My name is Zac Richters Nielsen, and I'm a first-year constable here at the Whitsunday Police Station.

I always wanted to be a police officer since I was a little kid, maybe around 3 or 4. That's always been in the back of my mind, and then eventually I applied, and here I am.

During the application process, you put down where you would like to go. They run through in your district what stations are there, and you have to pick your preferences. So I put Airlie Beach first. Fortunately enough, I was able to get that station.

My favourite part about being a police officer in Queensland is the different range of things you go to and the different experiences that you have. One minute we'll be going down to the main street where all the bars and the bistros are, or we'll be called out to a suburban area.

Sometimes I go out with water police to attend different jobs with maritime safety. Sometimes there's jobs on an island, cruise ships out on the reef, and stuff like that as well.

So a day on shift for me looks like coming into the station, getting all kitted up into this gear, looking at what jobs are already existing on the system, and then looking at my task list and building up a plan of action on what jobs take priority, what tasks need to be actioned, and then going from there.

Being a young police officer, I definitely think it has the potential to change me as a person, but I also think it has the potential to change me for the best. This gives me a wide range of experience and exposure to things that I wouldn't normally be exposed to.

What I find most rewarding about policing is you get to learn who you are on a better level, so you're put into situations that you wouldn't typically be in, and you really get to either excel in those or try and improve and adapt, and you're constantly always learning and adapting to different scenarios.

Where I see myself in the QPS is I've always wanted to be a general duties officer, but since joining, I've learned that there are so many different roles out there that can be explored. So if I was to do anything other than general duties, I'd be really interested in water policing.

If someone asked me why they should become a police officer, I'd say overall, it's extremely rewarding for different aspects. It’s rewarding personally because you get to grow as a person and you get to experience things that the general public doesn't get to experience.

You get to help people, whether it's on the worst day of their lives or the best day of their lives. So you get to be an influence and a role model in the community. There's so many things to see and so many things to experience, and I love it.

My name is Meaghan Drew. I'm a Constable at the Mount Isa Police Station.

So I was working in a job that was a bit mundane. Every day was the same, I just wanted a change. Then a few friends of mine told me that I'd make a great police officer, so I thought I'd give it a go.

Now I get to make a difference in someone else's life every day.

I ended up in Mt. Isa because I wanted to try something different, and I thought at the beginning of my career it would be the best time to try a new area away from the city and try something a bit more rural.

It's a great culture in Mt. Isa. Everyone's really family-friendly. It's a close knit culture as we're all out here together, so everyone gets along really, really well.

Living in Queensland, getting to travel around the state on days off, enjoying this summer sun all year round basically. Enjoying the outback or the beach, or wherever you might end up in Queensland, there's something for everyone.

I find work-life balance at the QPS really good. You can take the opportunity and take all the extra work that you want, or you do have a lot of days off that you can spend with family.

Outside of work, I spend majority of time with my beautiful wife, Bella, and our two little dogs. We do a lot of gardening, cooking, I play a bit of golf, I like to go for walks, go to cafes. I love not being desk-bound and tied to a boring job.

There's so many avenues that you can take in your career. There's so many different departments and you're sort of spoiled for choice, I guess, as to what you can do in your career.

If you're considering a career change, just give it a go. I wish I did it sooner. I just can't imagine doing anything else.

My name is Constable Jarwin Blackman. I'm a General Duties police officer at the Maroochydore police station. I'm a proud Goreng Goreng and Waka Waka man. My heritage is Aboriginal and South Sea Islander.

One of my favourite things about being a police officer is community engagement. And that's being able to go out in the community and speak with people, particularly youths and, you know, just build a really strong relationships with those kids to make them see  police in a positive light. So those kind of moments are what I really enjoy about the job.

Being a First Nations police officer is special to me, because I am in a position where I can connect through mob through culture. I find it really rewarding to be a role model to our First Nations people, and I'm able to influence Mob in the community and inspire them to make positive choices, given the historical context between First Nations people and police.

I'm a proud Aboriginal man and I'm in the Queensland Police Service. I feel like the Service needs to have other First Nations people to help improve moving into the future.

Now, I'm fortunate to be able to sometimes fit in a surf before work, after work. In Maroochydore the beach is literally two minutes from my station, so I'm very lucky in that regard. And there's no better feeling than finishing work and going straight out and getting a wave.

The best thing about policing in Queensland is that this state has so much to offer people.

There's a lot of different locations that you can work in all the way from, you know, the beaches out through to the desert and then up through central Queensland, up to far north Queensland, where the rainforest meets the beach.

There's a lot of variety in the work that we do. No two jobs are ever the same. We meet a lot of different people. You know, we have an amazing team. There's a lot of camaraderie
and we're really like one big family.

Being able to help someone and make a difference no matter how big. It's a very rewarding feeling. At the end of the day when we go home, it's comforting to know that we have done something to help someone, and they'll probably remember that for the rest of their lives.

When I was younger, I thought about being a police officer, but I didn't think that I actually ever would. If I could speak to my younger self, I think he would be amazed to be like, well, how do we get here?

It's just funny how life changes like that. And, you know, I'm so proud that I am where I am today and and I'm sure a younger Jarwin would be as well.