Recently we spoke with retired police officer Mark Udy about his experiences as a law enforcement officer and what it takes to be a cop. Udy was a SWAT officer and worked on the K9 team, and now teaches at the Police Academy. If you want to become a police officer or have a criminal justice career, check out this video interview and see the transcript below.

It’s not mundane, it’s never going to be the same. What you did yesterday will not what you do today. There’s no script for the day.

My name’s Mark Udy, I’m a retired police officer and my title during my career was SWAT, K9, DARE, and a motor officer. I didn’t really have an official title, other than I was a K9 officer most of the time during the last half of my career. Currently I’m teaching law enforcement, marshal skills, and then firearms.

I did go through the police academy, it’s about a 12-14 week program, very intense, you’re going 8-10 hours a day, 5 days/week, a few Saturdays. I’m certified to teach for the police academy, about six different classes which is some certifications that go with that. Some of the weapons certifications that I have, some of the explosives certifications that I have. All of those things contributed to my education as far as law enforcement, and it was a growing process, it’s not something I had to do all in my first 14 weeks in the academy. But we had ongoing training, and in law enforcement, you have to continue law enforcement training. Most of the people that I worked with continued to go to college and get degrees in criminal justice, and get degrees in accounting and stuff like that, because all of those participate in the investigative process.

When you start your shift, when you call 1041 on duty, you’re ready to go to work and that could mean that you’re going to get a call as soon as you check on and have to go take care of a traffic accident, or a domestic violence issue, or a burglary or a robbery, or something else that’s going on and those dynamics may be instant. On your travel into a briefing, you may have a speeder that you need to pull over and write a ticket to, I mean, there’s just, there’s no structure as to, “here’s what you’re going to do for the next hour.” It doesn’t happen in law enforcement, which is really probably the most exciting part of the career.

There’s a lot of patrol work. In other words, you’re just kind of being community oriented policing, being out in the neighborhood where people can see you. There’s a ton of report writing, documentation of incidences. Every incident, no matter how small, as simple as unlocking a car, clear up to arresting someone, there’s a lot of documentation that occurs, and so there’s a lot of stuff that gets done on a daily basis.

The more education that you get in any given area is actually going to serve you well in that you’ll know what you need to do and you’ve learned the process of learning. In the career of law enforcement, learning the process of going through and learning things is probably most critical as you enter that field.

Evidence technicians are a critical and intricate part of law enforcement and there are a lot of classes, a lot of colleges that have in their criminal justice system as well as evidence techs that you can get certified, still makes you police officer, you still work in the industry, but you’re not necessarily out on the street. There’s a lot of evidence gathering that has nothing to do with chasing bad guys, as the case may be.

Being a good communicator is key as far as law enforcement, and learning how to understand the personality of people. A criminal justice degree, they teach you about psychology, and so that you understand how to diffuse situations verbally, versus “hey, you know what, we’re just the big guys, we’re going to come in and do what we want.” So that’s really important, skills that you learn in law enforcement.

I loved being a cop. I’m telling ya, it is the funnest career and a lot of reasons for that. One, the dynamics of being a police officer, again, day to day, I’m not stuck in a cubicle. I was fortunate enough to be a patrol officer where I got to drive around and deal with problems. I was fortunate enough to be on SWAT, which is an exciting part of the career and that was part of the biggest reason I wanted to get started because of the excitement of that. And then to be able to teach DARE and be in K9 and even the opportunity to ride motors, I had the opportunity to do all of the fun stuff in law enforcement. But like anything else there’s a lot of work that comes with accomplishing all those type of things.

Being a police officer is probably the greatest career on earth.

To learn more about a law enforcement or criminal justice career, check out My Colleges and Careers!

Recently we caught up with Licensed Massage Therapist Messina Kerr to talk to us about her rewarding career in massage therapy. If you’re thinking about going into massage therapy, check out this video to learn more about the industry, the benefits of massage, and the job options available after graduation. You can also read the transcription below.

My massage education is the only reason I am where I am. It taught me all the necessary tools that I needed to be able to go out, perform my art, and be able to be successful and work in a professional industry. I am able to massage and do what I love because of my education.

A regular day as a massage therapist in the office is answering phone calls and scheduling, of course your massages and bodywork, refilling your supplies and restocking things, and then also putting the word out about your business and your name and getting to know the general public to bring in the clientele.

You have to be able to reach out to the client and make them feel comfortable in a very vulnerable situation and make them feel at home. And so that might not be always your comfort level, it’s changed to theirs. So as long as you can do that, you’ll really benefit in being a massage therapist.

