Works Cited

Prison Legal Service (2012). Classification: special category and major offenders, Retrieved

17 February 2012 from http://prisonerlaw.org/prisoner/index.php?option+com_countent&view=article&id

Career in Corrections Today

As with many other careers, there are a host of factors to consider when determining the right career choice for an individual. What makes the decision to choose corrections different is the level of personal risk involved in working within the prison system. Corrections is a life and death job and corrections officers are 'in the belly of the beast' on a daily basis. There is a heightened level of stress associated with this kind of career choice, and any individual considering must understand how they personally deal with stress in order to ensure longevity in their career.

The pros and cons must certainly be weighed. Corrections, in many states, is not a high paying job, therefore, there are economic considerations that must be made....

Longevity in corrections is contingent in many ways on the individual. Retirement from corrections with a pension is possible but a number of tenuous years must be put in before this can be considered a reality. There has to be more to it than money that attracts an individual to corrections and that person needs to be clear about what that is and whether or not it is enough to sustain them through the rough times.
"Each guard is far outnumbered by prisoners and the need to coexist for months and years with prisoners places a premium on maturity, leadership, self-confidence, judgment, and effective interpersonal relations" (Jacobs, 1983). Given the aforementioned statement, an individual considering a career in corrections must possess these qualities in order to be effective and have a productive career. It requires a great deal of personal assessment to determine if corrections is the right career choice.

Works Cited

Jacobs, J. (1983). New perspectives on prisons and imprisonment. Ithaca, NY: Cornell