Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists
Provide social services to assist in rehabilitation of law offenders in custody or on probation or parole. Make recommendations for actions involving formulation of rehabilitation plan and treatment of offender, including conditional release and education and employment stipulations.
What it pays
Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists earn a median of $31.86/hr — about $66,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $22.52/hr; the top 10% earn $51.82/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists earn a median of $31.86/hr — about $66,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $22.52/hr; the top 10% earn $51.82/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Prepare and maintain case folder for each assigned inmate or offender.
- Gather information about offenders' backgrounds by talking to offenders, their families and friends, and other people who have relevant information.
- Interview probationers and parolees regularly to evaluate their progress in accomplishing goals and maintaining the terms specified in their probation contracts and rehabilitation plans.
- Discuss with offenders how such issues as drug and alcohol abuse and anger management problems might have played roles in their criminal behavior.
- Supervise people on community-based sentences, such as electronically monitored home detention, and provide field supervision of probationers by conducting curfew checks or visits to home, work, or school.
- Investigate alleged parole violations, using interviews, surveillance, and search and seizure.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).
The feel of the work
Much of the work happens outdoors; you're around people constantly; time pressure is a real part of the job. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 0% of probation officers and correctional treatment specialists are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are people-focused, organized and detail-focused and take-charge.
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Quick questions
- How much does a probation officers and correctional treatment specialist make?
- The median pay is $31.86 per hour — roughly $66,500 a year, with the real range running from about $22.52/hr (10th percentile) to $51.82/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a probation officers and correctional treatment specialist?
- The typical entry-level education is: Bachelor's degree. Overall preparation level: considerable preparation (Job Zone 4 of 5).
- What does a probation officers and correctional treatment specialist actually do all day?
- Prepare and maintain case folder for each assigned inmate or offender. Gather information about offenders' backgrounds by talking to offenders, their families and friends, and other people who have relevant information. Interview probationers and parolees regularly to evaluate their progress in accomplishing goals and maintaining the terms specified in their probation contracts and rehabilitation plans.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.