1. What exactly do you do?
- What field is your job in?
Corrections - What is your job title?
Juvenile Detention Officer - Please provide a brief description of the firm or organization that you currently work for (size and general description of what type of organization it is)
I work for a Juvenile Detention Facility. It is a jail for juveniles. It employes under 40 people and has three shifts. We only detain juveniles until they go to court and are sentenced by a judge.
- How long have you been employed in this position?
Six years. - How many hours do you work a week on average?
40 hrs. - Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
40 hrs. - Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
Provide safety and security checks of the facility, update daily paperwork, update court logs, clean parts of the facility, and check on the juveniles on scheduled intervals.
- What was your gross income last year? Please include any bonuses or incentives received.
37000 - What is your expected gross income for this year? Please include any bonuses or incentives you expect to receive.
37500 - Please list any benefits you have (Please include number of weeks vacation, sick leave and type of health insurance, retirement plan 401k)
Medical including precription benefits, optional life insurance, dental, vision. - Do you feel you are under/well/over compensated at your current position?
Well compensated.
2. Work environment!
- Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Explain
My facility is a smaller facility and I work third shift so I only work with two other people on my shift. I like that I am given more responsibility on my shift because I have a sense of accomplishment and have more room for professional growth.
- Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes - Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes - Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it
My work location is locked down 24-7 so I am locked into work for an eight hour shift. This can be difficult because unlike regular jobs, I am not allowed to leave for lunch, breaks, etc... I do not have visitors come by, I can not run home to get lunch, take a walk, etc... There are no scheduled breaks on certain shifts and usually you are eating while you are supervising the children. Sometimes you have to wait to go to the bathroom. My facility is a jail and all that a jail entails.
- Please rank in order of importance from 1-8 (1- most important 8- least important) Assign each number once.
- 1 Income
- 7 Work Environment - co-workers
- 4 Work Environment - supervisors
- 3 Benefits
- 2 Hours
- 5 Level of responsibility
- 6 The actual "work" you do at your job
- 8 Job Title
3. How should someone new to the workforce get a J-O-B like yours?
- If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
I would recommend that they tour some facilities similar to the one that they are hoping to work in. Also, having worked in a residental treatment facility, working with children, or in any type of job which relates to children will definatly help you when applying for this type of job.
- What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours? Please be specific and explain why (e.g., social skills, organization skills, technical skills)
They must like children! They must be tolerant, flexible in terms of hours- they will be working shift work, which means working weekends, holidays, birthdays, etc... They must be able to control their temper because the type of children I work with like to test your boundries and see how far they can take you.
- Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
I believe a Bachelors Degree is helpful in being successful. - What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Be ready to realize that you don't know everything! You have a lot to learn, despite your age and experience. The children you will encounter are unlike any children you have ever met. Some will be "normal" and some will literally be "mentally unstable". You will meet kids you love and kids you hate and you will have to learn to work with each one of them.
4. How did you get your J-O-B
- How did you find your current job? (e.g. newspaper, internet, referral, etc.)
Referral - What was the application process for your job? (e.g. submitted resume, paper application, electronic application, all, etc.)
Resume - Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail? (e.g., number of interviews, who you interviewed with, group interview, individual interview, etc.)
I had one interview which was a group interview. - If you can remember, what questions were you asked at your interview?
They asked me what experience I had, my education, they gave me different scenerios and asked me what I would do, they asked me why I was interested in this particular position. - Is this the job / field you planned to work in?
No - If your job is in a different field from your original plan how did you get here? Explain (Plan can be from high school/college/post college/personal plan)
This job is in my field of study but not my "dream job". I never got hired for my dream job and this job paid so well that I stayed. I began getting a lot good experience here so I decided to stay until I made up my mind to make a career change.
5. Background: Are you qualified?
- Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
I had to do 120 hours of training with a training officer and on the three different shifts at the facility. It was learning about the facility, the policies and proceedures and the way the different shifts worked. - Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain
Yes. I knew how each shift worked, and specifically how the shift I was going to work ran. Each policy and proceedure was explained to me in detail. I was given a lot of hands-on practice with every aspect of my job before I was allowed to work by myself. - Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain
Yes. I feel that it helped me understand how the legal processes worked but I never had classes on how juvenile detention facilities ran so I was not educated about that. I did have several classes in psychology so I was able to understand some of the illnesses some of the children here have and why they have them. - If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare you for your job?
6. The Future and Beyond (FINAL SECTION)
- If someone were to observe you at work, what would he or she say is "fun" about your job?
Having free time on third shift to be able to read a book, watch tv, or being able to talk to my co-workers. On the other shifts, being able to play cards with the kids, playing basketball in the gym, doing arts and crafts, watching movies, and running groups. - What is (are) the most fulfilling aspect(s) and least fulfilling aspect(s) of your current employment? (e.g. fiscal, spiritual, type of work, hours, commute, compensation, etc.)
The money is nice but really, after watching a kid be in jail and struggle and then having them call you at work or seeing them in the community and having them come up to you and tell you how great they are doing and about all of their accomplishments. Hearing the words, "Thank you." is so incredibly satisfying. Knowing you had a part, even if it was a small part, in helping that child change their life makes all the weekends and late nights worth while. - Is your current employment part of your career plan? Why or why not?
It is a stepping stone to my next position, whatever that may be. I am not sure where I will end up but I know that this job provided invaluable experience I could not have gotten anywhere else. - What are your current career goals? (Can be broad or specific)
To obtain a position that I can support my family and work day hours and have my weekends off. - Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
No.
7. A Day in the Life Of...
- 7 am - 8 am
11pm- Get to work for the beginning of my shift. Get briefed by the previous shift on what happened on first and second shift. Man the "Control Room" where all of the locks and phones are. Begin paperwork. - 8 am - 9 am
12am Exit the control room to begin checks on juveniles. Check on juveniles every 15 minutes. Begin folding laundry. - 9 am - 10 am
1am Enter the control room. Continue paperwork. Read a book when finished with paperwork. 1:50a Have break and eat lunch in facility. - 10 am - 11 am
2am Exit control room. Check on juveniles every 15 minutes. Continue folding laundry. Begin setting up laundry for juveniles (towel, washcloth, socks, underware, shorts, shirt, pants, sweatshirt). - 11 am - 12 am
3am Enter control room. Finish any paperwork that is left. Work on any projects that the supervisor has for me. - 12 am - 1 pm
- 1 pm - 2 pm
5am Enter control room. Read a book. - 2 pm - 3 pm
6am Exit control room. Check on juveniles every 15 minutes. Watch the news on tv. - 3 pm - 4 pm
2am Exit control room. Check on juveniles every 15 minutes. Continue folding laundry. Begin setting up laundry for juveniles (towel, washcloth, socks, underware, shorts, shirt, pants, sweatshirt). - 4 pm - 5 pm
- 5 pm - 6 pm
- 6 pm - 7 pm
- 7 pm - 8 pm
- 8 pm - 9 pm
- 9 pm - 10 pm
- 10 pm - 11 pm
- 11 pm - 12 pm