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First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers

Law, Public Safety, Corrections and SecurityO*NET 33-1011.00United States

Directly supervise and coordinate activities of correctional officers and jailers.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning
Median annual earnings
$77,979

50th percentile, United States

Projected change
−0.5%

2025 to 2035

Typical education
High school diploma or less

59% of the workforce

Employment
54.23K jobs

Growing to 53.95K by 2035

Explore this career by location

Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

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The work

What first-line supervisors of correctional officers do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

  • Take, receive, or check periodic inmate counts.
  • Maintain order, discipline, and security within assigned areas in accordance with relevant rules, regulations, policies, and laws.
  • Maintain knowledge of, comply with, and enforce all institutional policies, rules, procedures, and regulations.
  • Respond to emergencies, such as escapes.
  • Supervise and direct the work of correctional officers to ensure the safe custody, discipline, and welfare of inmates.
  • Supervise or perform searches of inmates or their quarters to locate contraband items.
  • Restrain, secure, or control offenders, using chemical agents, firearms, or other weapons of force as necessary.
  • Monitor behavior of subordinates to ensure alert, courteous, and professional behavior toward inmates, parolees, fellow employees, visitors, and the public.
  • Carry injured offenders or employees to safety and provide emergency first aid when necessary.
  • Complete administrative paperwork or supervise the preparation or maintenance of records, forms, or reports.
  • Instruct employees or provide on-the-job training.
  • Conduct roll calls of correctional officers.
  • Supervise activities, such as searches, shakedowns, riot control, or institutional tours.
  • Resolve problems between inmates.
  • Set up employee work schedules.
  • Examine incoming or outgoing mail to ensure conformance with regulations.
  • Transfer or transport offenders on foot or by driving vehicles, such as trailers, vans, or buses.
  • Review offender information to identify issues that require special attention.
  • Develop work or security procedures.
  • Supervise or provide security for offenders performing tasks, such as construction, maintenance, laundry, food service, or other industrial or agricultural operations.
  • Convey correctional officers' or inmates' complaints to superiors.
  • Conduct evaluations of employees' performance.
  • Rate behavior of inmates, promoting acceptable attitudes and behaviors to those with low ratings.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile
$52,333
25th percentile
$59,904
50th percentile
$77,979
75th percentile
$103,334
90th percentile
$127,774

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $77,979 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

−0.5%projected to decline
202554,226 jobs
2035 projected53,953 jobs

273 fewer positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

High school diploma or less
59%
Associate degree
22.9%
Bachelor's degree
10.7%
Certificate
5.2%
Some college
2.3%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

  • Criminal Corrections
  • Food Services
  • Sanitation
  • Cooking
  • Food Preparation
  • Food Safety And Sanitation
  • Security Policies
  • Safety Procedures
  • Hazard Analysis And Critical Control Points (HACCP)
  • Post-Production
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Production Planning
  • Rehabilitation
  • Auditing
  • Social Work
  • Facility Operations
  • Contraband Detection And Control
  • Performance Review
  • Case Management
  • Restorative Justice

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

  1. 01Corrections Officers447 postings
  2. 02Correctional Registered Nurses178 postings
  3. 03Correctional Sergeants157 postings
  4. 04Deputy Jailers150 postings
  5. 05Kitchen Supervisors135 postings
  6. 06Correctional Lieutenants109 postings
  7. 07Corrections Lieutenants107 postings
  8. 08Correctional Supervisors92 postings
  9. 09Correctional Case Managers91 postings
  10. 10Correctional Supervising Cooks88 postings
  11. 11Correctional Captains85 postings
  12. 12Correctional Housing Unit Managers66 postings
  13. 13Corrections Registered Nurses63 postings
  14. 14Correctional Program Supervisors59 postings
  15. 15Juvenile Correctional Officers58 postings
  16. 16Captains51 postings
  17. 17Correctional Food Service Officers51 postings
  18. 18Corrections Sergeants50 postings
  19. 19Corrections Captains48 postings
  20. 20Chiefs of Security45 postings

Top employers

  1. 01Aramark761 postings
  2. 02State of California241 postings
  3. 03State of South Carolina220 postings
  4. 04Department Of Corrections185 postings
  5. 05CoreCivic167 postings
  6. 06Lincoln County Adult Correction108 postings
  7. 07Georgia Department Of Corrections88 postings
  8. 08State of Louisiana85 postings
  9. 09Commonwealth of Kentucky70 postings
  10. 10GEO Group65 postings
  11. 11Management & Training Corporation61 postings
  12. 12State of Indiana58 postings
  13. 13State of Washington56 postings
  14. 14State of Arkansas45 postings
  15. 15State of Florida41 postings
  16. 16United States Department of Justice39 postings
  17. 17State Of Texas32 postings
  18. 18State of Michigan32 postings
  19. 19State of Delaware31 postings
  20. 20Southern Health Partners30 postings

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