Unemployed for months or making minimum wage during the Great Recession that’s now grinding past its second year or longer?
Working two lousy jobs in a county with 12.1 percent unemployment, to make enough to survive?
Many men and women who spend half their days looking for jobs, some traveling on C-Tran buses, could be behind the wheel of a powerful police cruiser, blazing around a 2.7-mile road course while learning to drive fast safely at the Washington State Patrol Academy in Shelton.
Unlike many businesses these days, the WSP is actively looking for applicants and now has 60 vacant trooper positions statewide, due to a large number of retirements, officials say. In fact, the WSP has trouble getting enough qualified candidates to fill training classes.
To attract more applicants, the patrol is offering monthly testing, and those who make it through the screening process get paid while they spend about six months training to be a trooper.
Trooper cadets make about $39,000 a year, which rises to $47,000 if they pass the academy and become a trooper. The trooper salary can rise to $68,000, and more for higher-ranking jobs, said Dan Coon, a spokesman for the WSP.
By comparison, the entry-level salary for a Clark County Sheriff’s Office deputy is about $46,000 and can rise to about $64,700. Officers with the Vancouver Police Department earn more, about $55,700 to start and rising to about $74,700, but that agency isn’t hiring entry-level officers. The police department, though, is seeking applications from experienced police officers.
The 26-week WSP academy involves late-night studying and getting up early for fitness training similar to boot camp.
The academy has classes in investigating collisions and much more. The academy even has a large water tank where cadets learn to escape from a submerged vehicle and help others escape, as well. For the last eight weeks before graduating, cadets trade classroom studies to ride with training officers on active patrols around the state, working on actual traffic stops and emergency calls.
Being a trooper isn’t for everybody, but it’s a fit for some, said Trooper Steve Schatzel, who has worked for the WSP for 20 years, all in the greater Vancouver area.
Schatzel, 58, now is the district spokesman. He also goes after license cheaters who buy their car licenses in Oregon but live in Clark County, depriving Washington of revenue for licenses and fees. It’s against the law and a problem that costs Washington millions of dollars that could be used for projects benefitting the public.
“I’ve enjoyed it a lot,” Schatzel said of his career. “It’s exciting at times and it’s challenging.”
Like other troopers, he works to take drunk and otherwise dangerous drivers off the roads, to prevent collisions.
“When you can stop something bad from happening, before it happens, that’s always a good day,” Schatzel said. “Our mission is traffic safety.”
Schatzel also is trained for collateral duties including executive protection, basically being a bodyguard for the governor’s office, and technical investigation of collisions. He’s also a firearms specialist, inspecting and fixing troopers’ guns in the district, which includes Clark, Lewis, Cowlitz, Skamania and Klickitat counties.
The next testing starts at the academy, about 25 miles north of Olympia, at 8 a.m. Dec. 4. Those who want to test must download an application from the WSP website and turn it in.
Both written and fitness tests are given — and about one-third of applicants fail the physical part, officials say. Oddly, fewer men and women between 20 and 29 years old pass the fitness test than those in the 30-39 year age group.
The WSP uses the Cooper Institute fitness assessments which, depending on sex and age group, spell out how many pushups must be done in a minute, how many sit-ups in a minute and the time allowed to run 1½ miles. The requirements, detailed on the WSP website, aren’t for couch potatoes. However, those who fail can try again later.
Job requirements
The WSP requires that applicants have completed high school, but doesn’t require college. Applicants must be at least 19½, U.S. citizens and have a valid driver’s license. Troopers can retire after 25 years and must retire at age 65.
Once past the first part, there are medical and psychological exams, interviews and polygraph and background tests. Felony convictions disqualify candidates, but the WSP is tolerant of some lesser misdemeanor convictions in the past. The agency doesn’t tolerate any lying, and the agency has ways of learning the truth, Coon said.
“Our big thing is, just tell us,” he said.
When people think of troopers, it’s often for traffic enforcement and investigating crashes. But there are other assignments: aviation, K-9 teams, detectives who investigate drugs and organized crime, explosives disposal, SWAT.
What sort of people make it as troopers?
There’s an emphasis on wanting to help people, having common sense, taking the initiative to make decisions and knowing what’s right and wrong, Coon said. Troopers also have to learn how to deal with trouble, including physical violence.
“Good and bad people drive, and we run into them,” Coon said. “We see good things and bad things. You have to have confidence in your abilities and skills, and just be confident knowing your fellow troopers are trained like you are.”
He added: “One of the things we look for in people we hire is people who understand humility. A, that’s our motto and B, we treat people with respect.”
The motto is “Service With Humility.”
The WSP has other jobs besides troopers, including dispatchers, commercial vehicle enforcement officers, fire marshals and forensic scientists.
Those interested can visit http://www.wsp.wa.gov and, on the top bar, select Employment. Or call Trooper Dena Hazuka at 360-239-4904 or e-mail her at dena.hazuka@wsp.wa.gov.
John Branton: 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.
