I have a family member who was a social working in a prison, then later a nurse in a prison.
Her brother was a corrections officer for the state of AZ for 18 years (till he started getting death threats that he had to take seriously, and not just from former inmates).
He is currently working for a private corrections facility. AZ has a lot of these. Texas has even more.
He has never made the kind of money described here. But then again, he was working in AZ. Sure he had overtime pay – but he also had expenses (weapons, right suits, he was certified as a fire officer – so he had to have that gear.)
The hours suck. Period. It’s not a 9-5 job.
They also assign you to new prisons periodically – so it’s kind of like the military – you get relocated every 4-5 years. Which means uprooting your family, changing your kids school, etc. And the places aren’t always desirable locales. Lets face it – they don’t build prisons in places like Carmel Valley. He’s probably spent the most time in Yuma and Florence… Not exactly places he would have chosen to live if it weren’t for his job.
Now some info I dug up on CA corrections officers. I thought CA Renter made a good point about “if it’s such a great job – why don’t we all apply”.
– The starting pay is not that exceptional. $45,288/year to start. Sure, that’s more than some other jobs.
– You must pass regular drug tests.
– You must pass a background check.
– You must have a clean criminal record.
– They give preference to Vets – so non-military folks have to work that much harder.
– You have to pass the written test.
– You have to have fully correctable vision. Also – color blindness disqualifies you.
– You have to pass the academy.
Personally – after hearing the stories of my family members, and seeing what it’s done to them… Not enough money in the world to make me work in that environment. I’d rather collect aluminum cans from trash cans. I’d be saner. It’s a tough job.
