Salary
Average Salary: $55,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $2,296,140
The typical salary for a correctional institution administrator just doesn't exist—the typical part, not the salary part. What you can make is directly tied to the type of facility you run. CIAs run every kind of lock-up from county jails to federal prisons. The more inmates and staff you are responsible for managing, the higher your salary will be.
The average salary for all types of facilities is $55,000 per year (source). Larger facilities can pay up to $130,000 a year—but that six-figure salary is earned, not given. CIAs have a great deal of responsibility and need a broad range of skills to be successful.
Lock-ups aren't just holding tanks for people until their time is served. Inmates are there to be corrected; rehabbed; put on the straight and narrow. Call it what you like, but one of a CIA's main duties is running a facility where everything is geared toward keeping an inmate from returning after their sentence is served.
Tough? You better believe it. However, enhanced staff training methods, better educational resources for inmates, and incentives to earn an early release for good behavior can make a positive impact. We think using Klondike Bars might help. Apparently, people will do anything for them.