Correctional Officers & Jailers
Correctional Officer,
Corrections Officer (CO),
Detention Officer,
Jailer
What they do: 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.
- DemandHigh
- state Avg. Salary $$$$$$48,400Download Career Flyer
What do they typically do on the job?
- Conduct head counts to ensure that each prisoner is present.
- Inspect conditions of locks, window bars, grills, doors, and gates at correctional facilities to ensure security and help prevent escapes.
- Monitor conduct of prisoners in housing unit, or during work or recreational activities, according to established policies, regulations, and procedures, to prevent escape or violence.
Personality
Interests
Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.
Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz
Abilities
Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.
Verbal
Communicate by speaking
Listen and understand what people say
Ideas and Logic
Notice when problems happen
Make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
Attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted
Do two or more things at the same time
Endurance
Exercise for a long time without getting out of breath
Skills
People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.
Basic Skills
Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Social
Understanding people's reactions
Changing what is done based on other people's actions
Problem Solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Does this sound like something you'd like to do?
1. Do some research
- Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
- Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
- Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career
2. Plan your next move
- Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
- Visit Idaho Launch
- Search for available Correctional Officers & Jailers jobs on Idaho Works
Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop