How far ahead should I start to look for a job and how far from my ETS date should I be applying for jobs?

SPC (Join to see) do you know if either of those career choices operate on an annual cycle? I know the police departments where I live have an annual screen, test, selection and academy, swear in cycle that is 100% rigid. I would let that be your guide.

If you look in more general terms, many jobs will either be immediate advertise, interview, hire. Others may take weeks or months. The federal process is excruciatingly drawn out, unless they are DA Security Guards or Police. You'll potentially interview and be selected, then the qualification process slows it down....but you'll know something.

As a mechanic plenty of companies will hire you. Feel free to contact me for advice.

Start doing research on companies and start preparing your resume 6 months out. Don't start applying until 3 months before you are available to work. Work with your base transition office on your resume. Are you relocating?

Easier to get in with your local or state police. Apply for both. Get in, get trained and if you still want the feds, reapply with experience

local, state and federal law enforcement organizations are recruiting all over the place and some agencies have several hundred openings, Law enforcement needs good people as it appears the percentage of qualified applicants isn't what it was a few years ago, some departments are even offering thousands in hiring bonuses , all the best

Almost every single person I talk to tells me they are going to become a cop when they get out. Three top responses I hear when I ask Soldiers their plans: 1. Become a cop 2. Become a firefighter 3. Go to college

If you really intend to do this, (as opposed to "I'd like to...") you need to identify where you are going to live first. Then investigate the application process for the specific agencies you intend to apply to. Find out how long it will take. What steps can you begin while on active duty? Which do you need to do in person? What is the acceptance rate? What makes you more or less competitive? A lot of departments will tell you that they are hurting, or hiring, but fail to mention they only hired a handful of personnel in the last quarter. I have Soldiers at the border mission right now who all want to be border patrol. The BP is hurting to fill jobs, but they also lose 2/3rd of the applicants due to the background investigation and polygraph. Find out what the starting pay is, find out how much you should expect to lose to taxes, uniform costs, and union fees. Compare that to the cost of living in the area you will be. If that level of income isn't sustainable, then you may want to finish your degree before applying because many departments offer a higher salary to educated officers.

Be aware that you will most likely not be able to walk out of this job and right into the next one due to the complicated hiring process. You should budget for a few months of possible unemployment. Have a backup plan for that time because unemployment doesn't pay a whole lot.

A lot of those jobs are a six month to a year hiring process, so start now. If you don't have an associates degree, knock out as much as possible between now and then, many agencies combine formal experience with college hours. I would not plan to wait until April to take leave, you may need some of it to go interview and test.

For the departments around where I live the hiring process is anywhere from two months to six months. You will need to be available to the department during the hire process because, most likely, you will have a written test, an interview in front of an interview board, a psych evaluation, a polygraph, and a drug screen. It won't hurt to start researching now and then about six months out start to finalize the list of places that you want to apply to and make darned sure that you meet their deadlines for documents.

About two months before you ship out for boot camp. (Not trying to be a jackass... even though I am) Establish contacts them and maintain them for any company for which you think you might want to work. When you have to make military career decisions, ask those civilian contacts for their input and insights. It isn't "sucking up." It's giving the client what they want, meaningful curriculum vitae.

If anyone you served with, and had a positive relationship with, is going into your desired field or a target company, maintain the contact.

6 months out