correctional officer

deputy director

registered nurse

lead architect

journeyperson plumber

Colorado Department of Corrections

A typical day would consist of getting to work at 0530 and going to medline. Med Lines are broken up into four  sections West side North and South yards, East side is TNorth and TSouth yards, and Segregation medline Living Units 5-8. Typically one nurse would do one morning medline, but due to being short staffed one nurse may have to do two medlines.  At each medline the offender comes to your window with their ID card, you type in the card id into the EMAR and their meds come up  then you put together their medication, sign the medication out and hand it to them through a window. Any one medline can add up to 100 or more offenders to administer medications to. After two hours of medline then we check the Kite box. This is a box where inmates write in. Almost like calling for an appointment but they write it down on paper and place it in the medical box located in each yard. Once back to clinic we triage the kites. Clinic runs from 8am to 5pm, this is where there are scheduled appointments to see the provider, Nurse Evaluations, Blood Pressure checks, and Treatments. Provider appointments we check them in by getting vitals and taking the chart to the provider. Nurse Evaluations we see the patient ourselves, take vitals, assess for what ailment they are in for, the consult with the provider with what findings are made. Some nurses do an Encounter in the chart right after seeing the patient. Some nurses wait till the end of the day or during "count time" to work on all collective charting. I myself wait till "count time" to do charting. I feel as fast as we get the patients on their way and through clinic the better, this also helps to sit and do the charting all at once rather stop in the middle of charting to see another patient. Or get stuck charting on one patient while others are waiting to be seen. Due to shortness of staff and the nurses that stop to do charting after each patient, the patients waiting can add up quickly. At 11:00 there is what is called "count time" where security has to count and account for each offender in the facility. During this time we chart, have lunch or catch up on reordering medications and entering kites. At 12:00 when count is clear there is a noon medline that last about an hour to an hour and a half. After medline we go back to clinic and see patients till next count time at 16:00. At this time we finish up on our charting and count our Sharps and Narcotics. 17:00 There is a Diabetic medline and due to shortness of staff some days there is also Evening medline. Those days is where some of us work 16 hours. I mostly work 16 hours on Friday and Saturdays due to my shift is down four nurses. This can be frustrating because our day is suppose to be 12 hours and we are not asked to stay we are told. This has brought down moral a lot. We are in desperate need of help and it has burned a lot of nurses out. Nearly everyone month there is one nurse quitting. I love my job for the patient aspect of being able treat a variety of things such as wounds. I love wounds, and in a prison there are a wide spectrum of wounds from stab wounds to MRSA to ulcers. Also I love that we can do labs and IVs. The reason I have became unhappy is the lack of team work and lack of management involvement. When I first started the moral was up, management was managing and everything was great. Now the team is broken and management watches everything go astray. Everything is negative. I try to keep a positive attitude most of the time. When someone comes in with a negative attitude it is infectious. I am ready for a more enjoyable atmosphere. I want to be able to carry scissors in my pocket, show sympathy. Leave work knowing I may have made a difference in someone's life. I love every aspect of Nursing. The only thing about nursing that I find difficult is SOAP charting. I find it hard to come up with every little detail.

I can represent to the readership that the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) is an amazing career to pursue, with potential for advancement, professional development, and a competitive compensation package. This is all very rewarding if you are looking to pursue a career in corrections. However, I was not an employee of the CDOC; rather, I was an inmate committed by a court of law to serve a period of incarceration as punishment for being convicted of a felony offense. My vantage point, therefore, is that of a prisoner working virtually without any compensation whatsoever. I did not need to subsist on earnings from billable service hours. My overarching goal was to meaningfully contribute to the betterment of the legal profession at large. Despite the lack of compensability, I performed my duties as a legal assistant to facilitate the constitutional right of my fellow prisoners to have access to the courts. At all times, I conducted myself according to the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct and embraced my job in the same form and manner as that of an officer of the court.

