While you might think that as a correction officer, a main part of your job is to correct people, it's not necessarily true. I mean you don't want the grammar police guarding the jails, do you? Instead, correction officers are there to keep an eye over those who have either been arrested and are waiting for their trial, or have already been sentenced a time to serve in jail or prison.
I'm going to give it to you straight. This position is one of the most dangerous jobs, as it has one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses out of all occupations. Sometimes you may have to deal with a confrontational inmate. Or two. On top of that, you'll probably have to work crazy hours because there "ain't no rest for the wicked."
Correction Officer Overview
Correction Officer Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a correction officer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.3 an hour? That's $40,141 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -7% and produce -31,500 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Correction Officer Do
There are certain skills that many correction officers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed detail oriented, interpersonal skills and physical strength.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a correction officer, we found that a lot of resumes listed 20.3% of correction officers included inmate population, while 16.2% of resumes included public safety, and 11.5% of resumes included custody. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the correction officer job title. But what industry to start with? Most correction officers actually find jobs in the government and non profits industries.
How To Become a Correction Officer
If you're interested in becoming a correction officer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 23.9% of correction officers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.3% of correction officers have master's degrees. Even though some correction officers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a correction officer. When we researched the most common majors for a correction officer, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or bachelor's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on correction officer resumes include associate degree degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a correction officer. In fact, many correction officer jobs require experience in a role such as cashier. Meanwhile, many correction officers also have previous career experience in roles such as security officer or customer service representative.
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Correction Officer Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a correction officer can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as security officer, progress to a title such as officer and then eventually end up with the title senior officer.
Correction Officer
Senior Officer
5 Years
Lead Transportation Security Officer
6 Years
Security Manager
6 Years
Security Director
10 Years
Security Site Supervisor
6 Years
Lead Security Officer
5 Years
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What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Correction Officer
Correction Officers in America make an average salary of $40,141 per year or $19 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $56,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $28,000 per year.
Average Salary
$40,141
Best Paying Cities
City
Average Salary
$24k
$78k
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Scott County Corrections Officer Corrections Officer | Scott County Scott County | 01/31/2021 01/31/2021 | $52,11201/31/2021 $52,112 |
Colorado State Cdoc/Temporary Correctional Officer Sterling Cdoc/Temporary Correctional Officer Sterling | Colorado State Colorado State | 01/28/2021 01/28/2021 | $52,17501/28/2021 $52,175 |
Wisconsin Government Correctional Officer-Columbia Correctional Institution Correctional Officer-Columbia Correctional Institution | Wisconsin Government Wisconsin Government | 01/28/2021 01/28/2021 | $39,71601/28/2021 $39,716 |
State of Indiana Correctional Officer Correctional Officer | State of Indiana State of Indiana | 01/28/2021 01/28/2021 | $39,65301/28/2021 $39,653 |
Washington State Community Corrections Officer 2 Community Corrections Officer 2 | Washington State Washington State | 01/28/2021 01/28/2021 | $50,92801/28/2021 $50,928 |
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Correction Officer Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Correction Officer. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Correction Officer Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Correction Officer resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationJob type you want
Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary
Top Skills For a Correction Officer
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 20.3% of correction officers listed inmate population on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and interpersonal skills are important as well.
- Inmate Population, 20.3%
- Public Safety, 16.2%
- Custody, 11.5%
- Correctional Facility, 6.2%
- Emergency, 5.7%
- Other Skills, 40.1% See All Correction Officer Skills
Best States For a Correction Officer
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a correction officer. The best states for people in this position are New York, Hawaii, Connecticut, and California. Correction officers make the most in New York with an average salary of $60,592. Whereas in Hawaii and Connecticut, they would average $58,137 and $56,658, respectively. While correction officers would only make an average of $54,773 in California, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Nevada
Total Correction Officer Jobs:
348
Highest 10% Earn:
$87,000
Location Quotient:
1.22
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$53,149
Avg. Salary
2. New York
Total Correction Officer Jobs:
1,799
Highest 10% Earn:
$91,000
Location Quotient:
1.02
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$60,592
Avg. Salary
3. Washington
Total Correction Officer Jobs:
1,079
Highest 10% Earn:
$77,000
Location Quotient:
1.08
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$52,995
Avg. Salary
How Do Correction Officer Rate Their Jobs?
Top Correction Officer Employers
4. Georgia Department of Economic Development
4.0
Avg. Salary:Â
$34,160
Correction Officers Hired:Â
1,018+
5. South Carolina Department of Transportation
4.2
Avg. Salary:Â
$31,587
Correction Officers Hired:Â
836+
Correction Officer Videos
A Day in the Life of a Correctional Officer
How To Become A Corrections Officer - Law Enforcement Jobs