The work can be stressful because of concern for personal safety. Job opportunities are expected to be very favorable due to much faster than average employment growth coupled with high turnover.
Most jobs are in large regional jails or in prisons in rural areas.
Top Correctional officers are responsible for overseeing individuals who have been arrested and are awaiting trial or who have been convicted of a crime and sentenced to serve time in a jail, reformatory, or penitentiary. They maintain security and inmate accountability in order to prevent disturbances, assaults, or escapes. Officers have no law enforcement responsibilities outside the institution where they work. Police and sheriffs' departments in county and municipal jails or precinct station houses employ many correctional officers, also known as detention officers. Most of the approximately 3,300 jails in the United States are operated by county governments, with about three-quarters of all jails under the jurisdiction of an elected sheriff.