Probation officer vs prison officer

The differences between probation officers and prison officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a probation officer has an average salary of $47,252, which is higher than the $43,925 average annual salary of a prison officer.

The top three skills for a probation officer include criminal justice, mental health and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a prison officer are security checks, incident reports, and .

Probation officer vs prison officer overview

	Probation Officer	Prison Officer
Yearly salary	$47,252	$43,925
Hourly rate	$22.72	$21.12
Growth rate	-	-10%
Number of jobs	55,952	57,229
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Average age	44	40
Years of experience	4	-

Probation officer vs prison officer salary

Probation officers and prison officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Probation Officer	Prison Officer
Average salary	$47,252	$43,925
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $69,000	Between $33,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	San Jose, CA	-
Highest paying state	Nevada	-
Best paying company	Hamilton	-
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between probation officer and prison officer education

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

	Probation Officer	Prison Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	-

Probation officer vs prison officer demographics

Here are the differences between probation officers' and prison officers' demographics:

	Probation Officer	Prison Officer
Average age	44	40
Gender ratio	Male, 45.4% Female, 54.6%	Male, 82.1% Female, 17.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.3% Unknown, 2.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 2.2% White, 63.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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%
LGBT Percentage	10%	6%

Differences between probation officer and prison officer duties and responsibilities

Probation officer example responsibilities.

Manage significant DUI caseload to court-ordered and conditional probation completion.
Create comprehensive case plans that identify needs of offenders in order to facilitate public safety and rehabilitation of the offender.
Promote positive changes in offender behavior that have been release from TDCJ to pursue their sentence.
Assist in the screening and selection of GPS offenders that are release from custody as a condition of bond.
Clerk probate, guardianship, commitment and juvenile, prepare minutes, schedule hearings and draft legal documents and correspondence.
Complete pre-sentence interviews and investigations.

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.

Probation officer vs prison officer skills

Common probation officer skills

Criminal Justice, 12%
Mental Health, 10%
Rehabilitation, 6%
Juvenile Offenders, 6%
Community Resources, 5%
Court Orders, 5%

Common prison officer skills

Security Checks, 58%
Incident Reports, 42%

Probation Officer vs. similar jobs

Probation Officer related careers

Probation Officer related jobs

What similar roles do

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse community and social services jobs