Also called: Secretary of Corrections, Director of Corrections
Leads an entire state prison system, often with tens of thousands of staff and incarcerated people.
Corrections commissioners report to the governor, manage huge budgets, set policy on everything from rehabilitation to staffing shortages, and face the press when things go wrong. Most rose through the ranks as wardens.
State executive pay. Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 20 years after high school. Bachelor's or master's plus decades of corrections leadership.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Criminal Justice, Public Administration.
Growing about average. One per state.
Low risk for 10 years. Data tools inform policy; running a state prison system and answering to the public stay human.
Classes: Government / Civics, Economics, Speech, Psychology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 11-1011.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.