I know of four guys that left the industry to become inspectors. Two couldn't take it, and in less than 1 year they came back into the field. Two are still in and they love being cop like.
Guess you'd need to compare benefits from your state at retirement age as compared to pushing till 62 or 65 in the union, or 58 plus what you might gain from working for the state (i.e. health care covered (right?) if you started now and deferred your union pension until the appropriate time). You might even loose out on growth regarding the union annuity-and how to handle your 401k?
How much would you be losing in annual wages going to the state? If it's significant, can you make it work for your family?
Work it out on paper with your spouse if that's the case, so you can clearly see the differences.
Hope it works if that's what you'd like to do.
