Employment Counselor

1. How do you become an employment counselor?
2. What does your job entail?
3. What populations of people do you typically work with?
4. What is the most difficult aspect of your job?

Substance Abuse Counselor

1. Why did you decide to work in the substance abuse field?
2. Does being exposed to people in difficult situations affect you?
3. Have you ever felt in danger while at your job? If so, why?
4. What signs do you look for in a client who is committed to sobriety?

O.R. Nurse

1. How do you manage your emotions when seeing people in surgery?
2. What training/education is required to be an Operating Room Nurse?
3. What is the most interesting part of your job?
4. How much interaction do you have with the patient before and/or after surgery?

Electrician

1. What training/education is required?
2. How do you ensure that you won't get shocked?
3. What tools do you typically use on the job site?
4. Are you ever concerned for your safety? If so, how do you handle that situation?

Business Owner

1. How did you decide on the business that you started?
2. What is most challenging about owning your own business? What is most rewarding?
3. How do you manage dealing with difficult employees?
4. What education and/or training did you find helpful to have when starting your own business?

Sports medicine/Athletic Trainer

1. How do you know what injury a player may have by looking at it?
2. What made you decide to become an athletic trainer?
3. Do you enjoy working with younger athletes? Why or why not?
4. What are your long term plans in this field?

Police Officer

1. Have you been in situations in which you feared for your life? If so, how were you able to manage that?
2. What is most challenging about dealing with the public?
3. What did police training entail?
4. How do you manage your personal life and the challenges of your job?
5. How do you manage the potential fears of your loved ones about your job?

Hello all. I have been a police officer for six years and am currently assigned to the patrol division as a patrolman or "beat cop". My time as a police officer has open my eyes to an entirely different world, where I have seen and heard things that people have never experience nor should ever experience. You would think that the people I deal with on a day-to-day basis are people like you and I, and although that may be the case a majority of the time, I also deal with people who are very different. But you have to take into count that people usually needing the police are in some type of distress, whether needing to report a car accident, a theft, an assault, or simply needing some advise. When I was asked to answer your questions, I was thrilled to try to explain what my day at work is like. 1. Have you been in situations in which you feared for your life? If so, how were you able to manage that? I have been in a number of stressful situations where my life may have been on the line but to say that I feared for my life... I would say no. Everyone handles stress differently. During a stressful situation for me, as lame as it may sound, I tend to be focused. My training may have a lot to do with that. I'm not scared during an intense moment mainly because my adrenaline is at full force. After the situation has deescalated, depending on the outcome, I too come down and begin to think about what happened and on many occasions how bad that could have gone. An example. Around 0230 hours while working the midnight shift, my partner and I were driving past a gas station. Just as we were driving by, we noticed a male exiting the store at a quick pace wearing all black with his hood over his head. Just then, the clerk came out of the store and appeared to be waving us down. My partner shouted to me "They were just robbed!" We quickly pulled up to the clerk and asked if everything was okay. He said everything was fine that the guy leaving in all black just bought cigarettes. Our adrenaline went up then back down within a matter of a minute. We then went to look for this suspicious male. After checking the grounds of the neighboring closed businesses, we noticed a parked car tucked behind one of the businesses. The car was running. As we approached, the car turned off. The car was occupied by two males, both of which were wearing black, pants, hooded sweatshirts, shoes, gloves, beanies, and had bandanas nearby. After getting them out of the car and searched for any weapons, we began asking what they were doing. They said "We were just hanging out". After consent to search the car, we discovered two loaded handguns. Both parties denied knowing they were there. Subsequently, both were arrested for conspiring to rob the gas station. During an interview of one of the suspects, he mentioned that he was going to shoot us in the head knowing that we were wearing vest. Less than 18 hours after this incident on that same date, my wife gave birth to my second child. I though a lot about my family after the fact and how differently that may have gone and that made me fearful. 2. What is most challenging about dealing with the public? I deal with the public everyday and I would have to say that the most challenging part would be whether or not they are cooperative when dealt with or treat me with at least that same amount of respect that I give them. It’s not my intention to come to work and get completely abused by society due to my position or profession. I, for one, give people the respect and common courtesy they deserve even when they are out of line. When hired, we were told that we needed be thick skinned or able to withstand more than the average person when it comes to being verbally abused. But, it’s hard sometimes not to take things personally when the public indirectly insults me, or my family or even wants to cause harm to me. I am like everyone else when it comes to work, I come in, I do what I have to do, and I go home. Unfortunately, there have been too many Police Officer’s that never make it home to there families. 3. What did police training entail? In the state of NH, every sworn police officer has completed the police academy, which consist of fourteen intense weeks of training. This training is para-military based and consists of marching, physical training, hand to hand combat, baton training, OC (pepper spray) training, drivers training, weapons training, and lectures on laws, ethics, and first aid to name a few. When you begin the academy, you are required to live on site Monday through Friday. When you arrive on day one, all of your freedoms are left at the door and are slowly given back when they feel you deserve them. Your day begins at 0530 for physical training. Between breakfast, lunch and dinner, you are given blocks of instruction on a variety of topics. After dinner, you then return to the lecture hall for your test. After the test is your personal time to study, clean the barracks, shine your boots, and press your uniforms. At 2045, it was motivational hour where the cadre would come up with events that required teamwork and strategy. After this, we had a short time to clean up before lights out at 2130. And repeat. Although it may not sound like fun, I really enjoyed it mainly for the training and the invaluable information and also for the comradery. 4. How do you manage your personal life and the challenges of your job? When dealing with trying to manage my personal life with my job, I tend to keep them separated. For example, I rarely come home in uniform and I’m not one to advertise that I am a cop. I do this mainly for personal reasons because I don’t want to draw negative attention to my family or myself that may cause a problem. Because of my work schedule, it’s sometime hard to get time off for family events to include holidays because, unlike like a lot of other jobs, the police department is a 24 hours, 365 days a year operation. I sometimes tell my wife about my day and give a gist as to what happened but I don't give every detail. I do enjoy being a police officer and although I may sound a little negative, I understand it is a thankless line of work. It makes me proud to be a police officer when someone genuinely says "Thank you". 5. How do you manage the potential fears of your loved ones about your job? I worked the on midnight shift for four years and my wife always told me that she hated that shift. She tells me because one, she didn't like being home alone at night and second, that the crimes that happen at night are usually violent and the risk of injury is much greater. I tried explaining to her that every shift has it's pros and cons. The day shift has bank robberies and daytime home invasions, the evening shift has a high volume of domestic disputes, and the midnight shift has more DWI's, bar fights and weapon related incidences. I didn't work the midnight the shift because she didn't like it, honestly, I did it partially to earn my dues, because I believe the attitude on that shift better sooted me, and the pure rush of excitement. I was married before becoming a police officer and I actually sat down with my wife and discussed possibly choosing law enforcement as a career choice before making any decisions. I will always remember that when I was going through the hiring process with my department, a part of the process was that a few guys come to your house to meet your family. The sergeant told me that regardless what happens during your career, just remember, family always come first.