Federal Bureau of Prisons Career Fair Sept. 17th in Danbury, CT

[tdparmel]

The Northeast Region (Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Mass) is a holding a career fair on Thursday, September 17th in Danbury, Connecticut (The Leroy Sipe Center is located on the grounds of the federal prison in Danbury).

They are recruiting for the following departments: Corrections, Education, Facilities, Financial Management, Food Service, Health Services, Psychology, Recreation, and Unit Management.​

For more information go to:

http://jobview.monster.com/Federal-Bureau-of-Prisons-Hiring-for-Multiple-Career-Fields-Visit-us-at-Danbury-CT-Career-Fair-Job-US-83381226.aspx

[JayhawkFan]

Quick question, not about Danbury, but the BOP in general. I interviewed recently, and after talking with a few people, I learned that I was one of the few non-veterans who was even interviewed. Is this common at all facilities?

[boxer127]

Quick question, not about Danbury, but the BOP in general. I interviewed recently, and after talking with a few people, I learned that I was one of the few non-veterans who was even interviewed. Is this common at all facilities?

quick question, what was your grade on the application, and how long did it take you to get an interview. I applied for brooklyn and got a 90, hoping to hear something soon, thanks.

[JayhawkFan]

quick question, what was your grade on the application, and how long did it take you to get an interview. I applied for brooklyn and got a 90, hoping to hear something soon, thanks.

I received a 92 on GL-5, and an 88 for GL-6. I initially applied in December of 2008, and my interview was in August. So in total it took me about 9 months. The facility for which I applied (USP Leavenworth) doesn't hire very often though. At a different facility, it might be a lot faster process.

[DDixon1000]

Word of advice run far far away from the BOP! Former BOP Corrections officer here. We had a huge turnover and it was at a low level camp in IL. Unprofessional, lazy, corrupt staff is all I can say. We routinely had fellow staff members arrested for embezzellment of union funds, drugs, and other schemes. I jumped the first train out and took a Deputy position. Now with that said the hiring process for me took about 3 weeks and I hired in with 6 other guys. We were hired prior to our background check being completed. They actually completed our background while we were already working in the prison. We were all former state corrections officers, none military. Also we didn't go to FLETC until we had already worked there for a year and a half. I was running a housing unit by myself before I ever went to the academy lol. There was no field training just a heres the log book, this is your housing unit, heres the emergency button on the radio lol. If I didn't have former corrections expereince I would have been lost. Out of the 6 of us 1 is left and he transfered to UNICORP to manage one of the prison industries.

[DDixon1000]

I forgot to add the good part of the job. You will be considered a federal law enforcment officer. You will get the 20 year LEO retirement. It will start your fed leo time so the hired before 37 rule won't apply to other jobs, You will get to carry off duty anywhere in the United States. But you won't get a badge. They gave us a laminated id card that we carried in a small pleather case that said United States Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons. They will not give you a department issued weapon. You will not be able to carry off duty until you complete FLETC. And the best part, you will get all the free prison food you want!

[boxer127]

I forgot to add the good part of the job. You will be considered a federal law enforcment officer. You will get the 20 year LEO retirement. It will start your fed leo time so the hired before 37 rule won't apply to other jobs, You will get to carry off duty anywhere in the United States. But you won't get a badge. They gave us a laminated id card that we carried in a small pleather case that said United States Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons. They will not give you a department issued weapon. You will not be able to carry off duty until you complete FLETC. And the best part, you will get all the free prison food you want!

Apprectiate alll the advice, and its not the first time ive heard negative thinggs about bop. The reason im looking into it is because the start of federal time as you stated. The pay doesnt start too bad either, with my location i would make 42k my first year. I have ten years of plumbing experience and make 46k with no benefits or pension. Im hoping to get in there hopefully soon and then switch over to ice. Was everyones process as quick as yours or was that just because you were already a co.

[DDixon1000]

All of us went that quick through the medical, interview, and so on but you have to realize they hired us before our background even was started. The background took forever, like a year or so, but we were inside the institution working within 3 weeks of getting the call. I know that doesn't really make sense but I guess they needed us. From the time of application to the call was about a month. Now most other CO's told me they were hired prior to their backgrounds being completed also so that may be your case also. If you work the BOP right it's a good start to getting into other areas. Stay away from the bad apples. My suggestion is when you get in be quiet and watch, and listen to your co-workers. You will be able to figure out who's dirty pretty quick then steer clear. In the institution I was in I had to worry about my co-workers more than I did any inmate. Also the thrift plan (similar to a 401K) is something you should put as much money as possible in. The Fed's used to match up to 6%. It was the only way many guys were able to retire. The actual retirment without the savings plan was really lame.

