Would you rather be a cop or a teacher?

I would definitely prefer being a teacher! The ability to mold young minds…rather than snuffing them out.

I have been a teacher (3rd &4th grades) and never regretted it for a minute.

Teacher. I’ve done it before. As much as I despise writing lesson plans and dealing with ridiculous discipline issues, I would rather do that than take a chance on losing my life at any moment.

teacher of course
would you rather be a mafioso or a nurse?

A teacher as long as I can teach driving school.

It depends. A cop in a good area or a bad area? Likewise with a teacher. A teacher in a bad area would be like a prison sentence. A teacher in a good area would be good. Where I live and work, the top cops make more than teachers. The top 100 cops in the County I work in make from about 180k to 230k. That’s not too shabby.

In the town where my daughter goes to school (primo school system), the teachers that have been there a long time make about 130k. However, in shitty areas, the teachers make less and they work harder. Cops have the ability to work OT, possibly mandatory OT which may or may not be desirable, depending on the individual’s circumstances. Teachers don’t have that opportunity. Teachers, also get to stay home when the weather is bad. Cops are expected to be at work regardless of the weather. So it’s all depending on those variables. Cop in bad area vs. teacher in good area? Cop in good area vs. teacher in bad area?

Cop in bad area vs. teacher in bad area? I’d rather be a teacher.

Cop in good area vs. teacher in good area? It’s a tossup.

I’m a teacher of sorts. (Almost) associate professor. I’ve never taught little kids and don’t have summers off. Still, I’d rather not be a cop.

I’ve known quite a few cops. No thanks.

Teacher. Isn’t it obvious?

I’d take the gun and badge over being a teacher. Investigating crimes sounds like way more fun than teaching math.

Teacher. I don’t want a job where standard procedure is to kill people.

Teacher. I would be a horrible cop. I hate being ordered around, I am opposed to violence, and guns scare me.

I agree with @longgone. My post-conventional thinking will get in the way of my job duties.

A teacher, which is what I actually am.

And being a cop isn’t the only way to do investigative work.

Teacher. Preferably high school.

Ugh. My wife is a teacher and I hear all the horror stories. And of course I don’t want to be a pig.

Mmm…it’s not a free choice without the option not to choose.

Definitely a teacher. I do not envy a policeman’s job.

I am a teacher, but that decision wasn’t made in opposition to the possibility of being a cop. I’ve never wanted to be a police officer and doubt that I ever will.

Teacher, and also moonlight as a firearms instructor. I did a brief stint teaching in grad school. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed it.

A teacher – being a cop is dangerous

When I was young I always had that dream of becoming a police officer protecting everyone. I imagined the work to be glorious, solving a case, bringing criminals to justice and hopefully saving the innocent. Now I know more about the job. It isn’t as glorious as I used to think, and I don’t have much ability for it, so now I’m training to be a teacher, and all my crime fighting fantasy should be transferred to my writing instead. I stil love a policeman’s job though.

In short, police officer is my dream job, teacher is my realistic goal.

I used to wish to be a cop. It was all I ever wanted to be growing up. I wanted to be a detective more specifically or an FBI agent. I always thought law enforcement would be more exciting than handing out homework and grading papers.

A teacher. In my work I have the potential to positively change an individual’s life and help them progress towards achieving their dreams. Plus I never have to arrest anyone or shoot them.

A cop. Yep, I’d rather deal with criminals than other people’s kids.

Teacher. I would rather be a force in someone’s life that strives to keep them out of prison, rather than be a person who strives to put them into prison (yes, strives – they have quotas), often for minor drug offenses and in ways that perpetuate racism, classism, intolerance and hate.

Neither, both offer nowt but shit options.

@DrasticDreamer GA!

A teacher… my husband is a teacher. Its a hard job but at the end of the day it`s positive and rewarding. I couldn`t be a cop cause I`m not an asshole.

I think a lot of cops are getting a bad rap because of the Michael Brown thing. I know cops personally, (as do many people) and they’re not bad people. They’re doing the job they get paid to do. One guards the building I work in (a public building). When we have a problem, or someone parks in our parking spots, or someone comes in and acts up, or someone gets hurt, he takes care of it. He makes sure no weapons are brought into the building, he makes sure nobody acts stupid because they feel entitled to their public assistance or whatever, and if I have a problem, I know his number.

