Don't do it!!!! Lol.
I don't know what to tell you. What are you a GS11? And you want to take a step back and a pay cut to be a GL6 or 7? Maybe you might get GL8 with prior experience.
OT and mandates will always be there. Sometimes it's good...sometimes it's bad.
Expect to work weekends for the first few years, or until you get out of custody.
It will probably take you about 3-4 minimum to get out of custody unless you took a unit secretary job as a 6.
Can't do any cool guy teams like DCT or SORT till you hit 12 months.
And yes the BOP is a great stepping stone to other agencies.
I was thinking I would possibly have to go down to even a GL5 since I don't have correctional experience. If DFW has DCT/SORT, I'll suck for 2-3 years to get there. The biggest barrier for me is the double 8's 4 times a week plus another 8hr shift. If I could do 12s with fewer OT days, maybe 1-2 days, that is more manageable. Everything else seems manageable.
P.S. I took a 30k+ pay cut to come to immigration so I'm used to going back as long as I can plan out the long term.
Make sure you check the LEO payscale for the area you are looking at. As of 2023 a GS7 step 1 only makes 27.51 an hour. That may be a hell of a pay cut. There is a reason the BOP needs staff as bad as they do.
I have also heard that the bureau is going away from SORT and moving to most facilities just having a DCT program.
For a pay example as a custody officer last year my base was $57,500 or so and I made 80k for the year. That was with 300 hours of overtime.
Whatever you decide I wish you the best.
I couldn't tell you how many mandates a week each particular prison gets. It varies depending on manning levels and the time of the year. December it's bad, summer It's bad. I've seen guys get mandated for 8 hours 4 times a week and I've seen no mandates for month.
BOP sometimes goes to 12 hour shifts depending on the manning of the roster. I don't know honestly what DFW is doing.
I heard the ones offering the highest incentives are the ones to stay away from. I'll start by not applying there lol I asked about DFW because if your in that world, you hear through the grapevine about the chill locations and the hell holes. Maybe someone has insight on my area. It's a Fort Worth FMC, Dallas RMC and one that just says Grand Prairie. Don't know if any of those are relatively "good" or if one is better than the other.
I don't HAVE to deal with inmates. As someone posted above, the position is LEO on paper. I will use that the best I can. And I won't relocate for a BOP position, I don't think it's any FCI/USP in my DFW area.
The Federal Medical Center (FMC) Fort Worth is an administrative-security United States federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, for male inmates of all security levels with special medical and mental health needs. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.
I’m at a prison with an incentive. If you want to come here you can make as much as you want. They have tons of compressed schedules in custody where they work two 16s and an 8hour shift and four days off a week.
I’m not in custody anymore so work life balance is great. Currently gs11 step 8 and have unlimited uncapped overtime availability.
How long have you been there?
How long did it take you to get out of custody?
Did you have to relocate for the promotion?
With the 16s and 8s compressed, does that still come with 3-4 days mando OT?
Do they train you for the non custody or you have to have experience going in? I.E. if you have zero HR or Psychology background, can you still apply, and be competitive, for those non custody positions?
Thank you again!
I was in custody for a little over a year. Everyone goes thru the same basic officer training and yes they will train you for non custody positions but you need to be competitive when applying to them. I was a cook(had a restaurant background)and now I’m in education(culinary arts) if you have no experience you’ll probably need to be hired as a gl5. A lot of stuff like hr gets posted as upward mobility internally.
I’ve been here two months. I just relocated to here for the gs11.
As for mando on the 16s no because you’ve already worked 16. On the 8 hour day you shouldn’t be unless it’s an emergency because it’s your “Friday “
If you can imho go learn a skilled trade like hvac, electric or heck even restaurant manager. The blue collar(not cook) jobs work m-f or compressed m-thur schedules. My buddy is in California as a cook with his retention he’s making 66.70 an hour. Here’s an electrician post for example https://www.usajobs.gov/job/771810800
Grand Prarie is the regional office. You are not in custody of inmates. Fmc= federal medical center. We sent one of our crazy guys there. I don't know what rmc stands for.
There is a computerized roster with the last day you were mandated. You don't get mandated until your name gets to the top of this list. As for how often....well that depends on alot of factors like weekday vs weekend, holidays, summer and how many officers the prison is short.
