Correctional officers are one of the least happy careers in the United States.

At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, correctional officers rate their career happiness 2.4 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 4% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy correctional officers are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:

Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers

Career Satisfaction Avg Salary
Fire inspector
3.0
$62k
Ambulance dispatcher
2.9
$40k
Probation officer
2.9
$39k
Customs inspector
2.9
$88k
Security guard
2.6
$16k
Correctional officer
2.4
$39k

So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:

  • Salary: Are correctional officers happy with their salary?
  • Meaning: Do correctional officers find their jobs meaningful?
  • Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as correctional officers?
  • Work environment: How enjoyable are correctional officer’s work environments?
  • Skills utilization: Are correctional officers making the best use of their abilities?

Are correctional officers happy with their salary?

Correctional officers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.9/5. Correctional officers tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.

We asked correctional officers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

2.9 out of 5 stars

626 correctional officers

5 Star
14%

14% of correctional officers rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
23%

23% of correctional officers rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of correctional officers rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
20%

20% of correctional officers rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
20%

20% of correctional officers rated their compensation 1 stars

Do correctional officers find their jobs meaningful?

On average, correctional officers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.5/5. The majority of correctional officers struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.

We asked correctional officers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

2.5 out of 5 stars

628 correctional officers

5 Star
11%

11% of correctional officers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
15%

15% of correctional officers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
18%

18% of correctional officers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
22%

22% of correctional officers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
34%

34% of correctional officers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as correctional officers?

Correctional officers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.5/5. The majority of correctional officers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked correctional officers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

3.5 out of 5 stars

660 correctional officers

5 Star
28%

28% of correctional officers rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
28%

28% of correctional officers rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
20%

20% of correctional officers rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
14%

14% of correctional officers rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
9%

9% of correctional officers rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a correctional officer’s work environment?

As a whole, correctional officers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 2.9/5. Some correctional officers are happy with their work environment, but it does not seem to be a meaningful contributer to career satisfaction for most.

We asked correctional officers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

2.9 out of 5 stars

658 correctional officers

5 Star
16%

16% of correctional officers rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
19%

19% of correctional officers rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
22%

22% of correctional officers rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
23%

23% of correctional officers rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
20%

20% of correctional officers rated their work environment 1 stars

Are correctional officers making the best use of their abilities?

Former correctional officers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.6/5. Correctional officers tend to feel that they don’t manage to use their abilities to their fullest, when compared to other careers.

We asked correctional officers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

2.6 out of 5 stars

654 correctional officers

5 Star
13%

13% of correctional officers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
15%

15% of correctional officers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
22%

22% of correctional officers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
22%

22% of correctional officers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
28%

28% of correctional officers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars