Prison guard vs youth corrections officer

The differences between prison guards and youth corrections officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a prison guard has an average salary of $41,596, which is higher than the $37,865 average annual salary of a youth corrections officer.

The top three skills for a prison guard include security procedures, emergency situations and incident reports. The most important skills for a youth corrections officer are safety hazards, crisis intervention, and security procedures.

Prison guard vs youth corrections officer overview

	Prison Guard	Youth Corrections Officer
Yearly salary	$41,596	$37,865
Hourly rate	$20.00	$18.20
Growth rate	-10%	-10%
Number of jobs	16,205	59,947
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Prison guard vs youth corrections officer salary

Prison guards and youth corrections officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Prison Guard	Youth Corrections Officer
Average salary	$41,596	$37,865
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $56,000	Between $29,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between prison guard and youth corrections officer education

There are a few differences between a prison guard and a youth corrections officer in terms of educational background:

	Prison Guard	Youth Corrections Officer
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Prison guard vs youth corrections officer demographics

Here are the differences between prison guards' and youth corrections officers' demographics:

	Prison Guard	Youth Corrections Officer
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 73.0% Female, 27.0%	Male, 57.7% Female, 42.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 15.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 2.0% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 16.0% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 2.0% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between prison guard and youth corrections officer duties and responsibilities

Prison guard example responsibilities.

Carry and operate various types of firearms as necessary and under authorization outside the facility.
Perform basic first aid procedures and cardiopulmonary resuscitation which involves kneeling and bending.

Youth corrections officer example responsibilities.

Manage behavior modification and offender restoration rehabilitation.
Manage behavior modification and offender restoration rehabilitation.
Manage behavior modification and offender restoration rehabilitation.

Prison guard vs youth corrections officer skills

Common prison guard skills

Security Procedures, 28%
Emergency Situations, 18%
Incident Reports, 9%
Security Checks, 9%
Correctional Facility, 7%
CPR, 6%

Common youth corrections officer skills

Safety Hazards, 18%
Crisis Intervention, 9%
Security Procedures, 7%
Criminal Justice, 7%
Correctional Facility, 6%
Emergency Situations, 6%

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Protective Service Industry
Prison Guard
Prison Guard vs Youth Corrections Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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