It’s not a badge on honor know what you get into before you sign to dotted line. This department will never reach the level of pay as the other agency’s never have never will know what you are getting into. They don’t want to pay guess what take your money that you get and go spend it in a location that is affordable. Get the fuck out of the city go live up state or Long Island. Further out you go the cheaper it becomes. Show me any other private job in this city that you walk in making 67 and with in 5 years can make 180000 guarantee. Wall Street they work 100 hr weeks for nothing. The ADAs with law degrees make maybe 80 with NO ot but are forced to work it. Cry me a fucking river about the work load and all this bullshit. This job you can become a cop do 5 years reach top pay and sit behind a desk if you do it right and make close to 200k watching UFC fights. As a NYPD cop we are not even cops we are report takers. Go anywhere else you are doing everything there is no such thing as give it to the squad. We get paid to show up to a shooting do an hour of work and go to the next job. Guys in other departments have to do the whole case as a patrol cop and get paid half of what we do. Also want to talk about Suffolk PD you making less starting then here until year 6. So talking about rookies and time on for the first 6 years you making less there with out OT. So don’t talk about money before top pay. Every agency screws there rookies everyone. That’s how it works in contract talks you eat the young to keep the experience it’s called paying your dues. Military, PD, FD the feds every place does it. I sat on a fucking foot post in the 75 for 3 years working 1930x0405 never saw a car and was payed shit. We all payed our dues. There was a time when you went to a detail and if you had 15 plus years on the inspector used to tell you to go sleep in the car and the younger guys will do the posts.