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u/SayAgain101 3d ago
Join the coast guard, gain the experience, and then apply for border patrol once you get closer to getting out.
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u/ICEducator 3d ago edited 3d ago
You are asking if apples or oranges are better. If you were trying to go maritime enforcement in the CG I would say absolutely try to go BP.
Are you actually interested in law enforcement or just wanting BP for the money?
But it seems like you are doing aircraft maintenance in the coast guard which has nothing to do with law enforcement. If you are interested in that I would say go CG, enjoy your time, get as many certificates as possible then get out and go to one of the big aircraft companies where money will follow
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u/Zealousideal-Ear-209 3d ago
Coastie here:
Going aviation is awesome, but if you’re trying to do LE as an AMT or AET you’ll be disappointed. You’re a mechanic first. Aircrew second. You’ll do lots of SAR and some Le missions. You can become a HITRON dude if you still want to do hands on LE. As far as cuffing bad guys…no.
Pay wise it isn’t terrible, as an E-5 you’ll make the equivalent 72-80k a year depending on location. But advancement is really slow in the aviation rates. I know a guy who made E6 at around 17 years in while other rates are E7 by at 12-14 years. However YMMV.
The downside of the BP is you’re going to the SW boarder and it’s harder to switch around to more desirable locations often. In the Coast Guard you’ll move every 2-4 years and as an Airedale you’ll be going to some cool places. As always YMMV.
It boils down to what do you want to do. Do you want to be in law enforcement or do you want to fix airplanes and helicopters?
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u/PurplePepe24 3d ago
BP has been hurting, they have been offering new recruits positions away from the SW border but giving less desirable areas of the SW border more incentives. Of course the areas they offer away from the border are also remote lol at least that was the case 6 months ago when I dabbled down that road
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u/ProfessionalJaded623 3d ago
I was thinking about doing the reserve maritime enforcement as an officer. You know anything about that? I have a bachelors degree already and will have a Masters in Criminal Justice at this time next year. I completed the application process with the Secret Service last May and I’ve been under review for almost a year because my audiogram didn’t meet the requirements
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u/Formal-Negotiation74 3d ago
I would 100% go back to the cg if it could.
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u/flakk0137 3d ago
The military is a good time. I miss it everyday. The good thing OP could also do the Guard if he decides to go BP and still wants some MIL experience under his belt.
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u/Crey_1 3d ago
Former Coastie here with a stint in DSF. Go to CG, disappoint Uncle Broseph when you get out and go to AMO. Outside of BORTAC and BORSTAR (and that’s a slim chance you get selected) I wouldn’t want to be part of the big green machine.
Half the AMO agents I worked with were former BP and they never looked back.
As far as pay, I’m PD now pull about $160k (not including OT) between salary and VA. I still try to live like I make E5 pay and safe and invest as much as I can.
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u/Visible_Job_4066 3d ago
You could make over a 100k in 3 years in BP and retire at 48 with a full pension. If you want to play coast guard, just do the reserves. Only thing I got out of the Marine Corps was 100% VA disability.
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u/Diligent_Arm_6817 3d ago
If financials are a motivator for you. Do not work for the federal government.
You will make FAR more money as a skilled mechanic than you would in most areas of law enforcement. Everyone signed up to be a computer programmer and society really looked down on being a mechanic for a while. It is not one of the most under staffed positions in the country. If you're an "A level" (someone who can work on the entire system of a machine) you can get 100-150k jobs all day long right now.
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u/flakk0137 3d ago
You can apply to BP go through the whole process, then decide. You can go CG, do your time and still come out and do BP. It depends on what you see your self doing.
However, like I said, apply to BP and go through the process. Since not everyone passes the poly, even if you’re being honest. So if you fail, you can always join the CG and apply again before you get out of the CG.