Correctional Officers and Jailers

Low Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (4)

Lower estimated automation risk

First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers
14% automation risk | Minimal Risk
Pays better Higher growth
9.7 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Directly reuses corrections rules, inmate supervision, incident response, staff coaching, and safety procedures.

Security Management Specialists
10% automation risk | Minimal Risk
Pays better Higher growth
13.4 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Applies threat assessment, access procedures, safety policies, incident response, and security coordination.

Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists
17% automation risk | Minimal Risk
Pays better Higher growth
7.1 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Uses offender supervision, documentation, risk awareness, interviews, court process, and rehabilitation context.

Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary
12% automation risk | Minimal Risk
Pays better Higher growth
12.3 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Fits experienced officers teaching corrections practice, safety, legal procedure, and scenario-based training.

Compare this job with others
or search for another job
Share your results with friends and family.

Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
4.8/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

24% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): This occupation has a lower risk of full replacement by AI, software, or robotic systems. Some tasks may be automated or assisted, but the role usually still relies on human judgement, communication, responsibility, physical adaptability, or practical decision-making.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Decision-making and problem solving

Very important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Assisting and caring for others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide hands-on help, emotional support, or personal care to people—work that depends on empathy, trust, and responding to individual needs in the moment.
Jobs that also use this strength

Social perceptiveness

Quite important
Why this matters
Noticing others’ emotions and reactions in the moment and adjusting what you say or do based on why they’re responding that way.
Jobs that also use this strength

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Persuasion

Quite important
Why this matters
Influencing people to change their minds or behavior through conversation, trust, and negotiation.
Jobs that also use this strength
Show 5 more strengths

Coaching and developing others

Quite important
Why this matters
Helps people learn and improve through coaching, mentoring, and feedback. This relies on trust, motivation, and adapting guidance to each person—work that’s hard to replace end-to-end with automation.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
Jobs that also use this strength

Communicating with people outside the organization

Quite important
Why this matters
Represents the organization to customers, the public, or government—handling questions, concerns, and relationship-building through conversations, writing, calls, or email.
Jobs that also use this strength

Consulting and advising others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide guidance and expert advice to managers or teams on technical, system, or process decisions—explaining options, tradeoffs, and recommended actions.
Jobs that also use this strength

Active learning

Quite important
Why this matters
Keeps learning from new information and applying it to make better decisions now and in the future, especially when situations change.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 202 votes

35% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 24% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Correctional Officers and Jailers will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

Based on user votes over time

View sentiment trend

How opinions have changed over time

Pay & outlook

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Correctional Officers and Jailers was $57,970 ($28 per hour).

The median annual wage for Correctional Officers and Jailers was 17.1% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Very slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Correctional Officers and Jailers' job openings is expected to decline 7.8% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 365,380 people employed as 'Correctional Officers and Jailers' within the United States.

This represents around 0.24% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 421 people are employed as 'Correctional Officers and Jailers'.

People also viewed

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers Lawyers Computer Programmers Accountants and Auditors Actors

What people are saying (5)

Leave a comment
Scorps (Highly likely)
28 Jul 2023 07:03
The reason highly likely is A.I is around the clock, doesn't need breaks doesn't need time off for family or sick days 24/7 7days a week it's like everything moving into a new world order changes is coming if we like it or not
KEVIN NDIRANGU MWANIKI
04 May 2021 12:33
i don't think it's likely to be automated since the rehabilitation of offenders depends heavily on the person to person contact
JR Ledurt
05 Sep 2025 00:51
This! Corrections is moving is heavily leaning into the care part of care and custody
Roger
15 Oct 2020 14:25
Good luck getting the inmates off the yard with a robot. Good luck with inmate stripping your parts for weapons and other use for contraband. Good luck a robot knowing what type use a force a human flesh. I can see prisons operated entirely by a both operators but even then can a robot do a cell extraction of a uncooperative inmate? How about the functions of different custody levels?
Douglas (Highly likely)
27 Jun 2020 22:45
I work in corrections and we are basically turn keys an social workers. Offenders are already contained so automation seems highly probable.
Leave a reply about this occupation
0/8000

Job description

Guard inmates in penal or rehabilitative institutions in accordance with established regulations and procedures. May guard prisoners in transit between jail, courtroom, prison, or other point. Includes deputy sheriffs and police who spend the majority of their time guarding prisoners in correctional institutions.

O*NET-SOC code: 33-3012.00