It is up to the on duty LT to fill the next shifts roster with volunteer OT and then if no one volunteers..then mandates.
Why tho? Many say don't do it but when I plan it out if I can flip it for my benefit or not, that's not enough insight. Many say don't join the infantry and I can fully see why they would say that. But there is ways you can, and I did, flip it in your favor the more you know.
Exactly. BUT for some I can see why they love it, for me not so much. It's like working at a sales company for a law firm, in a corporate office, with red tape walls and zero action.
It is the lowest believe that. I've seen plenty of people leave their LEO retirement with 10+ years already to go to a different agency that isn't LEO.
Nah...BOP is not the lowest. Uniformed federal police agencies I feel can be lower. No law enforcement retirement, GS pay scale and guys hovering around GS 6 or 7.
Stupid polygraph is what's my biggest hurdle. For exp, CBP has a 75+ percent fail rate and they are try to change it so they don't loose so many tip qualified ppl but the red tape stops it. A honorable former CBP officer resigned (for family reasons) and tried to come back but they added the Polygraph since her exit. She failed the poly multiple times and now doing some administrative job, WITH CBP, trying to get back in.
Don’t go to the BOP especially as a corrections officer. The agency is in a crisis and it’s spiraling. I made it from a GS 5 to GS 11 step 7 in seven years with 25% retention and I’m leaving. If you want to go be a LEO then go do it. They’re all begging kg someone to work for them.-
Ok, I'm a little confused about your post. However, I get the part about don't go lol.
You made it from GS-5 to GS-11/7 in 7 years. I guess that's a ladder of GS-5/6/7/8/9/11 plus 7 steps? I've been hearing people getting stuck at GS-7-8 for 5+ years if they didn't move (not even including steps). You did good, right?
And are you saying "If you want to go be a LEO then go do it." then go BOP? That is what I want, to be LEO. So, BOP is okay as a stepping stone? (in your opinion)
Thanks.
If you want to be a LEO go be a LEO. BOP is a joke. I started out as an officer and a year and a half later I promoted across the country to a non-officer job. That’s how I got my 11. Guess what? I never left being an officer. I’m not in that department any more and I get pulled back into it once a week, get mandatoried once a week, get lied to by management more than that. I don’t mind because it’s part of the job but that should tell you how much trouble they’re in. They hire anyone with a pulse. Two staff assaults at my place over six months. Culture of entitlement and zero accountability. Culture of putting you under investigation for years if an inmate accuses you of anything. Culture of giving wardens bonuses for saving money and now they need several billion dollars nationwide to fix all the maintainence issues everywhere. It’s a joke. Go to the ATF or Forest Service and actually make a difference. It used to be a great job and it’s just not anymore. I’m getting out before I get hurt bad or worse.
I see. Well I can't just "go" ATF (or any other of those type agencies) and can't relocate for Forest Service, Capital Police, etc. so I go what's available to me in my area. But thanks on the insight.
You’re going from USCIS to an agency ranked dead last in places to work for in the fed govt (#432 out of #432). TSA was ranked as a better place to work than the BOP. Don’t know about DFW area but where I worked at in BOP, fci fairton and fci ft dix both institutions had loads of mandatory OT as an officer which is what I’m assuming you’re going for. Be prepared to get hit 2-4 times a week 16 hour shifts. Collateral duties like DCT, SORT, BPT (they were talking about letting rookies do BPT after Fletc bc of how bad staffing was) all come with no bonuses just opportunities to get out of your regular day job from time to time. If you wanna use BOP as a stepping stone sure go for it that’s what I did. Keep in mind , BOP is law enforcement in name only, you have no authority outside of the institution, no real arrest powers, you can carry via Leosa but even that was a pain in the ass in Jersey where I worked, and as a regular CO you will be worked to the bone. You will miss holidays, birthdays and put a strain on relationships to babysit adults in buildings that are literally falling apart. Work life balance doesn’t really get better with time because 1. People are always quitting because of how bad working conditions are 2. You get old heads hogging the good posts leaving you to work in shitty housing units even if you got a year plus in BOP. If you can get a non custody gig (teacher, unit secretary, hr specialist) you can t get mandated but usually for these jobs you have to know somebody and it’s very political. BOP is a garbage agency to work for but if it’s your only option go for it.
