# Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists

> Provide social services to assist in rehabilitation of law offenders in custody or on probation or parole. Make recommendations for actions involving formulation of rehabilitation plan and treatment of offender, including conditional release and education and employment stipulations.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/probation-officers-and-correctional-treatment-specialists
- SOC code: 21-1092.00
- Career family: Community and social service
- Median annual pay: $66,270 (10th percentile $46,840, 90th percentile $107,790)
- Projected growth: As fast as average, +3.0%
- Openings a year: 7,900
- Typical entry education: Bachelor's degree
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code SCE)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 23 |
| Investigative (I) | 41 |
| Artistic (A) | 19 |
| Social (S) | 76 |
| Enterprising (E) | 49 |
| Conventional (C) | 53 |

## What you'd do

- Getting Information (importance 94/100)
- Documenting/Recording Information (importance 86/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 86/100)
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards (importance 84/100)
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work (importance 83/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 83/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 81/100)
- Working with Computers (importance 80/100)
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships (importance 77/100)
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge (importance 74/100)

## Skills

Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Complex Problem Solving, Monitoring, Writing, Judgment and Decision Making, Active Learning

## Knowledge

Law and Government, Public Safety and Security, English Language, Psychology, Therapy and Counseling, Sociology and Anthropology, Administrative, Customer and Personal Service, Education and Training, Computers and Electronics

## Also called

Adult Probation and Parole Officer, Adult Probation Officer, Attendance Officer, Community Corrections Specialist, Community Supervision Officer, Correctional Case Manager, Correctional Casework Specialist, Correctional Counselor, Correctional Officer, Correctional Probation Officer

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Social Work](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/4407) (CIP 4407, 849 colleges)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [Providence College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/providence-college-2158) | Social Work | not reported | $70,356 | not reported |
| [CUNY Hunter College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/cuny-hunter-college-739) | Social Work | $46,845 | $70,273 | $11,000 |
| [California State University-San Bernardino](https://www.collegesref.com/college/california-state-university-san-bernardino-376) | Social Work | $59,991 | $69,201 | $11,000 |
| [San Francisco State University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/san-francisco-state-university-2349) | Social Work | $44,889 | $68,524 | $21,763 |
| [California State University-Long Beach](https://www.collegesref.com/college/california-state-university-long-beach-371) | Social Work | $45,614 | $68,448 | $11,000 |
| [Pacific Lutheran University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/pacific-lutheran-university-2059) | Social Work | not reported | $67,458 | $18,862 |
| [University of California-Berkeley CAL](https://www.collegesref.com/college/university-of-california-berkeley-cal-2881) | Social Work | $51,615 | $67,393 | $8,893 |
| [Iona College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/iona-college-1302) | Social Work | not reported | $66,417 | not reported |

## Related careers

- [Correctional Officers and Jailers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/correctional-officers-and-jailers): $58,940 median pay
- [Child, Family, and School Social Workers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/child-family-and-school-social-workers): $59,550 median pay
- [First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/first-line-supervisors-of-correctional-officers): $77,970 median pay
- [Rehabilitation Counselors](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/rehabilitation-counselors): $46,850 median pay
- [Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/mental-health-and-substance-abuse-social-workers): $60,280 median pay
- [Social and Human Service Assistants](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/social-and-human-service-assistants): $45,930 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.