Correctional Officers and Jailers
Guard inmates in penal or rehabilitative institutions in accordance with established regulations and procedures. May guard prisoners in transit between jail, courtroom, prison, or other point. Includes deputy sheriffs and police who spend the majority of their time guarding prisoners in correctional institutions.
- Median pay
- $58,940
- Doing it now
- 397,800
- By 2035
- Down 7.4%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
28,400 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Guard facility entrances to screen visitors.
- Inspect mail for the presence of contraband.
- Take prisoners into custody and escort to locations within and outside of facility, such as visiting room, courtroom, or airport.
- Use weapons, handcuffs, and physical force to maintain discipline and order among prisoners.
- Conduct fire, safety, and sanitation inspections.
- Provide to supervisors oral and written reports of the quality and quantity of work performed by inmates, inmate disturbances and rule violations, and unusual occurrences.
- Settle disputes between inmates.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Criminal Justice and CorrectionsSee 956 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Helping and teaching
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $58,940 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.