Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between correction officers and criminal investigators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a criminal investigator has an average salary of $54,520, which is higher than the $39,369 average annual salary of a correction officer.
The top three skills for a correction officer include public safety, correctional facility and emergency situations. The most important skills for a criminal investigator are investigative reports, resourcefulness, and firearms.
| Correction Officer | Criminal Investigator | |
| Yearly salary | $39,369 | $54,520 |
| Hourly rate | $18.93 | $26.21 |
| Growth rate | -10% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 103,383 | 5,131 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 30% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A correction officer is responsible for monitoring the daily activities of individuals serving time in prison, enforcing the standard rules and regulatory procedures to maintain safety and security within the premises. Correction officers' duties include searching for restricted items, inspecting the facilities' condition, observing unusual and suspicious behaviors, generating incident reports, and providing assistance during counseling and trial schedules. Correction officers must be highly knowledgeable of legal regulations. They must also cooperate with court procedures for any investigations within their place of work.
A criminal investigator is a law enforcement professional who endeavors to solve felony crimes. Criminal investigators may work alone or as a member of an investigative team whose goal is to uncover the certainty of a case and potentially keep suspects to prevent the ensuing criminal activity. Their tasks and responsibilities depend on various job functions and specialties. They may specialize in the information and evidence of a crime scene, conduct interviews and searches, or perform surveillance.
Correction officers and criminal investigators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Correction Officer | Criminal Investigator | |
| Average salary | $39,369 | $54,520 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $54,000 | Between $34,000 And $85,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | California |
| Best paying company | Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company | National Railroad Passenger Corporation |
| Best paying industry | Government | Government |
There are a few differences between a correction officer and a criminal investigator in terms of educational background:
| Correction Officer | Criminal Investigator | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 30% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between correction officers' and criminal investigators' demographics:
| Correction Officer | Criminal Investigator | |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.5% Female, 37.5% | Male, 79.7% Female, 20.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 16.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 2.0% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 2.8% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 9% |