Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Job description

Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs enforce law and order in rural or unincorporated districts or serve legal processes of courts. May patrol courthouse, guard court or grand jury, or escort defendants.

• Investigate illegal or suspicious activities.
• Drive vehicles or patrol specific areas to detect law violators, issue citations, and make arrests.
• Take control of accident scenes to maintain traffic flow, to assist accident victims, and to investigate causes.
• Verify that the proper legal charges have been made against law offenders.

Salary

Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs with little to no experience tend to make between $35750 and $45740 while the more experienced ones can earn over $81730 per year.

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff is to move to a higher paying state like CA. Right now, the highest paying states for Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs are CA, AK, NJ, WA and IL.

However, a higher pay at CA doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at CA might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.

Requirements

We asked other Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a High School Diploma followed by a Post-Secondary Certificate.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff.

What is the job like

70% of Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs said they were satisfied with their job and 72% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

Is this right for me

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like starting up and carrying out projects. They like leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business..

They also like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

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