correctional officer

cook

mason

Minnesota Department of Corrections

The MN DOC only cares about "a pulse" there to watch inmates in some of the most dangerous situations. They do not care about the quality of the officers they hire, they are all just numbers. They have swept so many different situations under the rug and no one can say anything because we all sign NDA's. There is no work/life balance as they do not care about our families and expect your work to be your whole life. There is so much forced overtime you can expect to work 16 hour shifts 2-3 times a week. The higher ups make many decisions without considering how it will affect the officers who work in the environment everyday, which has resulted in so many officers getting hurt. Most of the higher ups have never worked as an officer, and don't even know any of the officers that they continue to put at risk everyday. You will experience things you never thought you would in life that will stick with you, change you and stay with you for the rest of your life. It is truly the stuff of nightmares. I wouldn't wish this job on my worst enemy.

The job itself is ok. Pays pretty well and is interesting.
You need to be willing to work any shift including overnights and 2pm-10pm and weekends. It can take years to get the schedule you want. So it isn't family-friendly.
There are good people working there, but some hate their job and just want to hang on until retirement.
Promotion is basically done by seniority so it takes years to get promoted. Also this results in people in supervisory positions who aren't good at supervising. They've just been there the longest.
If you want to work for MN DOC, I suggest the Oak Park Heights facility. Although it has higher-risk offenders, the facility itself is newer, has solid doors on the cells and has air conditioning. MCF-Stillwater is a very old building aside from a couple newer areas.
If you're looking to enter the field of Corrections, a job with a county might be better than state. Most have better schedules and environments.

I was an assistant safety and health director at the MN Department of Corrections, so had little to no interaction with the offenders albeit a lot of interaction with correctional officers and nursing staff. There is a month plus long corrections academy where you will learn psychology, ethics, self defense, and communication tactics. I was there at the start of the pandemic and did a lot of protecting of the staff from COVID through implementation of physical distancing, shielding, handwashing, and sanitizer practices and protocols. I also performed industrial and office ergonomic risk assessments and control measures, inspections, and audits. The staff was great and had a wonderful sense of humor. I was able to use the staff prison gym when the public gyms were closed during the start of the pandemic.

Trust in your self only. Management is manipulative, and will throw you under the bus if anything adverse occurs.  Supportive to your face, but in reality you are as valuable to them as a disposable pen. Coworkers are a mixed bag, some are caring and supportive,  others are just as bad as management.  But, is an interesting place to work. Corrections nursing isn't for everyone but can be a fulfilling career. 

The department of corrections offers we structured, solid, professional state employment. What they lack in salary, if so, they more than make up for in benefits, especially for families just starting out.

The work area is safe, clean, and accessible. They communicate well for the most part, and my immediate team is amazing to work with. The chemical dependency written materials and videos could use updating to latest evidence-base Dora rices for those who want it. 

Other than that it is a solid A for workplace.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Working with the incarcerated population.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Working with corrections officers.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Repressive and sad. The building with the educational classrooms and libraries  is dark dank and smelly.  Very depressing.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Unpredictable. You never knew what was going to happen from one minute to the next.And this made it very difficult to provide services the men.

Got fired as a correctional officer without a good reason and a chance to succeed most supervisors only cared for themselves and not for their officers poor explaining during training while working on the floor LT lie to get rid of a officer without any proof of anything the officer did which they did to me again they only care for themselves oak park heights superiors corrupt and they all go against you if the see one tiny thing loved my job to the fullest didnt like management 

Management is HORRIBLE , Senior staff is even worst . They tell you to ask for help & don’t help or report to management your incompetent. The intimates are treat and feed like animals. Also expect to be sick constantly it’s a very filthy place but don’t expect to use sick days for actually being sick . Opting into the union is a waste of time they can’t and won’t protect you . Pay is decent until they take half of it for who knows what . I would not recommend here , if you’re hired don’t expect it to be long term . 

Male dominated "good 'ol boys" organization where favoritism exists and equitable treatment of employees does not. Very large caseloads, no relief from the administration who wants you to continue to do more with less. Management is horrible and contributes to the hostile work environment. 

A good place to work for benefits.  I terrible place to be for family life.  If your into wokeness this is your place.  Offenders...I mean incarcerated persons have more rights then Staff.  Its a negative environment to start with.  Management pushes the governor's woke ideology.  I worked for the DOC for 30 years.  I only made it to the end for the retirement.    

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Correctional officer 17 salaries reported	$47,583 per year
Cook 5 salaries reported	$22.06 per hour
Mason 1 salary reported	$26.89 per hour

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