Help me: Civil Service Vs. Police exam

[JSD]

I was wondering if anyone else was planning on taking this upcoming police exam?

[JSD]

I'm scheduled to take the police exam on April 25th. Does this exam transfer over as a civil service exam? I've sifted through many different forums and have been reading mass.gov to no avail. I'm 99% sure they are unrelated but I just wanted to confirm. That being said, I'm under the impression that a civil service exam puts me in position to land a job for the state including the local police department; whereas the police exam puts me in position to land a job for the state, mbta and local police? Is this a fair assumption?

I'm on the verge of completing a BS in CJ and have 2 years of security experience. My goal is the public sector and I'm open to all pathways my degree could lead me within the state or federal government including the department of youth services and DSS.

I know this isn't really the forum for this, but thank you in advance for any insight you can provide me.

[Roy Hobbs]

Sorry, Jsaad, no idea.  Does your school have a Career Services office?

[JSD]

Sorry, Jsaad, no idea.  Does your school have a Career Services office?

Yeah, I don't want to bother. I can usually find the answer to anything I need to know through google searches, Celticsblog and perusing other forums. Plus, I just e-mailed the state.

[JSD]

Hobbs, did you have to take the NJ civil service? Or was the JD from BC enough?

[Roy Hobbs]

Hobbs, did you have to take the NJ civil service? Or was the JD from BC enough?

To work for the Attorney General's Office / Division of Law, there wasn't an exam.  It was an interview process and a background check.  I know that a lot of other government positions here require testing, however.

[JSD]

Hobbs, did you have to take the NJ civil service? Or was the JD from BC enough?

To work for the Attorney General's Office / Division of Law, there wasn't an exam.  It was an interview process and a background check.  I know that a lot of other government positions here require testing, however.

The individual U.S. states also have attorneys general with similar responsibilities. The majority of state attorneys general are chosen by popular election, as opposed to the U.S. Attorney General who is a presidential appointee.

Oh, you work for the federal government?

[Roy Hobbs]

Hobbs, did you have to take the NJ civil service? Or was the JD from BC enough?

To work for the Attorney General's Office / Division of Law, there wasn't an exam.  It was an interview process and a background check.  I know that a lot of other government positions here require testing, however.

The individual U.S. states also have attorneys general with similar responsibilities. The majority of state attorneys general are chosen by popular election, as opposed to the U.S. Attorney General who is a presidential appointee.

Oh, you work for the federal government?

No, the NJ Attorney General's Office.  How it works here is that the governor appoints an Attorney General, who is confirmed by the Legislature.  Underneath the Attorney General are the offices of the Division of Law and Criminal Justice.  The director of the Division of Law is also a political appointment.  The individual Deputy Attorney Generals (of whom I am one), however, are hired as regular employees.  Unlike most state positions, though, we're at-will, and it's actually illegal for us to unionize / collectively bargain.

[JSD]

Hobbs, did you have to take the NJ civil service? Or was the JD from BC enough?

To work for the Attorney General's Office / Division of Law, there wasn't an exam.  It was an interview process and a background check.  I know that a lot of other government positions here require testing, however.

The individual U.S. states also have attorneys general with similar responsibilities. The majority of state attorneys general are chosen by popular election, as opposed to the U.S. Attorney General who is a presidential appointee.

Oh, you work for the federal government?

No, the NJ Attorney General's Office.  How it works here is that the governor appoints an Attorney General, who is confirmed by the Legislature.  Underneath the Attorney General are the offices of the Division of Law and Criminal Justice.  The director of the Division of Law is also a political appointment.  The individual Deputy Attorney Generals (of whom I am one), however, are hired as regular employees.  Unlike most state positions, though, we're at-will, and it's actually illegal for us to unionize / collectively bargain.

"at-will" huh? Do you still have all the fabulous benefits that comes along with being a state employee? Healthcare? pension?

I'm probably alone on this but I need more pay and better benefits.

[GroverTheClover]

I'm scheduled to take the police exam on April 25th. Does this exam transfer over as a civil service exam? I've sifted through many different forums and have been reading mass.gov to no avail. I'm 99% sure they are unrelated but I just wanted to confirm. That being said, I'm under the impression that a civil service exam puts me in position to land a job for the state including the local police department; whereas the police exam puts me in position to land a job for the state, mbta and local police? Is this a fair assumption?

I'm on the verge of completing a BS in CJ and have 2 years of security experience. My goal is the public sector and I'm open to all pathways my degree could lead me within the state or federal government including the department of youth services and DSS.

I know this isn't really the forum for this, but thank you in advance for any insight you can provide me.

My best friend just took the police exam a while back. The police exam this year, covers troopers/local PD/MBTA police. This is the first year all three are rolled into one which may lead to some confusion. In prior years, the police exam only included local PD and MBTA. You had to take a separate trooper exam.

As far as working in the various CJ administrative agencies like Parole or SORB, you are not required to take the exam. (At least not for law clerks)

[GroverTheClover]

Also, the police exam is a form of the civil service exam. The best analogy is to picture the civil service exam name as an umbrella with the police exam as one of the few people huddled under the umbrella. From my understanding, it is not transferable, i.e. if you were to take the police exam and become a firefighter. You would need to take the firefighter specific civil service exam. Hope this helps and good luck!

[JSD]

Also, the police exam is a form of the civil service exam. The best analogy is to picture the civil service exam name as an umbrella with the police exam as one of the few people huddled under the umbrella. From my understanding, it is not transferable, i.e. if you were to take the police exam and become a firefighter. You would need to take the firefighter specific civil service exam. Hope this helps and good luck!

TP for the input, although I'm not sure the police exam falls under this umbrella.

[yall hate]

Hobbs, did you have to take the NJ civil service? Or was the JD from BC enough?

To work for the Attorney General's Office / Division of Law, there wasn't an exam.  It was an interview process and a background check.  I know that a lot of other government positions here require testing, however.

The individual U.S. states also have attorneys general with similar responsibilities. The majority of state attorneys general are chosen by popular election, as opposed to the U.S. Attorney General who is a presidential appointee.

Oh, you work for the federal government?

No, the NJ Attorney General's Office.  How it works here is that the governor appoints an Attorney General, who is confirmed by the Legislature.  Underneath the Attorney General are the offices of the Division of Law and Criminal Justice.  The director of the Division of Law is also a political appointment.  The individual Deputy Attorney Generals (of whom I am one), however, are hired as regular employees.  Unlike most state positions, though, we're at-will, and it's actually illegal for us to unionize / collectively bargain.

"at-will" huh? Do you still have all the fabulous benefits that comes along with being a state employee? Healthcare? pension?

I'm probably alone on this but I need more pay and better benefits.

at will generally just means that you cant belong to a union and that you can be fired at any time for any (or no) reason.

[DinoRadjaLives]

JSaad - As far as getting your law enforcement carrer underway I know that getting into a local PD force is pretty tough due to long waiting lists for the jobs. Most jobs require you to live in the town or city. I have two buddies waiting to get the call from the academy. They both have military experience and were in Iraq. Not to be a downer but usually the best way to go is to start in the correctional facilities and work your way up to local PD.