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El Norte · Senior Member

Is it worth it?

JediMaster · Veteran Member

you either want to get paid more

or you dont.

it doesnt matter what the responsibilities are.

some people say is being a Cop worth it

then you have

is being a sergeant worth all that responsibility

where does it end?

either you want the income and do what you have to do or you dont need it.

if you were doing it for the Glory then u wouldnt be asking the question.

so do you want $235k or not?

Beta86 · Veteran Member

-- Edited by Beta86 on Monday 23rd of March 2026 02:25:25 AM

-- Edited by Beta86 on Monday 23rd of March 2026 02:27:11 AM

El Norte · Senior Member

JediMaster wrote:
you either want to get paid more
or you dont.
it doesnt matter what the responsibilities are.
some people say is being a Cop worth it
then you have
is being a sergeant worth all that responsibility
where does it end?
either you want the income and do what you have to do or you dont need it.
if you were doing it for the Glory then u wouldnt be asking the question.
so do you want $235k or not?

Im sure I asked if not for the bump in pay is it worth it?

JediMaster · Veteran Member

Let me speak to you more clearly,

stop being SCARED OF RESPONSIBILITY

IF YOU WANT THE CASH THEN GET AFTER IT.

period.

El Norte · Senior Member

JediMaster wrote:
Let me speak to you more clearly,
stop being SCARED OF RESPONSIBILITY
IF YOU WANT THE CASH THEN GET AFTER IT.
period.

Thanks for the honest opinion. I guess my question came from talking to people and seeing that executives dont get treated well by the higher ups, I was more leaning toward this aspect of the job. But I guess if you want the bump in pay you have to take the good with the bad.

NauseousPBBN · Senior Member

No ones scared responsibility...the question most are trying to decide is if the loss in quality of life worth the bump in pay. Not all money is good money.

RJ34 · Newbie

Is it really that much of a bump in pay when you factor in overtime? Plus with tier 3 calculating best 3 (with previous 2) building up to top pay captain after having overtime as a LT would prolong your calculated average, no?

NauseousPBBN · Senior Member

top pay Lt making 40 a month will beat going for Captain. The problem is, with the way things have been going, who can guarantee in any significant amount of OT steady for the next 5 yrs..or even by the end of this year.

Spanish mama · Guru

For me, I decided not to take the rank for following PERSONAL reasons:
1. I don't want to live at work and get paid in time.
2. Stress. Not worth it. There are more important things in life to worry about, this job is not not one of them, even with the pay. You will spend all the extra money on medication later in life when your health and nervous system deteriorates due to working years of odd tours and stress load.
3. I don't believe in anything this job stands for anymore. I do not want to be part of the circus. 8:45 is all they get me for. No off hours text or phone calls. The way people are treated in this department is embarrassing.
These are my personal reasons. Everyone is different. Like they say, the job is not for everyone. That includes this rank.

-- Edited by Spanish mama on Monday 23rd of March 2026 05:14:27 PM

HomerSampson · Veteran Member

I look at it this way: If you plan to stay at the captain rank, then no, it ain't worth it. A captain is like being a sergeant all over again. Cops kick sh!t up to the sergeants and lieutenants dump sh!t down to them. Captain is the same, lieutenants kick sh!t up and D.I.'s and above kick it down to them. Also, if you're looking for an after-life when you retire then being an executive makes you more marketable. Definitely a pay cut adjustment though for a bit if you do a lot a of OT. I knew a newly promoted captain years back that had to cut back on deferred comp contributions and stop the ITHP for a year because he missed a few mortgage payments. Once he made D.I. though, he said it was like being a glorified lieutenant again and he loved it. In the end, ya gotta do what's right for you, your family and your future goals.

HopeBoss · Senior Member

Spanish mama wrote:
For me, I decided not to take the rank for following PERSONAL reasons:
1. I don't want to live at work and get paid in time.
2. Stress. Not worth it. There are more important things in life to worry about, this job is not not one of them, even with the pay. You will spend all the extra money on medication later in life when your health and nervous system deteriorates due to working years of odd tours and stress load.
3. I don't believe in anything this job stands for anymore. I do not want to be part of the circus. 8:45 is all they get me for. No off hours text or phone calls. The way people are treated in this department is embarrassing.
These are my personal reasons. Everyone is different. Like they say, the job is not for everyone. That includes this rank.

Oh no, I thought things were better under the soccer mom and billionaire Harvard heiress whos been firing and demoting people left and right, Jessica Tisch

-- Edited by Spanish mama on Monday 23rd of March 2026 05:14:27 PM

DetailBoss · Member

Will mff ever end?

KingCobra300 · Newbie

Is it true they got rid of the category 1 vehicle for newly promoted captains? Alot of XOs in commands that are newly promoted do not have a vehicle.

Theforceisstrongwiththisone · Guru

HomerSampson wrote:
I look at it this way: If you plan to stay at the captain rank, then no, it ain't worth it. A captain is like being a sergeant all over again. Cops kick sh!t up to the sergeants and lieutenants dump sh!t down to them. Captain is the same, lieutenants kick sh!t up and D.I.'s and above kick it down to them. Also, if you're looking for an after-life when you retire then being an executive makes you more marketable. Definitely a pay cut adjustment though for a bit if you do a lot a of OT. I knew a newly promoted captain years back that had to cut back on deferred comp contributions and stop the ITHP for a year because he missed a few mortgage payments. Once he made D.I. though, he said it was like being a glorified lieutenant again and he loved it. In the end, ya gotta do what's right for you, your family and your future goals.

I agree with this post 100%. However, if your objective is to make money stay a LT! If you like to gamble and want a stop at making DI then become a captain.