If anyone reading has an interest in pursuing employment opportunities with the CDOC, think of your decision more as a career move than just another job. The CDOC's philosophy aligns with the notion that they always have your back. While I also mean that the CDOC literally has your back in emergencies, I also mean to convey that the CDOC takes very good care of their employees. Having a career in corrections means being a member of a very large family of professionals who have not only dedicated their lives to public safety, but who will turn up in an operational emergency to keep you safe, to protect you, and to maintain or restore order and discipline. Your well-being and the well-being of your colleagues necessitate that a solemn oath be administered such that you, as a correctional employee, will strive relentlessly to maintain the safety and security of yourself and of your colleagues, without susceptibility to discouragement. Many are trepidatious of a perceived risk implied from a potentially volatile prison yard. However, with your brothers and sisters steadfast at your side, there is no force greater than the collective strength of the family of dedicated correctional professionals.

It is customary for the CDOC  to promote from within. Each correctional employee occupying a classified position in the Colorado State Personnel System can take their career as far or as high as they wish. It is totally up to you. If you want to climb the ladder to becoming a sergeant and wish to go no further, that's entirely for you to decide. It is not at all uncommon for correctional employees to cap their careers as sergeants, lieutenants, or captains. But if you have bigger aspirations and want to someday occupy the position of facility warden, well you can do that, too. With each increment in rank comes more responsibility. As the rank increases, so does the number of subordinate employees looking up to you for guidance, instruction, and direction. Within the CDOC, there is nothing that can hold an employee back from professional growth and development which is essential to realizing one's dreams. 

I worked for the department for almost six years, with almost five of them in a supervisory role. There are great opportunities for career development and progression within the department, however that comes at a great cost to your personal life. This is especially true if you are a new officer coming into 12 hours shifts, mandatory overtime, and unreliable co-workers who constantly call off. I do not want to paint a bad picture, just want to be honest, you will work a lot of hours and you will miss events in your personal life. Keep this in mind if you sign up for this job. One of the best things about this job is you will make great money for the job you have. Take opportunities to train and promote because if you reach Lieutenant your schedule is more set and overtime opportunities can be voluntary. Captain and above are salaried and work M-F, 0800-1700, with holidays and inclement weather off. If you are CO I – CO III or in a CSTS position, you are non-exempt and required to report to work in inclement weather. Not trying to detour anyone, again just being honest. As far as the environment is concerned, it is a prison. A mindset of safety and security is a must. The offenders will try to manipulate and take advantage of any situation they can and can become violent. I will say that probably 90% of the job is just being a glorified sitter, but when that other 10% happens you are responsible for controlling and deescalating that situation and must be ready for anything. Again, honesty here, when it goes bad it can go really bad. Unfortunately, staffing issues require high rates of hiring and poor staff are allowed to become certified after a year because “we need people” really can make it difficult at times. You have to be able to trust the people around you and sometimes that is not the case. There are really great staff members who can show you the ropes, you can trust, and will ultimately become family. The ability to form extremely strong bonds with the people you work with is one of the great things about working law enforcement. Overall, this career field is what you make of it. When I came in, I believed I was making a career out of it. Personal events in my life were one of my main reasons for leaving but over the last few years the department’s focus has been on making the offenders happy and the staff have been put on the back burner. There is no accountability for most offender’s negative behavior anymore and the state would rather save money than charge an offender with a COPD charge. The culture has really shifted, and it can make doing your job extremely difficult. The state seems to have forgotten that we are responsible for managing dangerous offenders who immensely outnumber us in a facility, and at times the decisions that the upper management team makes seem to favor the offenders instead of staff safety. Also, a complete disconnect between the upper management team and staff has really depleted morale amongst most officers and staff. The department has also lowered their hiring standards in hopes of filling positions. There was also a policy that was almost finalized when I left that would allow staff members to bring their cell phones into the facility, which in my mind does not support the safety and security of the facility. My experience overall was pretty good, unfortunately you will read more reviews where this was not the case. 

The job itself is easy once you can get used to it. Dealing with offenders is much easier than most places I have worked at. Some of the staff I am on good terms with, and they make my shift bearable.

The main problems in the workplace are what I feel drive valuable officers away. The first factor is the call-offs. There are a lot of them each week, and for my shift in particular, it is negatively affecting many of us in the sense that we individually hold over at least once a week, if not twice a week at times. It is resulting in almost all of our staff being burned out from being there all the time, and in high levels of exhaustion and sleep deprivation. This is dangerous considering that this is a prison we work in. I would suggest switching to 12 hour shifts like many other similar departments not only in the state, but across the country as well. That may help reduce the amount of call-offs multiple times a week and allow for more staff to be on duty. There is no valid reason why we cannot switch to such a schedule.

