Prison officer vs senior corrections officer

The differences between prison officers and senior corrections officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a prison officer has an average salary of $43,925, which is higher than the $40,400 average annual salary of a senior corrections officer.

The top three skills for a prison officer include security checks, incident reports and . The most important skills for a senior corrections officer are public safety, patrol, and criminal justice.

Prison officer vs senior corrections officer overview

	Prison Officer	Senior Corrections Officer
Yearly salary	$43,925	$40,400
Hourly rate	$21.12	$19.42
Growth rate	-10%	-10%
Number of jobs	57,229	57,316
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Prison officer vs senior corrections officer salary

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

	Prison Officer	Senior Corrections Officer
Average salary	$43,925	$40,400
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $58,000	Between $29,000 And $56,000
Highest paying City	-	Urban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	State of West Virginia
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between prison officer and senior corrections officer education

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

	Prison Officer	Senior Corrections Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Prison officer vs senior corrections officer demographics

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

	Prison Officer	Senior Corrections Officer
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 82.1% Female, 17.9%	Male, 69.1% Female, 30.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 17.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 2.3% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 15.9% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.8% Asian, 2.0% White, 57.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between prison officer and senior corrections officer duties and responsibilities

Prison officer example responsibilities.

Complete fire safety, CPR, self-defense and investigation/observation training, along with behavioral awareness/management training.
Serve as loader of special ammunition weapon; prepare ammunition while exercising safety precautions.

Senior corrections officer example responsibilities.

Manage behavior modification and offender restoration rehabilitation.
Provide first aid and CPR as needed, within the scope of receive training.
Arm perimeter surveillance and patrol facility.
Maintain a continuing responsibility in direct regards to foot patrol of the designated facility which require security.
Complete specialized training in firearms proficiency, self-defense, management of medical emergencies, safety management and interpersonal communication skills.
Manage behavior modification and offender restoration rehabilitation.

Prison officer vs senior corrections officer skills

Common prison officer skills

Security Checks, 58%
Incident Reports, 42%

Common senior corrections officer skills

Public Safety, 16%
Patrol, 14%
Criminal Justice, 8%
Correctional Facility, 7%
Emergency Situations, 6%
Rehabilitation, 5%

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Prison Officer
Prison Officer vs Senior Corrections Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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