Prison Jobs — Ask the Inmate
Work assignments inside correctional facilities are one of the most important aspects of daily life that most people on the outside never think about. The right job assignment means structure, additional good time credits at some facilities, access to certain areas of the institution, and in some cases, meaningful skills development. The wrong assignment, or no assignment at all, means more idle time and fewer opportunities. This section covers how work assignments are made, which jobs are most valuable from a good time and daily life perspective, how kitchen work specifically generates additional credits at some facilities, what vocational training programs are available through prison employment, and how to request a specific work assignment or transfer from one assignment to another. The guidance here comes from people who understand from the inside how work assignments shape the incarceration experience. See also our sections on Education and Vocational Training, Sentence Reduction, and Commissary.
The highest prison wage in the prison is paid by a joint venture program. It is a private company that operates using inmate labor. Their wages are minimum wage with the payments going to three different places. The prisoner has to pay room and board, a share goes to a bank account to assist the inmate upon release from prison. As well as a portion of the prisoners pay check goes to a family member if desired and some to
Read moreYes, inmates make millions of license plates each year. Here are some other products and services that inmates are placing into the public sector. 1. BOOKS FOR THE BLIND There are 36 prison Braille-writing programs in the United States. Through the American Printing House for the Blind, offenders help write K-12 textbooks for blind students. In Missouri, the Center for Braille and Narration Production employs 102 convicts, many whom are certified through the Library of Congress. They transcribe
Read moreIt could be for a number of reasons. If you call the facility, they may or may not tell you why. Work release is reserved for inmates with the best record while incarcerated. Work release is a privilege as the inmates are working outside the complex with a minor supervision and a high level of trust. If something happened that would remove that status, it might be why they've taken him off work release. Or it could be something else
Read moreInmates are paid anywhere from $.12/hr to $.40/hr depending on the job and the responsibilities. There are instances where inmates that rise to supervisory positions can receive pay exceeding $1.00/hr but that is rare.
Read moreAlmost every inmate must have a job. They range from working in the kitchen, in education, landscaping, recreation, construction, plumbing, electrical, as a medical orderly, as an orderly cleaning the general areas, clerking for staff, working in the chapel are among the many jobs available for inmates. The pay is between 12 - 40 cents per hour. Some inmates actually have the opportunity to make a bit more money in their jobs if they take on a supervisory role reporting
Read moreYes, and having a physical limitation does not excuse an inmate from the work assignment system entirely. Correctional facilities do a reasonable job of matching inmates to jobs that fit their physical capabilities rather than simply leaving people with health issues unassigned. For someone who cannot walk properly or has significant mobility limitations, the facility's medical and classification staff document those restrictions and use them to determine appropriate placement. There are plenty of jobs inside that do not require
Read moreFort Dix is one of the largest federal correctional institutions in the country and the math on jobs versus population is a real issue. With close to 5,000 inmates and a limited number of formal UNICOR and facility work assignments available, not everyone is going to have a paying job at any given time. That is just the reality of a facility that size. What happens in practice is that job assignments get prioritized based on several factors, including
Read moreThe dramatic version of prison farm labor that circulates online and gets portrayed on television does not reflect the day to day reality for most inmates assigned to agricultural or outdoor work details, though the broader conversation about prison labor and fair compensation is a legitimate one worth understanding. Farm duty and outdoor work assignments are generally considered among the better details available inside. Inmates assigned to these jobs are outside, physically active, doing something that feels purposeful, and
Read moreInmate jobs in jail and prison fall into two broad categories: facility maintenance work that keeps the institution running, and specialized positions that require more skill or trust. Facility maintenance is where most inmates start. Kitchen work, cleaning common areas and bathrooms, landscaping, laundry, and general upkeep are the jobs that everyone rotates through. They are not glamorous but they provide structure, get inmates out of their cells, and can count toward good behavior records. Specialized positions open
Read moreThey are released everyday to go out and seek a job. The sooner they find employment, the sooner they can get permission to drive a car and then ultimately home confinement.
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