Probation officerJen Vionito

Nature of work

A Probation officer is a person who basically babysits a criminal. Their job is to investigate thoroughly the offenders personal history and background. They make recommendations on whether the person is to get placed in a facility or further treatment. They are to see their probationers in a certain time period to make sure everything is going okay and may possibly drug test them. They also decide whether the probationer needs further assistants with rehabs or other types of counseling. Primarily their job is to keep the offender from repeating or making new mistakes and to keep them out of trouble.

Education and Training

In order to become a probation officer you must have a bachelor’s degree in social work, criminal justice, phycology or a related field

Qualifications

There are many qualities you must have to become a probation officer. You have to have great communication skills. They must be able to interact with other workers as well as their clients, in a proper form. They have to have critical thinking skills in order to assess the needs of clients before helping them out with the resources they need. They must have amazing decision making skills in order to decide what is right for that offender and what will help them out the most. Another big quality they must have is a high emotional stability. This is because of the hostility an offender can have or if I bad situation were to happen, probation officers have to be able to handle it. Last but not least they need to have organization/writing skills. They must keep all files organized and separated, so they can find it without any hassle. Also they must have writing skills so they can write detailed reports of the clients on a daily basis.

Job Outlook & Future Prospects

Probation officers is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2018.Job Opportunities are expected to be very well grown. They are projected to grow about 19% between the year of 2008 and 2018. Which is faster than the average for all occupations. There are many people in the system that are going to need and do need the parole officer/probation officers to supervise them in becoming a better person.

Potenial Earnings

. They make an average of $40,000 a year. Depending on where you’re located, and how far you are into your job.

3 Related Occupations

Police Officer Social Worker Youth WorkerPrison Officer Forensic Physcolgist