How To Become A Police Cadet: What It Is and Career Path

What is a police cadet and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Durmus Alper CAMLIBEL Ph.D.

Before one can become a full-fledged police offer, one must first become a police trainee, otherwise known as a police cadet. In this position, a police cadet learns the basics of law enforcement through hands-on experience, helping prepare them to become police officers in the future.

The duties of a police cadet revolve around basic law enforcement procedures, such as controlling traffic, conducting patrols, operating firearms, assisting with emergency calls, and helping maintain public safety. They also participate in ride-along with police offers to further increase their knowledge on law enforcement, as well as the usage of a patrol car.

Police cadets must pass a written and medical examination before securing a position. Police departments can have varying requirements as well, such as being an enrollee in college or completing a police academy course. If aspiring police officers want to skip police academy, they may go straight to a police department and apply for the training program.

With a paid training program, a police cadet can make around $37,000 a year. Depending on the program, it can take up to 13 to 19 weeks to complete.

What general advice would you give to a police cadet?

Dr. Durmus Alper CAMLIBEL Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh

They need to avoid being overzealous officers. They should not put their career at the center of their life. They need to spend quality time with their family. In law enforcement, good relations with the public and colleagues are essential. They need to develop good relationships with the people and their colleagues and expand their professional network. They always try to be a "problem solver officer" rather than a "problem creator officer." If someone asks for help from them, they should treat this person with dignity and respect. They should avoid being arrogant in their interaction with the public. Because arrogance is the worst plague, and Humility is the greatest virtue.

ScorePolice CadetUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,243

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.97%

Asian 2.90%

Black or African American 11.31%

Hispanic or Latino 21.75%

Unknown 4.58%

White 58.49%

Gender

female 36.59%

male 63.41%

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 police cadet

Explore police cadet education requirements

Most common police cadet degrees

Bachelor's

44.4 %

Associate

28.7 %

High School Diploma

20.5 %

Start to develop specific police cadet skills

Skills	Percentages
Patrol	17.98%
Traffic Control	9.52%
Public Safety	7.55%
Police Academy	6.66%
Parking Enforcement	4.86%

Complete relevant police cadet training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New police cadets 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 police cadet based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real police cadet resumes.

Research police cadet duties and responsibilities

Process requests for background record checks for a variety of agencies using RMS.
Prepare teletype requests to run serialize firearms; input data from all seize firearms into CLETS.
Perform clerical tasks, filing, data entry, payroll and information research/investigation with NCIC 2000 and SCIC.
Automate tow notification process within RMS system.

Prepare your police cadet resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your police cadet resume.

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Choose from 10+ customizable police cadet resume templates

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