‘Pay her way more’: Police officer’s salary shocks Aussies
A Queensland police officer is going viral for sharing her salary with one Aussie claiming it is flat-out “insulting”.
Aussies have been left shocked and outraged after a Queensland police officer revealed her salary.
The working officer revealed her salary in a now-viral TikTok clip after being stopped by the social media team at Getahead.
This app works like Tinder but for jobs, and runs a successful social media series asking Aussies about what they do for a living and how much they earn.
“I’m a scenes of crimes officer with the forensic Queensland police,” she said, and then added she earns “just under six-figures” at the moment.
“It changes with every rank that you are within the police.”
The police officer explained that she had been in the job for eight years, but had attended university before joining the force.
“I have a bachelor of science behind me prior to policing,” she said.
“I did two to three years of general policing, and then I went over to scenes of crime, which is the forensic unit.”
MORE: Australia’s fastest growing salaries revealed
The Queensland officer said that she loves her job, gets along really well with her boss and finds the work rewarding.
She said there is also plenty of support available to help with the mental toll that can come with being a frontline worker.
“The best part about my job is I find out who the offender was. I’m the reason why investigators arrest certain people,” she said.
She also shared that it being in the police is certainly not a typical 9-5 gig, and when things are happening, she can work extra hours and for days at a time.
“There’s a lot of overtime associated with my job,” she said.
“The longest job I have been at would be a week. Obviously, we go home for sleep and food, but you are there for about 12 hours every day.”
MORE: Aussie jobs paying over $150,000 revealed
The clip has garnered over 200,000 views and Aussies were shocked to learn that an officer with such extensive experience would not be earning six-figures.
“Police should be paid at least $200k a year! Their mental health is very important for their role,” one argued.
“This woman is awesome. They need to pay her way more,” someone else said.
“That is not much money at all,” another remarked.
“Probationary constables start on $98k in NSW. This is sad,” someone else said.
“That is so low,” another wrote.
Someone else argued that the policed officer is properly just referring to her base salary, and she would be making more with overtime and bonuses.
Another claimed her wage is an “insult to our first responders”, and someone else said it is “disgusting” that police officers are putting their lives on the line and are earning under six figures.
According to the Job search platform SEEK, the average salary for a police officer in Australia is between $60,000 $70,000, but it varies based on state and role.