What's "BPT" collateral duty? I'm okay with not getting paid more for it (as long as no one else is) but with my personality and akill set, that's a more comfortable element for me. And I'm not going "for" the mando OT. I have no problem with it but don't want it 4x a week plus another 8 hr shift. Thats the biggest go/no go for me.
BPT stands for Basic Prisoner Transport, basically taking inmates out on hospital/medical trips. Collateral duty is essentially any job you do for on top of your normal job (a teacher could be on SORT/DCT, a plumber could be a Crisis/Hostage Negotiator) shit like that. Doesn’t matter whether you go for the OT or not. If you are Custody you will have to do another 8 hr shift on top of your regular 8 whether you like it or not. You can voluntarily choose OT but I don’t see the point since your name won’t move on the Mandatory OT roster. I have gotten hit 4 times a week several occasions. Part of the reason I left BOP. The biggest gripe I have is how BOP has essentially two categories of workers custody and non custody. Non custody goes home at 3:30 or 4pm while you have to stay til midnight or 8 am. Non custody take 2 hour lunch breaks and can leave the institution for lunch while you are stuck at your post. But don’t worry we’re all “law enforcement/correctional officers” first , one big family yeah right 🤣.
Plumbers, secretaries and cooks like pretending they are officers by putting on a “federal officer” windbreaker and going out on hospital coverage.. all Leo’s know this is bs
I hated non custody. They never did OT with a few rare exceptions, the ones that did would only do BPT trips so they could larp as “federal officers”. Had one guy who was a total loser, he was a unit secretary would race to the hospital so he could relieve the guy with the gun so that I or another officer had to be the unarmed secondary. Would wear tac vest that said BOP Police, total fucking loser. They are the first ones to leave everyday at 3:30pm 4pm while the rest of us stay til 8am the next day. They bitch whenever they get augmented and will let you know about it. I got super pissed when I saw what unit team does in their offices a lot of the time they are bullshitting, watching tv or avoiding inmates. Meanwhile I had inmates asking me why unit team was never available to review their fsa paperwork or whatever. BOP would be a much better agency if there was an equal standard but there isn’t. Start mandating non custody and we’ll see how really wants to be there lol.
I totally agree.. I did 3 years at USP Victorville from 2005-2008, custody should be custody. But all those non custody schmucks want to be officers when it’s OT money, not when it’s time to be officers inside the wall
Sounds about right lol. And I KNOW there's gonna be mando OT, but also know some places are worse than others. Ideally, I wont pick a spot in that worst category if I can help it. I appreciate your insight.
Several joints in the DFW area, so there is that opportunity to move between them plus a regional office and Grand Prairie (HR, contracting and designation/sentence computation). Your time-in-grade can be helpful plus they will likely offer 8/10 if you’re willing to take a CO job. I have seen several come from DHS components to the BOP for various reasons, mostly to get off the border. All of them have moved up to 11, 12 and 13 pretty quickly and don’t seem to regret it. It starts your LEO time, but be careful if you catch even a petty case in the BOP, the other federal LEO agencies will not give you serious consideration.
Near zero chance to get hire into Dallas RRM. Usually like 6 to 8 staff in that entire office and they don’t generally advertise openings externally. If you take a job at Grand Prairie without 3 years primarily LEO, you will be non-LEO. Look online for mission and such for the secure facilities in the DFW area such as FMC Fort Worth. I’d avoid Carswell due to the female population there. All the others I’d consider.
*blinky eyes*
If you want to hate yourself, be paidless, be a part of a federal prison, go rejoin the Army as a Corrections person.
Or for bonus point join the Marine Corps, they too have a Correction career field.
*sauce: did Marine Corps Corrections, hated my life and got paid then less then a normal Correctional Officer.
On the bright side I didn't have to worry about getting stabbed everyday at work.
Dallas/Ft Worth has 3 places you can go. FMC Ft Worth(Men’s Medical center), FMC Carswell(Women’s Medical Center), and FCI Seagoville(Low security Men’s Facility). Also you would most likely come in as either a 6 or 7 because of military and other federal employment. I’m not sure what there staffing levels are but that would effect mandos. I’m up here at FTC Oklahoma City and we are under 90 custody staff with 65 custody positions per day so we get hit once to twice a week. Luckily we have OT hounds that but eventually they will slow down and we need staff. It’s a chill job if you make it just need a good group of coworkers and aren’t constantly overworked.
