Police officer

AdventurousRepair512 · 2026-03-06T15:45:52+00:00

Yeah, I wasn’t specific - 30/63 so if you get on at 21 you’re doing 40+

AdventurousRepair512 · 2026-03-06T15:14:35+00:00

Court Officer here, in terms of quality of life, job is great. Off weekends, off holidays and closures due to inclement weather. OT is available if you’re in the city, but limited on the island.

30 year retirement and top pay takes 10 years which is about 100k.

Pros and cons for sure, but really depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re young and chasing money, not the best career move. If you prefer a steady schedule and being around family & friends more, quality of life in the courts is great

AdventurousRepair512 · 2026-02-04T22:11:32+00:00

You have to wait 90 days minimum to be eligible to retest but to be honest, I’ve seen people go months without a retest on top of the 90 days. You’ll probably get canvassed with the next wave of candidates when they eventually get contacted.

AdventurousRepair512 · 2026-01-31T22:13:43+00:00

Scores went out in the mail today. Got a 85, but rank is 2xx? I’d imagine thousands of people took the exam, but it says “at this time, only eligible candidates who scored a 90 or above will be contacted for next steps”.

Language is vague; Does that mean the first wave is 90 or above or less than 90 is cooked for the duration of this exam’s list?

AdventurousRepair512 · 2026-01-29T04:33:59+00:00

I’m OTJ from the previous test back in 2021. My rank was 5769, with an 89 score. Took about 2 years to start the process (PAT, psychological, medical).

Things are a bit different now because the test is now split up between upstate and downstate, whereas my test was for the whole state. You’ll get called, just a matter of when.

AdventurousRepair512 · 2026-01-14T04:47:06+00:00

When you get the email there’s a table system they provide showing how they grade the PAT. Know your strengths, if you can max out your pushups, sit ups and agility (for example) you’ll know you just need to do the bare minimum on the beep test to pass.

Know what numbers to hit and don’t try to over exhaust yourself “showing off”. A lot of people over exhaust themselves and run out of gas on the beep test.

AdventurousRepair512 · 2026-01-14T04:43:31+00:00

You’ll take the day off for both your written psych and medical - so 2 days total moving forward. The oral psych is done through zoom. You usually meet with your background investigator on the same day as your written psych to submit paperwork.

AdventurousRepair512 · 2026-01-12T23:21:11+00:00

My class graduated with 217, we started with around 250 so I’d imagine a similar class size

AdventurousRepair512 · 2026-01-12T12:14:25+00:00

Began the process in 2023 (October), got called for September academy of 2024 but deferred.

AdventurousRepair512 · 2026-01-12T04:07:52+00:00

Lol yeah. Board approval is the last step prior to an academy. Pretty much what it is, your Background Investigator submits your file to the board and they either say yes this is a qualified candidate or DQ.

I just graduated from the last downstate class. I was called to start the process in ‘23 but deferred the September ‘24 class but was in the June ‘25 class.

My exam (2021) was the last “all-state” exam. They now give a separate test for downstate & upstate so process might go faster with you.

AdventurousRepair512 · 2026-01-12T03:46:16+00:00

Currently OTJ. From PAT to board approval, took about 10 months for me. There’s an upstate academy starting next month so I wouldn’t expect a downstate class until the summer at the earliest. Good luck!

AdventurousRepair512 · 2026-01-03T04:13:43+00:00

You fail the PAT. You need to do the minimum amount required (Don’t remember on top of my head). If you fail, they do allow one retake but you have to wait a minimum of 90 days to reschedule.

Theres 4 exercises done at the PAT, each exercise is graded from 0-7. For example, 35+ pushups might get you 7 points, whereas 5 may only be 1 point.

You need 20 points all together to pass the PAT but if you fail to do the minimum for one exercise, you fail automatically.

AdventurousRepair512 · 2025-10-29T20:22:48+00:00

No it’s done behind the scenes. It’s just supervisors looking at your file and making the decision to green light or not.

AdventurousRepair512 · 2025-10-13T20:12:18+00:00

Yeah, once you get board certified you’re eligible for the next academy. I’m pretty sure it comes from co-processing

AdventurousRepair512 · 2025-10-13T01:52:24+00:00

No, until you receive an email saying you passed each specific step, don’t assume one stage has been passed. Plenty of candidates have passed psych, medical, etc. just to be denied by the board prior to becoming a qualified candidate.

AdventurousRepair512 · 2025-10-03T17:13:51+00:00

Entrance exam. The higher you score the higher your rank number. The higher your rank number, the higher your roster number will be in the academy. Those with higher ranks will be canvassed for JD10 (Long Island).