This is not saying there are not bad cops, just like there are bad people in all professions. There are bad teachers, too. I am just saying cops are getting bad mouthed a lot lately, and for the most part, it’s undeserved. That’s just my opinion.

@jca People have disliked cops since before Michael Brown. And I don’t think it’s based on the mere existence of a bad cop here or there. It’s based on the impression that cops are disproportionately bad, which is why the existence of a bad teacher or two doesn’t elicit the same attitude towards them. Furthermore, insofar as the police are enforcers of an unjust system, acting professionally or helping you kick someone out of a parking spot doesn’t make them good. A nice bad guy is still a bad guy.

@SavoirFaire: Point taken. I’m saying the ones I know, I know personally and they’re not bad guys. It’s my opinion, based upon what I know of him and them (and yes, I did deal with him as the recipient of a parking ticket once, and yes, giving parking tickets is about 2% of his job). I have my opinion about police as I do about public employees (because I am one). Others, of course, are going to have different opinions. I’m not arguing about mine or the opinions of others.

I don’t feel like cops are disporportionately bad. I do believe some men become cops because they like the idea of having a gun, driving fast, and having power, and they can be total assholes to their wives and others. Then a whole group of them care about protecting people, avoid violence at all costs, on the job and in their personal lives, and are just your basic good guy. I think of it as a blue collar job, but I know plenty of police men, I guess maybe they are detectives, who have college degrees.

If they are around bad things all the time I think it changes a person. Changes anybody, not just police officers.

^^ In addition to that, there are people who grow up to be power-hungry and/or violent. For those people, becoming a police officer is a smart career choice, because they can realise their “potential” without getting locked up right away. And that’s what needs to change.

It sounds like you guys want the cops to be cute and friendly but none of you cute and friendly people want to be cops. Try not to hurt yourself with that double edged sword.

I’d rather be starving and homeless than do either of those jobs.

For me it has a lot to do with how unjust the system is in general, which is something that @SavoirFaire pointed out. It’s not that I believe every cop is a horrible person – it’s what they support, ignorant or not.

I’ve known about a dozen cops in my life (an uncle, two good friends, family friend, wife’s friends). I don’t think they are disproportionately bad.

My experience has been that they are either over stressed, alcoholic, power drunk, arrogant, bigoted, or impossible to be in a relationship with.

Not bad people, just generally fucked up.

@Esteban1 I don’t want copts to be cute and friendly. I want the justice system to be just, and I want police officers to be accountable for their actions. Furthermore, I don’t believe the system can be changed from within because I think most of the problem comes from without.

I don’t hold individuals accountable for the messed up justice system. Each guy or gal is just going in each day and doing what they’re told. If they didn’t they’d be out of a job asap.

@jca I’m not holding individuals accountable for the system. I’m asking for individuals to be held accountable for their own actions. And quite frankly, “just following orders” is not—and has never been—a good excuse for bad behavior. I agree that not following orders would get them fired, however, which is why I am skeptical about the possibility of changing the system from within.

I am also making the separate argument that good intentions can only go so far. I’m sure plenty of people joined the German army in the 1930s desiring only to defend their homeland and having no intention to harm Jews. But that doesn’t change the fact that their efforts would have been better spent resisting the unjust system that they instead decided to perpetuate.

Some will object to the comparison, but I am not trying to say that the two groups are directly analogous. Nevertheless, both were bolstered by the sort of naive idealism that buys into grand narratives of duty and justice while ignoring the ways in which such systems often attract the worst of the worst and manipulate the good into becoming what they set out to fight.

Agreed there are good and bad cops, just like there are good and bad in every profession. There are power hungry cops out there, there are molesting teachers and there are molesting priests. There are politicians who take bribes and embezzle, and there are auto mechanics who will lie to you in order to make an extra buck

I think the cops in this country are doing a better job than the teachers. Some cities are graduating under 60% of their students. That’s from teachers sitting back and collecting a paycheck.

@Esteban Probably if you look at crime in some cities that is arguable. In fact, something tells me there might be some sort of positive correlation with crime stats and drop out rates. I’m just guessing.

the colonies are is the most crime ridden country in the western world

I’d go for a teacher…
All my days in school I always find easier ways to teach people things on the textbook lol
Actually policemen, politics and army are 3 things I‘m not that crazy about