Protective Service · Holland code ECS
First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of correctional officers and jailers.
Also called: Correctional Officer Captain, Correctional Supervisor.
O*NET 33-1011.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $77,970
- Middle half earn $59,890 to $103,320. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 59% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- 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.
- Monitor behavior of subordinates to ensure alert, courteous, and professional behavior toward inmates, parolees, fellow employees, visitors, and the public.
- Restrain, secure, or control offenders, using chemical agents, firearms, or other weapons of force as necessary.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Active Listening4.0 / 5
- Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
- Monitoring4.0 / 5
- Speaking3.9 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.8 / 5
- Writing3.5 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Public Safety and Security4.8 / 5
- Law and Government4.4 / 5
- Administration and Management4.2 / 5
- Psychology4.1 / 5
- English Language4.0 / 5
- Administrative3.7 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic43
- Investigative13
- Artistic0
- Social59
- Enterprising89
- Conventional68
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- lieutenant · DE Leutnant/Leutnantin · FR lieutenant
- sergeant · DE Unteroffizier/Unteroffizierin · FR sergent-chef
- police commissioner · DE Polizeipräsident/Polizeipräsidentin · FR commissaire de police
- correctional services manager · DE Gefängnisdirektor/Gefängnisdirektorin · FR chef d'établissement pénitentiaire
- prison instructor · DE Lehrkraft im Justizvollzug · FR instructeur technique pénitentiaire/instructrice technique pénitentiaire
- probation officer · DE Bewährungshelfer/Bewährungshelferin · FR agent de probation/agente de probation
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services (1163)8,000 employed
- Prison service officers (below principal officer) (3314)38,500 employed
- Officers in armed forces (1161)33,700 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Managers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €96,629 |
| Italy | €96,052 |
| Germany | €90,192 |
| Austria | €82,936 |
| Netherlands | €69,857 |
| Sweden | €60,369 |
| France | €58,740 |
| Ireland | €55,854 |
| Spain | €54,121 |
| Portugal | €39,189 |
| Poland | €19,596 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.56. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (33-1011).
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