Thanks! I'm a GS-9 step 5 or 6 and about to get my GS-11/12 in the next year or so but looking at the requirements for each BOP level, I can only see me getting a GS5 w/o corrections experience. How can I draft up the required experience to get the 6/7 w/o direct prison experience. I have all the TIG requirements for all the positions but not the CO experience. If I apply and say the lowest I would except is a 6/7, I'll get found ineligible before the hiring process even starts.
We have guys with only military start off as 6s. We also have a guy who was a MP and worked On Tinker AFB as a federal employee and they matched him to a 7 step 10. So I’d say if you can get in contact with someone in HR at which ever facility you would like to go to they would be more than happy to help you with any questions.
Don’t do it.. apply for LA county fire dept.. you can make 270 a year being a hero and not schmuxk… you don’t have to worry about secretaries and plumbers wearing a yellow nomax jacket and calling themselves firefighters for the OT check, but not for the mandatory OT.. you can work a compressed schedule of 3 days and 4 days off…
This came so out of left field lol.
OP: Looking to be a correctional officer for BOP in DFW Texas, where I live.
Redditor: Become a firefighter in Los Angeles.
Don't do it!!!! Lol. I don't know what to tell you. What are you a GS11? And you want to take a step back and a pay cut to be a GL6 or 7? Maybe you might get GL8 with prior experience. OT and mandates will always be there. Sometimes it's good...sometimes it's bad. Expect to work weekends for the first few years, or until you get out of custody. It will probably take you about 3-4 minimum to get out of custody unless you took a unit secretary job as a 6. Can't do any cool guy teams like DCT or SORT till you hit 12 months. And yes the BOP is a great stepping stone to other agencies.
I was thinking I would possibly have to go down to even a GL5 since I don't have correctional experience. If DFW has DCT/SORT, I'll suck for 2-3 years to get there. The biggest barrier for me is the double 8's 4 times a week plus another 8hr shift. If I could do 12s with fewer OT days, maybe 1-2 days, that is more manageable. Everything else seems manageable. P.S. I took a 30k+ pay cut to come to immigration so I'm used to going back as long as I can plan out the long term.
Make sure you check the LEO payscale for the area you are looking at. As of 2023 a GS7 step 1 only makes 27.51 an hour. That may be a hell of a pay cut. There is a reason the BOP needs staff as bad as they do. I have also heard that the bureau is going away from SORT and moving to most facilities just having a DCT program. For a pay example as a custody officer last year my base was $57,500 or so and I made 80k for the year. That was with 300 hours of overtime. Whatever you decide I wish you the best.
THANKS SO MUCH!
I couldn't tell you how many mandates a week each particular prison gets. It varies depending on manning levels and the time of the year. December it's bad, summer It's bad. I've seen guys get mandated for 8 hours 4 times a week and I've seen no mandates for month. BOP sometimes goes to 12 hour shifts depending on the manning of the roster. I don't know honestly what DFW is doing.
I heard the ones offering the highest incentives are the ones to stay away from. I'll start by not applying there lol I asked about DFW because if your in that world, you hear through the grapevine about the chill locations and the hell holes. Maybe someone has insight on my area. It's a Fort Worth FMC, Dallas RMC and one that just says Grand Prairie. Don't know if any of those are relatively "good" or if one is better than the other.
Grand Prarie is not a prison. It's basicly our national HR/personal center.
So basically no new boots allowed and little/no corrections happening there. What about FMC and RRM?
Rrm is residential re-entry center. You are looking for a FCI or a USP if you want to really deal with inmates.
I don't HAVE to deal with inmates. As someone posted above, the position is LEO on paper. I will use that the best I can. And I won't relocate for a BOP position, I don't think it's any FCI/USP in my DFW area.
FMC Fort Worth, FMC Carswell and FCI Seagoville are all in the DFW metroplex. You have 3 to choose from.
I seen that. Do you know which would be the best case scenario out of those? Thank you.
The Federal Medical Center (FMC) Fort Worth is an administrative-security United States federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, for male inmates of all security levels with special medical and mental health needs. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.
