the people around you.