[JayhawkFan]

Word of advice run far far away from the BOP! Former BOP Corrections officer here. We had a huge turnover and it was at a low level camp in IL. Unprofessional, lazy, corrupt staff is all I can say. We routinely had fellow staff members arrested for embezzellment of union funds, drugs, and other schemes. I jumped the first train out and took a Deputy position. Now with that said the hiring process for me took about 3 weeks and I hired in with 6 other guys. We were hired prior to our background check being completed. They actually completed our background while we were already working in the prison. We were all former state corrections officers, none military. Also we didn't go to FLETC until we had already worked there for a year and a half. I was running a housing unit by myself before I ever went to the academy lol. There was no field training just a heres the log book, this is your housing unit, heres the emergency button on the radio lol. If I didn't have former corrections expereince I would have been lost. Out of the 6 of us 1 is left and he transfered to UNICORP to manage one of the prison industries.

Thank you for the advice, however I will make my own decisions with regards to the BOP. If you have ever worked corrections outside of the BOP, then you know that the problems with corruption you listed are not exclusive to the BOP, but to corrections as a whole. As for field training, it was the same way at the Kansas DOC when started there. It felt like i was thrown to the wolves. I also should mention the pay is a lot higher with the BOP than with the state. Entry level corrections officers with the BOP make the same as Lieutenants with 10-15 years experience in KDOC.

[Broad St. Bully]

If your lucky enough to be hired by the BOP take it, the job is what u make it. There are a lot of people who complain about the job, but stay. The negative perception of the BOP comes from officers who are not motivated enough to make things better. U can gain great law enforcement experience with the BOP and if you chose, one day more on to bigger and better things, but don't listen to others bad mouth the BOP or any agency for that matter cause if they stayed what does that say about them....

[DDixon1000]

If your lucky enough to be hired by the BOP take it, the job is what u make it. There are a lot of people who complain about the job, but stay. The negative perception of the BOP comes from officers who are not motivated enough to make things better. U can gain great law enforcement experience with the BOP and if you chose, one day more on to bigger and better things, but don't listen to others bad mouth the BOP or any agency for that matter cause if they stayed what does that say about them....

LOL it says we were smart, saw a sinking ship and took the first life raft off the boat. If you stay with BOP that is the sad aspect. BOP should be used as a stepping stone. You won't gain any law enforcment experience because all you'll do is sit behind a desk, drive around the fence, or stand guard in the chow hall, but you will start your fed time. As far as motivation, most people who leave are motivated to work for a professional organization, not the BOP. The negative perception of the BOP comes from arrests made on BOP officers who stay and are corrupt, not the professionals who leave to find a better enviroment.

[tdparmel]

LOL it says we were smart, saw a sinking ship and took the first life raft off the boat. If you stay with BOP that is the sad aspect. BOP should be used as a stepping stone. You won't gain any law enforcment experience because all you'll do is sit behind a desk, drive around the fence, or stand guard in the chow hall, but you will start your fed time. As far as motivation, most people who leave are motivated to work for a professional organization, not the BOP. The negative perception of the BOP comes from arrests made on BOP officers who stay and are corrupt, not the professionals who leave to find a better enviroment.

I think your bad experience should not be used as a generalization of working for the BOP. Yes, a very small percentage of officers are fired or arrested for misconduct, but this also occurs in every major federal department.

It also depends on where you work, every institution is different depending security level and what type of facility it is (Pen, Camp, complex, detention center, etc).

It is a good stepping-stone, but there are also plenty of opportunities to move up.

[emerlad]

Did anyone go to this and if so what did they say about applying.
Are they doing direct hire from yesterday or just building the list for the future
Thanks

[boxer127]

Did anyone go to this and if so what did they say about applying.
Are they doing direct hire from yesterday or just building the list for the future
Thanks

yes i went, they were very helpful in trying to get you a better test grade. Not sure if its because they need people but they were trying very hard to sell you on the job, in a nice way. They said most people gotta get in the 90s toget called for an interview but depends on location of the facility you pick. I didnt understand why they had this recruitment if theres plenty of applicants and then one guy told me that in 2011 that 60 percent of the workforce is eligible for retirement.

[Yea_Buddy]

Has anyone ever got hired with an score of 81? I picked the 3 that need help bad.