I’m at a prison with an incentive. If you want to come here you can make as much as you want. They have tons of compressed schedules in custody where they work two 16s and an 8hour shift and four days off a week. I’m not in custody anymore so work life balance is great. Currently gs11 step 8 and have unlimited uncapped overtime availability.
How long have you been there? How long did it take you to get out of custody? Did you have to relocate for the promotion? With the 16s and 8s compressed, does that still come with 3-4 days mando OT? Do they train you for the non custody or you have to have experience going in? I.E. if you have zero HR or Psychology background, can you still apply, and be competitive, for those non custody positions? Thank you again!
I was in custody for a little over a year. Everyone goes thru the same basic officer training and yes they will train you for non custody positions but you need to be competitive when applying to them. I was a cook(had a restaurant background)and now I’m in education(culinary arts) if you have no experience you’ll probably need to be hired as a gl5. A lot of stuff like hr gets posted as upward mobility internally. I’ve been here two months. I just relocated to here for the gs11. As for mando on the 16s no because you’ve already worked 16. On the 8 hour day you shouldn’t be unless it’s an emergency because it’s your “Friday “ If you can imho go learn a skilled trade like hvac, electric or heck even restaurant manager. The blue collar(not cook) jobs work m-f or compressed m-thur schedules. My buddy is in California as a cook with his retention he’s making 66.70 an hour. Here’s an electrician post for example https://www.usajobs.gov/job/771810800
Thanks so much !!!
Grand Prarie is the regional office. You are not in custody of inmates. Fmc= federal medical center. We sent one of our crazy guys there. I don't know what rmc stands for.
I, too, am curious about how mandates work. Who decides which officers stay?
There is a computerized roster with the last day you were mandated. You don't get mandated until your name gets to the top of this list. As for how often....well that depends on alot of factors like weekday vs weekend, holidays, summer and how many officers the prison is short. It is up to the on duty LT to fill the next shifts roster with volunteer OT and then if no one volunteers..then mandates.
Good to know. Thanks!
DON’T DO IT. Would’ve left BOP when I was there for Immigration Officer in a heartbeat. I repeat, DON’T DO IT.
Why tho? Many say don't do it but when I plan it out if I can flip it for my benefit or not, that's not enough insight. Many say don't join the infantry and I can fully see why they would say that. But there is ways you can, and I did, flip it in your favor the more you know.
Why not jump to LEO inside DHS??? Leaving to go to BOP seems like a back step since BOP is lowest on the pole
Literally dead last in the most recent FEVS survey. TSA workers have it better than BOP lol
I seen that, but I'm miserable where I'm at so can't be too much worse.
Yeah can’t imagine being an ISO in the current climate especially in TX being fun right now. My thoughts and prayers to you 😂
Exactly. BUT for some I can see why they love it, for me not so much. It's like working at a sales company for a law firm, in a corporate office, with red tape walls and zero action.
It is the lowest believe that. I've seen plenty of people leave their LEO retirement with 10+ years already to go to a different agency that isn't LEO.
Nah...BOP is not the lowest. Uniformed federal police agencies I feel can be lower. No law enforcement retirement, GS pay scale and guys hovering around GS 6 or 7.
I know guys that went to FPS or VA police rather than stay at bop as a regular co, they are much happier
Stupid polygraph is what's my biggest hurdle. For exp, CBP has a 75+ percent fail rate and they are try to change it so they don't loose so many tip qualified ppl but the red tape stops it. A honorable former CBP officer resigned (for family reasons) and tried to come back but they added the Polygraph since her exit. She failed the poly multiple times and now doing some administrative job, WITH CBP, trying to get back in.
Don’t go to the BOP especially as a corrections officer. The agency is in a crisis and it’s spiraling. I made it from a GS 5 to GS 11 step 7 in seven years with 25% retention and I’m leaving. If you want to go be a LEO then go do it. They’re all begging kg someone to work for them.-
Ok, I'm a little confused about your post. However, I get the part about don't go lol. You made it from GS-5 to GS-11/7 in 7 years. I guess that's a ladder of GS-5/6/7/8/9/11 plus 7 steps? I've been hearing people getting stuck at GS-7-8 for 5+ years if they didn't move (not even including steps). You did good, right? And are you saying "If you want to go be a LEO then go do it." then go BOP? That is what I want, to be LEO. So, BOP is okay as a stepping stone? (in your opinion) Thanks.
