ROCKFORD, Mich. – The Michigan State Police Department is looking to fill a gap in employment.
“We are so far down in troopers,” said Lt. Chris McIntire with the Michigan State Police, “Our troopers’ strength are at levels from really back in the ’60s and ’70s.”
This year, MSP has the money in the budget to hire more troopers. The problem becomes finding the right people to hire. Lt. McIntire said of the 3,000 to 4,000 expected to apply for positions, they are hoping to find 107 new state troopers.
It’s a problem they are happy to have.
“We are having some regularity to our schools so hopefully we see the numbers increase.”
There are two more recruit schools planned for January and May of 2014.
According to Lt. McIntire the application process is rather simple. “For us, all you have to have is a GED or high school diploma.”
He said it does help if you have a degree or a military background, “It’s preparing you to enter into a career with a paramilitary lifestyle.”
After the application process we start to see how the numbers are whittled down, “We’re one of the most difficult departments to get into in regards to our background investigations, our oral interviews, pre-screening interviews and all the things that we had to do, but from an education standpoint we are the easiest to get into,” he said.
Once you are conditionally employed, you are shipped off for a 21-week paid recruit school.
There is a reason only 2% of the people that apply for the position actually become a trooper. The job requires troopers to be in high stress situations and this type of interview is a way to simulate what they can expect on the job.
According to the MSP website, the base salary for these positions is $41,000. If you are interested in applying for a position visit mi.gov/MSPjobs
