The reality as the junior man You will have the last choice as to shifts. Shift choice in most Police Departments is by seniority and provided for in the case of the Department I belonged to by our collection bargaining Agreement (Union Contract) Rotating schedules involved seven days a week rotation with days off changing every week. Administrative schedules for certain jobs were usually Monday to Friday. Some that did go to school attended by adjusting Mids often gave You more time flexibility, Days for night course or swing shift for day courses. Keep in mind that Court appearances are during the weekdays and If Your required to be there that isn't an option. When I entered the PD I already had a BS degree in Criminal Justice which actually raised My weekly pay 20% IAW the Quinn bill under the Massachusetts General Laws. Police work by its nature is a 24/7 operation and usually constantly rotating shifts and days off. We could swap an individual shift with another officer but it had to be in writing to insure both of You agreed and understood and within the same pay week You would have to ask LAPD itself, anyone here, Myself included with give the answers to what is most common.

PFC (Join to see) Call and talk to a LAPD recruiter. When I was discharged, I started working at a chemical plant as an operator. When I worked the day or graveyard shift, I would go to night classes. When I worked the evening shift, I would go to day classes. The problem with this, is that often the night classes would be a week behind the day classes, so the same material would be covered again that was covered the week before. I did land an evening operator job that allowed me to go to school during the day and work the evening shift (2 p.m. to 10 p.m.). After five and a half years, I had my degree, and started working at the career that i wanted.

Your schedule will always be changing. Assignments, especially in patrol, are generally based on seniority. If you're the junior guy you can expect to work the least desirable watch and days off. With that said, I had weekdays off for several years and that facilitated me attending school on my days off.