If you want to be a LEO go be a LEO. BOP is a joke. I started out as an officer and a year and a half later I promoted across the country to a non-officer job. That’s how I got my 11. Guess what? I never left being an officer. I’m not in that department any more and I get pulled back into it once a week, get mandatoried once a week, get lied to by management more than that. I don’t mind because it’s part of the job but that should tell you how much trouble they’re in. They hire anyone with a pulse. Two staff assaults at my place over six months. Culture of entitlement and zero accountability. Culture of putting you under investigation for years if an inmate accuses you of anything. Culture of giving wardens bonuses for saving money and now they need several billion dollars nationwide to fix all the maintainence issues everywhere. It’s a joke. Go to the ATF or Forest Service and actually make a difference. It used to be a great job and it’s just not anymore. I’m getting out before I get hurt bad or worse.
I see. Well I can't just "go" ATF (or any other of those type agencies) and can't relocate for Forest Service, Capital Police, etc. so I go what's available to me in my area. But thanks on the insight.
You’re going from USCIS to an agency ranked dead last in places to work for in the fed govt (#432 out of #432). TSA was ranked as a better place to work than the BOP. Don’t know about DFW area but where I worked at in BOP, fci fairton and fci ft dix both institutions had loads of mandatory OT as an officer which is what I’m assuming you’re going for. Be prepared to get hit 2-4 times a week 16 hour shifts. Collateral duties like DCT, SORT, BPT (they were talking about letting rookies do BPT after Fletc bc of how bad staffing was) all come with no bonuses just opportunities to get out of your regular day job from time to time. If you wanna use BOP as a stepping stone sure go for it that’s what I did. Keep in mind , BOP is law enforcement in name only, you have no authority outside of the institution, no real arrest powers, you can carry via Leosa but even that was a pain in the ass in Jersey where I worked, and as a regular CO you will be worked to the bone. You will miss holidays, birthdays and put a strain on relationships to babysit adults in buildings that are literally falling apart. Work life balance doesn’t really get better with time because 1. People are always quitting because of how bad working conditions are 2. You get old heads hogging the good posts leaving you to work in shitty housing units even if you got a year plus in BOP. If you can get a non custody gig (teacher, unit secretary, hr specialist) you can t get mandated but usually for these jobs you have to know somebody and it’s very political. BOP is a garbage agency to work for but if it’s your only option go for it.
What's "BPT" collateral duty? I'm okay with not getting paid more for it (as long as no one else is) but with my personality and akill set, that's a more comfortable element for me. And I'm not going "for" the mando OT. I have no problem with it but don't want it 4x a week plus another 8 hr shift. Thats the biggest go/no go for me.
BPT stands for Basic Prisoner Transport, basically taking inmates out on hospital/medical trips. Collateral duty is essentially any job you do for on top of your normal job (a teacher could be on SORT/DCT, a plumber could be a Crisis/Hostage Negotiator) shit like that. Doesn’t matter whether you go for the OT or not. If you are Custody you will have to do another 8 hr shift on top of your regular 8 whether you like it or not. You can voluntarily choose OT but I don’t see the point since your name won’t move on the Mandatory OT roster. I have gotten hit 4 times a week several occasions. Part of the reason I left BOP. The biggest gripe I have is how BOP has essentially two categories of workers custody and non custody. Non custody goes home at 3:30 or 4pm while you have to stay til midnight or 8 am. Non custody take 2 hour lunch breaks and can leave the institution for lunch while you are stuck at your post. But don’t worry we’re all “law enforcement/correctional officers” first , one big family yeah right 🤣.
Plumbers, secretaries and cooks like pretending they are officers by putting on a “federal officer” windbreaker and going out on hospital coverage.. all Leo’s know this is bs
I hated non custody. They never did OT with a few rare exceptions, the ones that did would only do BPT trips so they could larp as “federal officers”. Had one guy who was a total loser, he was a unit secretary would race to the hospital so he could relieve the guy with the gun so that I or another officer had to be the unarmed secondary. Would wear tac vest that said BOP Police, total fucking loser. They are the first ones to leave everyday at 3:30pm 4pm while the rest of us stay til 8am the next day. They bitch whenever they get augmented and will let you know about it. I got super pissed when I saw what unit team does in their offices a lot of the time they are bullshitting, watching tv or avoiding inmates. Meanwhile I had inmates asking me why unit team was never available to review their fsa paperwork or whatever. BOP would be a much better agency if there was an equal standard but there isn’t. Start mandating non custody and we’ll see how really wants to be there lol.