Anyone who actually feels they have the skills and the natural ability to become a massage therapist I think should just go and sign up for school. It’s a 12-month program or shorter, depending on where you go and on what your state requirements are. There’s so many options, there’s no reason not to go.

You have three different paths you can take. There’s one: becoming an employee, where you don’t have to worry about bringing in your clientele, it’s there when you walk in the door. Two: you can be a independent contractor which is where you’re more based by yourself, and you bring some of your clientele, but the main aspects are taken care of by someone over you. And then there’s also owning your own business is where you control who comes in and out of your business, you control how busy or un-busy you are, and what hours you have.

I feel that massage has such a big impact on our overall well-being, not just the muscles and our structure, but also just the mental and the whole aspect of our bodies and our well-being. I know that it can really help heal the heart and the soul and there are so many people who don’t need massage for the muscles or for the knots in your body, but for that human contact, that human touch that so many people lack. And massage therapy can do that. It’s not just for the athletes, it’s not just for the people in car accidents, it’s for everybody. Everybody can benefit from massage.

I’m a professional, I’m a massage therapist and I love what I do, helping people one hour, one day at a time and if I never see them again, I know I made that difference, just if it was for that hour. Being a massage therapist is seriously the best thing that ever happened to me.

To learn more about a massage therapist career, check out My Colleges and Careers!

For the next three Fridays we will be publishing an interview with a legal secretary from New York, Ellen Adams, to help give you an idea about what a legal assistant career is like. This vocation is expected to grow at a faster-than-expected rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, making it a reliable career choice for the future.

1. What is your job description?
   

   Legal Assistant Career. Photo: highere.com

   It used to be legal secretary. Now, they call us “assistants.” It’s merely semantics. The job is the same, and the salary, unlike the name, has remained the same. Instead of corporate executives, we assist attorneys, who are officers of the court, in the representation of their clients’ interests and challenges in running their businesses and ensuring that they avoid any pitfalls that could have a negative impact of their company’s bottom. We make sure that all legal documents are prepared properly and that any and all legal documents that have to be filed are in compliance with applicable requirements of the law and rules of conducting of their day to day operations.

2. Describe a typical day on the job.

   First, let me say that I primarily work for a multi-tasking micro managing partner, an associate, a legal specialist and a project analyst. Gone are the days of one-on-one assignments. The mantra is “you work for the ‘firm,” and so you find that you are assigned to work with 2 to 4 people. Generally, I check in with my attorneys and then log on and check e-mail traffic to determine what documents and correspondence need to be printed for review by the attorneys, as well as any materials sent by clients for teleconference meetings. While documents are printing, the calendar is simultaneously being reviewed to confirm and/or revise any client appointments, conference calls, meetings, etc.Filing is a critical skill to have. Even though it is absolutely MY LEAST FAVORITE THING TO DO, knowing the firm’s filing program is crucial. You need to be able to find attorney notes, pleadings, contracts, correspondence at any given time, so making sure that things are filed properly is an integral part of any assistant’s job.The phones are usually ringing and any messages are written down AND sent by e-mail so that the attorneys can respond in a timely manner. Lunch is a gift – it is not uncommon to find yourself working through lunch or eating at your desk. I still use my Gregg shorthand (I’m a real “veteran”), and the partner with whom I work loves to dictate, so I’m usually in and out of his office taking letters, memos, e-mail messages, etc. Many tasks are handled by telephone. Meetings can happen on a moment’s notice and you use whatever software the firm purchases to book a conference room, travel arrangements, etc. Many of our clients are watching their respective budgets, which is why so much is done electronically or telephonically. Often you find that you are juggling mini and maxi crises, and you adjust accordingly. I sometimes refer to it as “playing ‘octopus’”. It definitely helps to keep your brain sharp.

3. What is the most rewarding part of being a legal secretary?

   Well, you are providing services to individuals and corporations and that, in and of itself, can be rewarding. You also learn a lot about WHY things happen the way they do and how the law works to people’s advantage or disadvantage if they are not prepared or the proper forms are not filed for conducting any business transaction(s). Attorneys provide a valuable service and help people avoid mistakes, defend their rights, and resolve disputes, whenever they arise. If they listen, it keeps thing running smoothly; if they choose not to, the attorneys help them resolve the challenges they face. A lot of things are preventative. You also get to see how contracts are created and why individuals and corporations obsess about various aspects of their business operations. You learn a great deal depending on the area of concentration that your attorneys choose to work in. There are so many different disciplines, it can be mind-boggling. But you are a part of an intricate process that is integral to the day to day operations of life in general and business in particular. It’s never dull.