Correctional facilities offer more than just employment for correctional officers. While corrections officers do make up the largest group of employees, the smooth daily operation of a correctional facility includes many others at all levels of experience. One might expect a need for social workers, yet other mainstream positions required include clerical support, librarians, maintenance, nursing, teachers, and food service.
You can readily find a job in correctional facilities through online job hunting. As you search for a job online:
- Visit correctional facility websites and review open positions.
- See if federal correctional facilities are located within your job search area.
- Consider relocation based on benefit packages and wages offered at other correctional facilities.
Compare correctional facility opportunities across the nation
It's a good idea to start your job search broadly, even if you aren't interested in relocating, so you can get a sense of the jobs available at correctional facilities, as well as the typical pay and benefits that go along with those jobs.
Seek out a state-specific correctional facility
Whether changing your whole life or just your job, opportunities abound in the correctional facility profession. You can find these opportunities in nearly every state simply by visiting state-specific websites for correctional facilities, usually found on that state's government website. Whichever state you choose, you can readily find information on correctional facilities and their open positions online.
State of Michigan's Corrections page. Click each facility for a description and job openings. For jobs in Ohio correctional facilities, visit the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, which offers a clickable map of all correctional facilities in the state. For employment in correctional facilities in Georgia, visit GDCJobs.com, a Georgia state corrections employment website that also contains career advice and information.
Consider a position at a federal correctional facility
A federal correctional facility can offer you more opportunity for advancement and a different set of challenges than a state facility. If you do not have a federal prison in your home state, relocation is a must if this is the career route that you choose.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons runs the federal correctional facility network, and is always hiring for a variety of positions. Browse through their website for more information on specific correctional facilities or positions they regularly hire for. When you're ready to apply, visit
USAJOBS, the official website for job listings within the United States Government.
- Even if you're not interested in working as a corrections officer, take classes in criminal justice to improve your chances of being hired within the correctional facilities vocation.