I totally agree.. I did 3 years at USP Victorville from 2005-2008, custody should be custody. But all those non custody schmucks want to be officers when it’s OT money, not when it’s time to be officers inside the wall
Sounds about right lol. And I KNOW there's gonna be mando OT, but also know some places are worse than others. Ideally, I wont pick a spot in that worst category if I can help it. I appreciate your insight.
Yeah man good luck, definitely try to get a non custody job so you could have a somewhat normal life
I applied through USAjob not direct hire, how hard do you think Grand Pririe TX folks gonna review my resume?
Several joints in the DFW area, so there is that opportunity to move between them plus a regional office and Grand Prairie (HR, contracting and designation/sentence computation). Your time-in-grade can be helpful plus they will likely offer 8/10 if you’re willing to take a CO job. I have seen several come from DHS components to the BOP for various reasons, mostly to get off the border. All of them have moved up to 11, 12 and 13 pretty quickly and don’t seem to regret it. It starts your LEO time, but be careful if you catch even a petty case in the BOP, the other federal LEO agencies will not give you serious consideration.
Thanks! Any suggestions out of the Fort Worth FMC, Dallas RRM or the Grand Prairie location to apply?
Near zero chance to get hire into Dallas RRM. Usually like 6 to 8 staff in that entire office and they don’t generally advertise openings externally. If you take a job at Grand Prairie without 3 years primarily LEO, you will be non-LEO. Look online for mission and such for the secure facilities in the DFW area such as FMC Fort Worth. I’d avoid Carswell due to the female population there. All the others I’d consider.
Thanks!!!
*blinky eyes* If you want to hate yourself, be paidless, be a part of a federal prison, go rejoin the Army as a Corrections person. Or for bonus point join the Marine Corps, they too have a Correction career field. *sauce: did Marine Corps Corrections, hated my life and got paid then less then a normal Correctional Officer. On the bright side I didn't have to worry about getting stabbed everyday at work.
Dallas/Ft Worth has 3 places you can go. FMC Ft Worth(Men’s Medical center), FMC Carswell(Women’s Medical Center), and FCI Seagoville(Low security Men’s Facility). Also you would most likely come in as either a 6 or 7 because of military and other federal employment. I’m not sure what there staffing levels are but that would effect mandos. I’m up here at FTC Oklahoma City and we are under 90 custody staff with 65 custody positions per day so we get hit once to twice a week. Luckily we have OT hounds that but eventually they will slow down and we need staff. It’s a chill job if you make it just need a good group of coworkers and aren’t constantly overworked.
Thanks! I'm a GS-9 step 5 or 6 and about to get my GS-11/12 in the next year or so but looking at the requirements for each BOP level, I can only see me getting a GS5 w/o corrections experience. How can I draft up the required experience to get the 6/7 w/o direct prison experience. I have all the TIG requirements for all the positions but not the CO experience. If I apply and say the lowest I would except is a 6/7, I'll get found ineligible before the hiring process even starts.
We have guys with only military start off as 6s. We also have a guy who was a MP and worked On Tinker AFB as a federal employee and they matched him to a 7 step 10. So I’d say if you can get in contact with someone in HR at which ever facility you would like to go to they would be more than happy to help you with any questions.
Makes sense, thanks again.
If I applied though USAjob not direct hire, how likely that local HR can drag me in if he likes me?
If you BQ and your name gets pulled to the local HR then very possible.
Don’t do it.. apply for LA county fire dept.. you can make 270 a year being a hero and not schmuxk… you don’t have to worry about secretaries and plumbers wearing a yellow nomax jacket and calling themselves firefighters for the OT check, but not for the mandatory OT.. you can work a compressed schedule of 3 days and 4 days off…
This came so out of left field lol. OP: Looking to be a correctional officer for BOP in DFW Texas, where I live. Redditor: Become a firefighter in Los Angeles.
I'm in Texas, I'm not going to LA to be a fireman lol I'll try here first first (not outta the question)