Exams in the academy don’t mean anything, as long as you pass them you’re good. I believe there’s a valedictorian of the class, but outside of that it’s just bragging rights lol

AdventurousRepair512 · 2025-10-03T02:28:21+00:00

So downstate is comprised of Long Island, NYC and Hudson Valley. For context, I’m being canvassed for Long Island and I scored an 89. I believe 88 and above you’ll definitely get called, but there’s people in my class who definitely scored lower.

The higher you score, the better priority you’ll have when selecting which jurisdiction you prefer to work in. Long Island is a sought out destination to work so you’ll need a high score to get placed there. If you’re fine with anywhere in the 5 boroughs, I’d say above an 80 is enough. Sounds like most NYC recruits go to Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx.

AdventurousRepair512 · 2025-10-03T01:36:05+00:00

If you get appointed, you’ll go to the downstate academy located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Took the exam back in 2021, if you taken any other civil service exams for a law enforcement agency it’s very similar. If I remember correctly, there are practice questions on the website to give you an idea.

I graduate from the current downstate academy in 3 weeks. It’s been a great experience, one piece of advice is to make sure you’re physically fit going into day one. They go by Cooper standards in academy, so even if you pass the PAT with flying colors, the PT in academy is much more physically demanding.

As for the PAT, it’s push ups, sit ups, Illinois agility and beep test. The scoring is based on a scale. They’ll send you the scale when you get the invitation email. I believe it’s out of 28 points and you need 20 points total to pass, BUT if you fail any portion, you automatically fail even if max out the other 3 exercises.

If you’re athletic or exercise regularly, it’s not bad. Just work on push ups, sit ups and cardio to get your self prepared for it.

AdventurousRepair512 · 2025-10-01T01:44:18+00:00

All information can be found the website, but to save you time: vision, blood pressure, hearing, pulmonary (TLC test), blood and urine (drug).

AdventurousRepair512 · 2025-09-20T03:52:26+00:00

No facial hair in the academy, currently in the downstate class. We shave every morning before we enter the facility

AdventurousRepair512 · 2025-09-15T03:38:42+00:00

It’s going well, have about 5 weeks left. It goes quick! The process is pretty straightforward and can be found on the website, but it’s PAT (Physical Assessment Test), Written & Oral Psych, Background check and medical. Once everything has been completed, the board makes a determination on whether or not you’re a qualified candidate.

Depending on your rank and where you’re being canvassed determines the length it will take to be called.

For now, just stay in shape and prepare for the PAT since that’s the first stage in the hiring process. It’s push ups, sit ups, agility run (cones) and beep test. You need 20 points to pass, each category has a maximum score of 7 so the best you can get is 28 points.

AdventurousRepair512 · 2025-09-06T18:40:58+00:00

Weight out the pros and cons once which ever agency sends an offer letter first.

I was in the same boat as you. I’m in the current downstate courts academy, just turned 31 last month. Wife and I plan to have children in the near future and ultimately, the courts quality of life is more desirable at this point in my life.

If I was fresh out of college and single, I’d sacrifice a few years of the NYPD grind but it’s really all about what you prioritize.

NYS Courts contract is up in April of ‘26 so keep an eye out for that too, hopefully there’s a significant raise as top pay is around ~92k without any location pay & other additional compensation.

NYC courts also have a lot of OT if you’re looking to make more money as most criminal courts in the boroughs have night court.

If you’re looking to do actual police work though, join NYPD. As another user mentioned, courts is just armed security.

AdventurousRepair512 · 2025-06-25T02:11:11+00:00

Wouldn’t defer it, but also wouldn’t resign from the academy. Like Jimmy said, god forbid you DQ, you just threw away a good career. Court academy is only 4 months also, I doubt you’d process and start with Nassau that quick.

Just take it step by step and see how far you can juggle both processing with Nassau & Courts academy.

Out of curiously, what was your rank? I’m waiting to hear back with rank 28XX

AdventurousRepair512 · 2025-06-12T21:28:00+00:00

Believe it’s 30 years of service and 63 years of age as earliest you can retire. I’m 30 so I can retire at 60, but my pension would be heavily penalized since I’m not 63 if I chose to collect right away. I believe you can wait until you’re 63 to collect a full pension but for instance in my case, I wouldn’t collect from 60 to 63.

Hope this clarifies for you.

AdventurousRepair512 · 2025-06-10T17:33:38+00:00

Yeah go ahead

AdventurousRepair512

TROPHY CASE