Edubz · Senior Member

Nothing lasts forever and that includes OT and sweet gigs.

pd22 · Veteran Member

JediMaster wrote:
you either want to get paid more
or you dont.
it doesnt matter what the responsibilities are.
some people say is being a Cop worth it
then you have
is being a sergeant worth all that responsibility
where does it end?
either you want the income and do what you have to do or you dont need it.
if you were doing it for the Glory then u wouldnt be asking the question.
so do you want $235k or not?

What if you have LSA

Jibberjab · Senior Member

Everyones situation is different so there is no right answer. Maybe you have older kids who arent looking for you to be coming to their baseball games or recitals going on. Maybe you are in a sweet detail and have free run of tours/days off. If you are on the fence, take the test because you have no idea what your situation will be 2-3 years from when the test is given. Maybe you fell from grace and are back on patrol and it might be worth the promotion. Maybe you got that detail spot you were hoping for and now you could care less about being a captain. I took it and landed in a great spot and ultimately passed up on my promotion. If I was still doing patrol I would most likely have taken it. Give yourself options. Yes studying sucks but its best to have a choice when the time comes.

brooklynbacon · Guru

It depends on you. Do you have an ego and high aspirations? Do you want to go as high as possible? Do you dislike public speaking? Do you value quality of life? How badly do you want that 8 year old Ford Fusion with 100k miles as a take home?

You also have to look at it that less than half the Captains are in operational commands and the others are all in details.

If you do take the rank i will give you one piece of advice. Quickly figure out if you want to be a CO and bite the bullet for 4 years or whatever to get DI. Or quickly make up your mind to get to a detail because XO life is not the place to stay.

FranknBeans · Senior Member

El Norte wrote:
With The captain exam coming up is it worth it? the biggest hesitation seems to be how the quality of life gets affected.

-- Edited by El Norte on Monday 23rd of March 2026 11:29:04 AM

The problem is that its wildly different depending where you go.

You don't see too many people demote themselves.

So the quality of life isnt that bad.

Dont listen to the extreme and the "Do you want the money" people.

If it gets that bad you can always demote yourself. These people don't know you.

If you generally have a piss poor disposition about the job then youre gonna have it about the rank. If you skirted responsibility before this rank youre gonna do it at the Captain rank.

-- Edited by FranknBeans on Tuesday 7th of April 2026 01:08:08 AM

JediMaster · Veteran Member

if your not doing it for the MONEY then your doing it for the GLORY.

If your asking if its worth it, then your NOT doing it for the Glory.

you either WANT the Money without caring to do 50 Hrs of OT per month for a year or have 2 years vacation sitting at home collecting 240k.

Its not that hard. Stop being scared of the responsibilities like these people who are focused on self demotion rates.

FranknBeans · Senior Member

Listen to the people in the rank. Doing what youre going to be doing.

-- Edited by FranknBeans on Tuesday 7th of April 2026 03:05:10 PM

-- Edited by FranknBeans on Tuesday 7th of April 2026 03:06:14 PM

FranknBeans · Senior Member

DetailBoss wrote:
Will mff ever end?

No, but as a captain youre not doing anything particularly difficult. And you're in control.

HopeBoss · Senior Member

DetailBoss wrote:
Will mff ever end?

Its funny, I remember when MFF started during the George Floyd riots and it just ballooned into this pain in the ass detail

63ASAP · Guru

It will always and forever remain a "whats best for you" decision. There is no universal answer. There is much truth to the statement that taking the promotion can significantly alter your personal and professional life drastically, in a way that SGT or LT does not. This has to be weighed alongside your goals...is it a bigger pension? Is it a decade old Cat 1? Is it to be a CO and keep moving up? Is promotion the only way out of a command you've been stuck in? Funny enough, I passed on the curve (which is another insult to those who gave a damn and actually studied) and I really have no business being on that list, but here I am. As OT begins to dwindle, and my pension is within spitting distance, the calculus is starting to balance out for me as whether taking it makes sense.

Ultimately, it really isn't a rank the job has shown to care about or wishes to make better, and that becomes evident with every person passing over or filing for retirement the day after crossing the stage. The CEA really needs to address these issues when negotiating the next contract. That being said, if you're comfortable being a "dead end" captain (I know I am) and will not take yourself too seriously, then maybe you don't care about the bad that comes with it (and the bad does die down eventually, sort of).

Fact is, the job needs executives with a spine who don't put their career aspirations first, and aren't afraid to get yelled at or stand by the right decision even though the job may find it unpopular. In my experience over the years, the captains that really didn't crave the rank make better leaders and earn more respect from the rank and file than the ones who did. I agree with the poster above...nothing about the rank, or anything on this job really, is "difficult" more so than it is a pain in the ass in terms of extra nonsense from an organization that is the bureuacratic equivalent of a high-functioning alcoholic. And yes, MFF's are here to stay it seems, and are becoming more and more a reality for all ranks and all commands, CPT's included.

On that note, I don't think it is in dispute that LT is by far still the best rank on this job. That is not something to discount when considering taking this promotion.

brooklynbacon · Guru

FranknBeans wrote:
DetailBoss wrote:
Will mff ever end?
No, but as a captain youre not doing anything particularly difficult. And you're in control.

You show up and say hey Lt you got everyone? Then you give a 5 minute speech and scratch some posts. Then barring no major incidents the next time you see everyone again is EOT where you say hey Lt you got everyone?

Lowtidesmell · Member

I just dont want to study again. Im having a tough time committing to something that is a backup plan if my current spot is no longer worth it.

DetailBoss · Member

Exactly.

not difficult, just an inconvenience for everyone doing it.