UNIT C: Blog 16

BLOG: 16

The path to becoming a correctional officer is a very different one because not very many kids. both men and women, dreams about working in this field. One study conducting showed that only 1 percent of the youth wanted to become a correctional officer. The career path for a person that ends up being a correctional officer is one that they aspire to do. Even though the demand for correctional officers is high it is still hard to find people to fill these positions. One part of this is due to the fact that the job is anything but high tech and "sophisticated." Another reason why this is not a coveted job is because correctional officers only make about just over $30,000 a year. This is $4,000 less than a high school male graduate which is not that much pay (PowerPoint 4 & 5).

For people that end up being correctional officers, this career was not what they dreamed about or thought they would have been doing. These people most likely wanted to be police officers or something along that line of work and they just landed or ended up as a correctional officer. For women trying to break into this field of work as a correctional officer, Police Officer, or something along these lines it was very difficult. Women were always seen as the "feminine" or softer and fragile type which did not go very well with the persona of a police officer. Police Officers were know to be macho, masculine and everything that described a "man's man"so this made it very difficult for women to act the part of prove themselves (Ch 4).

Past career paths for men ans women that are now correctional officers are very different and their paths are just as different. One main past career experience for people that end up being a correctional officer is being in the military. The military has the same structuring and skills a person needs to be a correctional officer. Like the military correctional officers have to be structured, have discipline and more. For individuals that end up being correctional officers 44 percent of men were in the military and only 7 percent women were in the military (ch.4).


Women tend to have a different career path. Women tend to have career paths such as clerical work, administrative support or sales, and service before they ended up as correctional officers. For women that end up as a correctional officer, they believe that they made a "natural" or simple progression into this field. They find the work good even though they never had any previous experiences with people such as those that are incarcerated. They found that their choice to be a correctional officer was not one that they thought they would be or dreamed about, but it was a simple and logical decision. One similarity that they found was that women who were child care providers said a job as a correctional officer was much like taking care of children. They found that they were doing the same things such as showing guidance, watching over them, make the behave, and watching over them when they ate or other simple tasks such as that (ch. 4).

Men and women are motivated to being a correctional officer for many different reasons. Some individuals are attracted to the job for pay and benefits because prisons are located in rural areas were other jobs would be hard to find. They find the pay which you only need a GED or High School Diploma to be good. Women, single mothers to be exact, find they benefits such as security and retirement plans to be a plus for having this occupation (ch. 4).