The second factor is the pay. Despite getting our pay raised up over the summer, we are still hemorrhaging staff every month to county jails that pay better. The pay does not match the cost of living at all in Colorado and needs to be much, much higher than what it currently is. A 3 percent raise simply does not help, especially given many are citing the pay as one reason for leaving.

The third factor is staff conflicts. There is a great deal of distrust and resentment between staff. I cannot think of any single week where a rumor about someone was not circulating around the entire complex. There is a good degree of arguing over shift responsibilities, pointless personal drama that should at least be left at the front doors, favoritism with certain staff and what seems to be willful disregard of small duties (keeping a clean control center during shift comes to mind) that fuels conflict on the job. There also is conflict over preferential treatment regarding call offs as well, with seemingly nothing being done to address that problem.

The fourth factor is the amount of harassment that gets directed at not only new staff, but also in particular female staff. It is contributing to low morale and undermines the ability to function as a team. Nothing seems to be done about that issue at all.

Initially my responsibilities were to research and develop QA reports on program compliance for the Alcohol and Drug program. Being a state organization the Behavioral Health division of the Colorado DOC undergoes numerous changes in leadership. This reality led to my inclusion, with my A&D responsibilities, to another unit where my responsibilities enlarged to include monitoring complaints from staff concerning behavioral health.

A typical day would include accessing the state/agency computer network to research new cases, contacting the author of each case, researching the validity of the complaint via interviews, facility visits, medical record reviews and consultations with my supervisor. I might also make on-site visits to  A&D programs for a medical records review, after which I would provide a statical and written report to the A&D program manager, director and staff. I could also be involved with various meetings and/or attend training.

This position exposed me to opportunities that enhanced my abilities to provide training, facilitate problem resolution, policy revisions, program modifications, and committee leadership.

I encountered challenges as many of my decisions affected the employment status or job performance reviews or staff and/or the type/level of mental health care of DOC inmates. Also, the many responsibilities required careful strategic planning to insure timely completion of projects and reports. 

The opportunities that challenged me also provided me with the rewards of adapting to numerous supervisory changes which would typically provide changes in responsibilities, processes and procedures. Though at times feeling overwhelmed, I found I grew as a professional and a leader in my efforts to meet these challenges.

So, the State has done a huge overhaul with reinstating the "step" raise system that was truly deserved by so many to correct the overdue PMAP error that "the powers that be" and Appointing Authorities statewide had been using to try to save a few bucks by helping their friends out selectively, and then turning higher grade  jobs into lower ones yet having employees do the same work at lower entry-level pay even if they qualified for the higher grade and the years of experience they had, even if it was in the same state position.  

So now the real deal...the cost for medical insurance on a family is STILL at least $800 a month. That's NOT including dental, some plans have vision for free, life insurance for yourself, spouse, and children, and long-term disability...I almost forgot the two most important deductions! PERA and union dues. PERA retirement is not optional as it replaces Medicare and your union dues run around $30-50 monthly. Basically I was paying close to $1260 a month on my benefits alone. 

ALL medical insurance plans have a deductible!!!! Actually, so do the dental. If you make less than I think 350% the poverty level, you qualify for premium assistance which helps you pay the monthly payment on the $800 for your medical, however, they have 3 tiers. Usually only tier 1 actually gets assistance. It's still good to see if qualify. You never know. 

The BEST thing about working about for DOC (for the most part) was that the people who were not at headquarters were some of the kindest people I'd ever met. Payroll was amazing! Can't say enough wonderful things about them, from training on payroll system to helping with leave questions...just always a pleasure to talk to.

Was hired to care for and monitor COVID 19 positive inmates.  It was not hard work but was necessary.  The rest of the ARNPs, PAs, RNs, CNAs, mental health professionals, admin staff, and corrections officers were categorically LOVELY!  The permanent staff at Sterling were incredibly kind, helpful, gracious, patient, generous, relaxed, and dedicated to their work.  There were many additional agency RNs and CNAs to help with the added workload that COVID provided as well as the everyday heavy workload but the permanent staff seemed to welcome everyone with open arms and kind hearts.  I have NEVER worked with a more kind and loving group of people anywhere.  The majority of the long-standing employees love their jobs and truly care for the inmates and are committed to providing them with the best care possible within the limitations of the system.  The RNs do an incredible amount of work and have a lot of responsibility to assess/triage every inmate concern but they do all their work with a relaxed, calm, forward rhythm and a healthy dose of humor and congenial banter.  The inmates are largely kind, respectful, and easy to get along with as long as you are calm, kind, respectful, and treat them as you would any other patient.

