Probationary constables Shane Allen and Greg Lynch were welcomed to the station by Acting Sergeant Daniel Tagg, who showed them around Dubbo Police Station and introduced them to the area they would be policing.

The pair were among 170 officers who were sworn in at the NSW Police Academy at Goulburn on Friday.

Probationary Constable Allen, who was from Young, had a very different career before he was accepted into the academy.

"I had always wanted to be a cop but had been very busy working as a butcher, it was a stable job and I had kids but then I finally decided it was time and I did it," he said.

One of the things that took a bit of getting used to at the academy, he said, was using computers, something he had not had occasion to do much in his former role. Firearms was the area he enjoyed studying the most.

Probationary Constable Lynch from Bathurst said policing had appealed to him as a stable career.

"I like the fact that you get to help people," he said.

A university graduate, 23-year-old Probationary Constable Lynch had also spent time as a tennis coach.

Both new recruits said they had made "friends for life" while studying at the academy.

The pair said they were looking forward to a wide range of experiences as general duties officers from which they might decide to specialise in a particular area down the track.