Salary
Average Salary: $52,280
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $2,183,000
Parole officers make an average annual wage of around $45,000 (source). It doesn't really seem like enough given the amount of money taxpayers spend imprisoning offenders every year: It costs taxpayers roughly $50,000 dollars a year to incarcerate each prisoner.
In addition to your salary, you also get great benefits, including a pension, health, dental and life insurance plans, as well as retirement and 401(k) benefits. With the pension, some parole officers are able to retire after only twenty to twenty-five years of service with no penalty. Twenty to twenty-five years may sound like a lot to you right now, but trust us—when you retire at forty-seven, you'll be singing a different tune. And you'll have plenty of time for voice lessons.
Not bad, but that last note was a little sharp.
The amount you make depends on where you live. Parole officers living in urban areas make more money than those in rural areas. They earn it, too, as there's more crime, and therefore more criminals/prisoners, in the city than there is in the country. At least officers in urban areas have better job security.
However, the amount of money a state has to spend on parole officers depends on their budget. The more government funding to the parole system, the more you can potentially make (source). Also, parole officers that have a lot of experience get more money from the government.
Generally, parole officers start off making around $35,000-$40,000, and it goes up from there (source). They don't work on commission either, so their attempts to keep parolees out of trouble must be motivated purely by their faith in the justice system and sense of compassion. Too bad, because another hundo here and there for a job well done might be nice.