I worked here for four years as a sergeant over a housing unit.  The pay is decent but after all the medical insurance cost ($590 a month for family), the pension cost, and various deductions they take, you really only make about 15 dollars an hour.  The staff are very poorly trained and most are crooked in one way or another.  The job is very boring and easy, but the stress imparted on you will destroy your health, family life, and many employers will not hire someone who has worked for the department for many reasons.  You would think working here would be hard due to the offenders but they are way more respectful than the other staff and management.  There are many staff dealing, providing "physical"favors and bringing contraband for the inmates as well as providing illegal information to offenders and their family members.  Every day you have to watch your back from both staff and inmates creating a " WILD WEST" environment. If you are not willing to treat the offenders like they are scum and actually try to help rehabilitate them with good communication and fair practices,  then you will be scolded and written up. The culture is very clicky and if you are not popular their are no advancement opportunities.  The new pension requires a 25 year old to work until they are about 75 in order to qualify for retirement and there are no raises even for cost of living.  I absolutely wouldn't recommend being employed here.  It is dangerous, corrupt and hurts your future career opportunities when applying for other jobs.  I have four family members employed at DOC and they all feel the same way.  Something needs to change.

and that is why I have stayed and put up with a very toxic culture for so long. I am currently looking for work elsewhere. The teams and colleagues I have worked with over the years are hardworking dedicated individuals working with incarcerated men. Mental health with this population is a specialty. This population has unique challenges and  create the possibility of violence. The majority of the incarcerated are there to do their time, become better people and go home. It has been a pleasure to see the growth and sometimes frustrating to work with some men who continue in their criminogenic thinking, that is why it is challenging and rewarding. 
There is little incentive to stay or any support from the upper management. We are hemorrhaging staff at ECC. We have three for clinicians for 1600 men at my facility alone. The managment  approach is punitive they criticize and hound for more work. to be done  We are not given help or resources to do our job effectively. Many in mental health struggle to provide the services that DOC says it must. The toxic environment of gossip, lack of respect and being undermined is almost indescribable. We worked through the pandemic under sometimes frightening conditions and not a word of support from clinical management. We inside the facilities stepped up and were proud to do it. All we heard was how are work wasn't getting done. number crunching. If you want a challenge and can handle the toxic politics I say go for it. I rode it out as long as I could. I don't regret it, but just to let you know, the average stay of mental health is 2 years. 

Working as the Operations Manager at the Corrections Training Academy is a highly demanding, mission-driven role. My typical day is centered on managing complex logistics, coordinating resources for instructors, and handling administrative tasks-all to ensure the training environment runs with zero friction.

Management is deeply committed to the mission of the Academy, prioritizing, Officer safety and the integrity of the correctional system above all else. They provide clear direction regarding curriculum, standards and policy adherence.

CTA instructors are required to always be “on,” never letting standard slip, and knowing that the quality of your instruction can directly impact someone’s safety in the future. The share volume of material to be covered, while ensuring deep understanding in every new employee, is a significant challenge.

The most enjoyable part is witnessing a new employee’s transformation. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a raw new employee, initially struggling with a drill or a concept, suddenly have a breakthrough. The moment they successfully execute a complex, defensive tactic, or demonstrate true leadership during a high stress simulation is incredibly satisfying. Knowing that you have played a direct role in equipping them with the skills, confidence, and professionalism required to do a vital job safely is the greatest reward.


Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Correctional officer 2 salaries reported	$5,750 per month
Deputy director 2 salaries reported	$120,162 per year
Registered nurse 2 salaries reported	$6,359 per month
Lead architect 1 salary reported	$9,360 per month
Journeyperson plumber 1 salary reported	$6,215 per month

Working at Colorado Department of Corrections: Company Overview and Reviews

Colorado Department of Corrections

Colorado Department of Corrections Ratings

Popular jobs at Colorado Department of Corrections

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected