“We're having the largest classes of correctional officers we've ever had before.”
Correctional officers maintain order and calm in detention centers, jails, and prisons. Before deciding on this career path, it’s important to understand the necessary education and training. This guide will also reveal how to complete your education online and tips to land your first job. Correctional officers are critical to maintaining order and peace in jails, prisons, and other detention facilities. To be qualified to oversee and manage incarcerated individuals, correctional officers must complete the proper education before starting the job. Although a formal degree is not always required to work in corrections, officers need to undergo in-depth training to handle detainees. Before choosing which level education to pursue, it’s good to evaluate where you want your career to go. To help, we have created this guide to breakdown your options, provide an overview of the career, and help you decide if you have what it takes to become a correctional officer. [...] The vast majority of new correctional officers will have to attend a training academy at some point. The only question is when. Some may choose to enroll as tuition-paying students, as if they’re attending a conventional college program, then seek a job upon graduation. But in most situations, enrollees will already have a job with a correctional department and attend the training academy to complete the professional requirements to be qualified for it.