correctional officer

dentist

registered nurse

psychologist

licensed practical nurse

Pennsylvania Department of Corrections

Working for the department of corrections is exactly what you think it would be like. There are good people placed in bad situations and bad situations made worse by people who sit in offices and have never stepped foot in a jail. The people sitting in offices making rules and regulations on how they think a prison should be ran without ever working in said conditions. The pros of a job like this can only be measured by ones ability to leave their job at the gate at the end of the shift. To walk through the gate on your way home is a good day.
Cons: everyday is a new adventure. Most people you are surrounded by want to do you bodily harm. You will find yourself weaponless and sometimes on your own. You will mainly rely on your wits and brains.
the place is dirty, smelly, buggy and you will find yourself in situations where inmates throw bodily fluids on you. 
Contrary to popular belief, you can't retaliate physically due to what is described as force continuum. 
The food you will eat you will find yourself inspecting every spoonful you put into your mouth. You will be eating the same food as inmates prepare for other inmates and your co-workers.

No support from management, every day you're given an impossible task with no support, and then hung out to dry in front of the bosses when things go wrong. Every issue in the institution gets blamed on the lowest ranking person who was anywhere near the problem. No accountability by management ever. Incredibly low pay for the long hours working nights, holidays, and being mandated for overtime while being in constant physical danger and under great amounts of stress. No way for a person to function at this job long term, and things have only continued to deteriorate over the last few years. There's always someone in the administration out to get you written up for something, even if you keep your head down and do your job well. Promotions seem to be based solely on who in charge is your brother, cousin, boyfriend, etc. The union is no help and only functions to cut backroom deals with management for its own benefit. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great benefits and medical staff are helpful.  It is best to have worked in the medical field prior to working in medical records before coming to a prison to work.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Many times policies are written for the safety of the staff and are not reinforced.  For example, the Workplace Violence Prevention policy, which was written to protect staff from other staff is not reinforced, thereby, making the workplace unsafe at times.  In addition, the unions create problems as well, by interfering with the safety issues of the staff.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment is security first since this is a State Prison, and everything else is secondary.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
The prison is based on security routines and shift work.  Each area in medical has its own routine.  Maintenance has its own routine, etc.

you have some positive days and some negative days.
The institution I was at was a toxic environment. Lots of racism going on and it was often over looked. If there is an investigation, and you aren't involved in it, but you are of the opposite race, they will call you a snitch or refuse to work with you. 

But once you are assigned to a unit, and you work with the same group of people over and over, things are great because you know what to expect. when they change you to a different unit, it's like being a rookie all over again. 

Lots of lawsuits have occurred from the institution I was at, Lieutenants pulling out their privates to female staff members. Food Service workings bringing in cell phones and drugs to inmates. As well as having sex with inmates. 

So glad I left this place.

I will say that the benefits and the pay were top notch when I was there. I do know the governor was trying to take some of the benefits away  from staff.

I find my days at Graterford, to be very productive and challenging. There is always something new to learn, we receive a lot of training which is good and there's never a dull moment. Working there I've learned to always be aware of your surrounding, do your job ,mind your business,no matter what's going on with you may it be work related or personal keep your professional face on at all times because the inmates are always looking for the weakest link. I think that promotions are given to people because of who they know or who your related to rather than a person work performance. I've meant some really good people working here. The hardest part of the job is not knowing what you could encounter from one moment to the next. The most enjoyable part of my job is working in a office where you have respect for one another,support one another,work together to get assignments done in a timely manner, These are the things that make my job enjoyable.

Working as a prison guard is a very secure, well paying position with great benefits although being in a prison setting day in and day out can be very stressful at times not just for yourself but your co-workers as well. That being said working together as a team can be very trying at times. I learned to watch my back and have a swivel on your head mentality even more so than my time in the Navy because you really have no idea when anything could happen at any time. Along with that you learn the importance of perspective because your job is watching the inmates and many forget that they are doing the same to you for any reason that might benefit them. One last thing I learned and probably the most important of all is accountability. Who's supposed to be where, when and however many inmates were there when you got to work, better be there when you leave.

I was invested with the care custody and control of the inmate population. I was trained in interpersonal communications, use of force,inventory control. During my career I was a field training officer in the patrol division, in Corrections I was entrusted with the training of other correctional officers. In Law Enforcement I dealt on a daily bases with my co-workers, obtaining their views and building on their experience. The most enjoyable part of my job was the interaction with the public on a verity of problems and issues pertaining to the law.

Things are never the same day to day. In a moment things can go from calm to chaos. Working here will expose you to alot of diffferent personalities and situations. It helps you get a grasp of what the real world is like and the real struggles people deal with everyday. If you come in with the right attitude, you could definitely learn a thing or two from this job about people. You can learn how to be wise, or compassionate. You can also learn how to be mentally strong. It takes a special kind of person to work in this kind of environment and actually make a difference. Unfortunately over time you see that there are way too many people that work in this field that should not. That's something i would like to change.

The job is what you make it never allow others to influence your dedication to the career keep your head on a swivel and stay prepared for anything.There is no such thing as a calm day in a correctional facility the goal is that you and you fellow officers make it home the same way you came in to work in 1 piece.Respect is not optional it is mandatory be yourself and you will not have any issues on the other hand if you become SuperJail cop when you put the uniform on,you will place the entire staff in harms way because they have to defend you when things get shaking.Pension is lovely,benefits excellent,and to top it off the deferred compensation is a beautiful thing.

Horrible. working in this company was often times nightmarish. From battles with supervisors to get proper supplies for completing assigned jobs, or proper equipment for the shop environment and safety of both the staff and inmates. Then there is the constant battling with out  of control inmates, that are constantly seeking to to obtain weapons to do harm to each other. And in a welding shop, that provided plenty of opportunity and even more scrutiny before returning inmates to their respective housing units. Oftentimes, there was little chance for promotion, as if you were not a part of the inside group, you were shut out. All the infighting and backbiting made it a very difficult place to want to work in. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Correctional officer 7 salaries reported	$23.42 per hour
Dentist 2 salaries reported	$105,624 per year
Registered nurse 1 salary reported	$96,767 per year
Psychologist 1 salary reported	$66,973 per year
Licensed practical nurse 1 salary reported	$98,500 per year

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