How To Become A Policeman: What It Is and Career Path

What is a policeman and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a policeman. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.63 an hour? That's $47,067 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 20,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePolicemanUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $47,067

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.97%

Asian 3.58%

Black or African American 12.02%

Hispanic or Latino 17.46%

Unknown 4.48%

White 61.50%

Gender

female 4.86%

male 95.14%

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

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a policeman

Explore policeman education requirements

Most common policeman degrees

Bachelor's

39.0 %

Associate

25.5 %

High School Diploma

25.4 %

Start to develop specific policeman skills

Skills	Percentages
Patrol	27.33%
Public Safety	11.70%
Emergency Situations	7.81%
Combat	5.93%
Traffic Control	4.81%

Complete relevant policeman training and internships

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

Research policeman duties and responsibilities

Develop and manage firearms training programs, including weapons selection and qualification standards.
Train in military law enforcement, physical security, real-area combat operations and combat support.
Serve warrants and subpoenas; transports prisoners and assists in booking and jailing prisoners; appears in court.
Locate and serve reluctant witnesses with subpoenas for various criminal proceedings.

Prepare your policeman resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your policeman 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 policeman resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable policeman resume templates

Build a professional policeman 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 policeman resume.