Should I continue with prison officer application even though everyone's trying to put me off/laughing?

[AmusedCrow]

Every single person is saying 'Oh I couldn't do that ' 'Are you sure you want to do that?' or, laughing at the thought of me doing it because I'm not some big, tough intimidating man. (I'm a woman).
I'm well aware of the sort of challenges I'll face, I'm in my mid 30s now and have worked in 'challenging' situations before.
I want to give it a try, I know it's out of most people's comfort zones but I want to go in there with the intention of supporting and helping the prisoners. It's a men's prison.

At the end of the day it's also £10,000 pay rise compared to what I earn now.

If you want to do it then do it.

Do what you want to do. Even if they are right and you absolutely hate it you’ll never know without trying.

If you feel like it's something you would be interested in and you think you can make a good impact, then go for it. You can always leave if you decide after working there that it's not for you.

Thank you everyone. I do feel I can make a good impact, I am a bit worried they'll see me as weak (the prisoners) so I'll need to keep firm and stick to boundaries.
True I'll never know. I'll go for it.

I’d have a really hard think about it op. A member of my family is a prison officer, thankfully off the wings and into a desk job now. I say thankfully as he’s experienced some terrible things. Found more than one prisoner hanging having committed suicide. Been assaulted so badly he needed his knee replaced and still isn’t right years later. Has colleagues who have had much worse than that, one was in a coma for a long time having been beaten badly and has never recovered. This is a cat A male prison. The men don’t go easy if the officers are female. The union doesn’t seem to support their staff which is why the staff leave in droves. I wouldn’t do it in a million years. The reality is very different than the idea of wanting to help rehabilitate people, and the pay is pitiful for the risk you’d be taking. Sorry to be a downer but it’s not a path I’d recommend to anyone.

I would give it a try. A friend’s daughter works in a prison. She is fit but only five feet tall, so being big is clearly not essential!

You might find it helpful to speak to someone who works in a prison about their experience - someone might pop up on here, hopefully. 🤞

Go for it!

It isn't a job for everyone. It can be very challenging, not just the prisoners but management as well.

You will develop great interpersonal skills and managing conflict and conflict resolution skills.

I would say that shift work doesn't suit everybody's home situation or social life, so keep that in mind. In my work there is always plenty of overtime on offer for those that want it so easily able to increase pay. Last year my gross pay was probably about 10k above my base pay and I don't do anywhere near as many extra hours as some of my colleagues.

Another consideration for you, is that there is violence towards prison officers, however, it is less towards women, in my experience.

Sorry this might have ended up so long

If you don't , you'll always wonder . Like policing , there's more to being a good prison officer than just brute strength and stature .

Thank you! I have done shift work/nights before so that's not an issue, and I'm already in the Civil Service.
It is a shame to think only big, surly intimidating men should be prison officers.

Go for it. If you hate it or it's not for you,you can leave. I'm 53,female, and I'm in my 29th year as an officer in a male Cat A prison. Yes it's daunting at first but I found if you give as good as you get, are firm but fair, and don't get offended easily you're halfway there. You'll be better off in a high security establishment as we have a hell of a lot more staff than local prisons so are a safer environment. The camaraderie is second to none but you will need a thick skin. It's not the job for everyone but you never know until you try. Good luck 😊

Sometimes the big intimidating men have a harder time. Partly because they can lack the interpersonal skills to talk to the prisoners. But also the prisoners gave less to prove to females than the male staff.

In case you haven't guessed I am a prison officer and work on the wings.

I have been assaulted and had to deal with some not very nice things but that is not as often as the good days for me which is why I am still there

Thank you for the confidence boost, I am going to go for it. I am sorry to hear some of you have been assaulted, that's a real fear in this role.

Go for it!

My friend is a prison officer and is very up and down with it.

Can’t lie she once loved it but after seeing a man hang himself and dying after she performed CPR she was traumatised and had counselling. She went back after being on sick and her colleague was stabbed on her shift. She went back on sick for a long time. She couldn’t find another job to match that pay though and it seems a lot of prison officers get dependent on the salary and can’t walk into a job elsewhere matching the same pay so get stuck.
However after going back the second time she’s found it a lot more tolerable after a lot of counselling. She still gets anxiety prior to going on shift and hates observations (suicide watch) after what happened but her colleagues are great and will do it for her when she’s on observations, so teamwork sounds great.

Shes very beautiful so gets a lot of attention from prisoners and often when she checks in they are purposefully wanking in the window so she’ll see. I found that shocking but she just rolls her eyes as isn’t bothered by that sort of stuff. She said it’s more that after her experiences it’s scared her realising at any time on a shift your life can change in an instant with an unhinged prisoner.

From what I can tell from her and our mutual friend who works there:

• You start the job and love the novelty
• You get used to the salary so naturally outgoings get higher so need that income
• If your unlucky you become jaded from experience or suffer some horrible incidents that effects you.
• You then can’t leave because your now dependant on said salary but can’t find a job to match that salary unless you make a big financial sacrifice which feels like going ‘backwards’.

I don’t work there but that seems to be my friends experience. Very up and down it seems.

Give it a go, if you get the job and hate it the you can always change jobs.

It's not quite comparable I guess but I previously worked in dementia care and experienced a lot of sexual harassment and assaults from male residents (as did other female staff). It wasn't their fault, but I agree it can be a very tough environment.

The trying to put you off I can sort of understand, they’re probably worried for you. But laughing? That’s inexplicable. It’s a vital, specialised and much underrated/appreciated role that very few people are cut out for.

depends on the prison. I have worked in several. Some are like war zones. Others are totally different, with the the prisoners and prison officers all feeling like they are on the same side. Of course there are bad moments, but in general, where I am now, prison officers are kind and caring, and prisoners are responsive to them. This is a cat A prison. I think being somewhere where prisoners stay long term is helpful in building up positive relationships

Go for it OP - we need kind and caring prison staff

I think they're laughing because I'm not an intimidating type. I usually get an array of comments such as 'oh I can't imagine you doing xyz' because I'm more of a 'gentle' person and people like to put you in boxes.

I appreciate the support!

It's a Cat B/C prison?

It's a rewarding job. Go for it!

I've never laughed so much as I have in this job! A few scary moments but you will find your way

You don't need to be intimidating. You really don't.

None of the prison officers I m wo are big and burley but I live near a male young offenders prison, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference- three of them are female one is male.

The thing that I've noticed about prison officers is that they never look healthy. Is it the hours or the working environment or something else? I've no idea. I think you should go for it OP. If you're not suitable you won't need offered a job.

@LynetteScavo it's probably the night shifts! 👻

If you can't take the banter from friends and family, you won't last five minutes in a prison