hello

Did everything went fine with you Sue? I’m curious about what happened.

Andre “Trusera”:http://www.trusera.com

So did everything go as planned?

Heck I got amost 22 years in and I’m still tring to be a good CO. don’t sweat it you’ll do fine.

Thank you for the information shakeyjake. I have my PAT next Friday and I’m nervous. I don’t want to fail it. I know it’s a stressful job. I want be a good CO and do my job correctly. :)

This job is 90% mental and 10% physical, just study hard and you should have no problem at the acadamy. If you have experiance with firearms great if not find someone to teach you the basics, it will give you a heads up on what to expect on the part of the trraining. Unarmed use of force is a guilded program so you should not be hindered there. As for when you start working in the walls, must of what you learned at the acadamy will classified as a guildline for on the job experiance will start to take over in due time. Welcome aboard and hope you like it the show.

Is the PAT hard? What was your experience?

I just received my paperwork for TDCJ CO academy yesterday and I have no idea what to expect. For me this will be a 360 change, I have no military or any experience like most people on here. I’ve always had this hidden career passion and now I’m going for it. I have tons of questions so anyone in TDCJ please help me with any tips and advice. I would love to get your insight. Thank you in advance.

AZ , I saw your other post. Are you trolling for female correctional offices???.

Redirish86, where are you located?

Always maintain Proffesionalism at all times

This job changes you and your way of thinking as time passes. Keep emotion out of it, observe and learn from the veterans, (the good ones) and never do anything that causes you or anyone else unwarranted risk.

Do not forget it is not your place to give them whatever they are lacking in life. You are not their friend. You are responsible for them and how you respond to their actions. Follow Policy and Procedure. Don’t become another bleeding heart who is told a sob story or that your very pretty and start packing in stuff for them. You have children to worry about so just do the job and since you have the touchy feely keep your distance. Also be yourself and when it comes to inmates trying to befriend you it’s okay to tell them where the line is and turn into a giant prick when the line is crossed. After you deal with that you will learn the rest as time goes on.

Very few of us go into this Job with full knowledge of what we are going into. This Job shapes you and your attitudes towards people. As Squeeze has said follow procedure and the rules and treat the inmates as to how they behave. As I said in a previous thread, think of us as Foster Parents to a bunch of unruly out of control (Adult) children and act accordingly.

Neither one. It isn’t a question of your emotional position, first Policy and Procedures. You can be empathetic but you must always follow P&p. Those rules are there for your as well as the institutions protection. The inmates are farther down on the priority list but certainly important.As far as enforcing the rules you must be fair and firm, but not malicious or denigrating. Have compassion but follow the rules, the worst thing that can happen is you will be successful. There is very little discretion with defined policies and procedures. Just when you think you’ve sen it all, you’ll see something new!

Id like to give some back ground and get your guy’s opinions. I am 27 a mom of 2 … I have worked consistently aside from this last year due to our move. All of my jobs have been people oriented and often in the construction field I was an HVAC estimator for the prior 3 years. I get along very well with nearly everyone and I’m a hard worker.. my concern is some might say I’m too good hearted… I grew up in a home where my parents fostered children from any and ALL walks of life and I have heard just about every horror story. I think I’m in decent shape (not fantastic) 5’5 150lbs.. I’m active and enjoy staying busy. I would be considered conservative. The position I’m applying for is in a city detention center. They house apprx 60 inmates (seems small) we are in a smallish area of about 40k… I’ve been scouring the internet read awful horror stories but want opinions. I love that the position is 3 -12s I love that it has benefits and I love working with people I’m not judgmental and have no chip on my shoulders. Do you think its worse to go in too soft or go in hardened??? I don’t want to go forward if I really would be a bad fit. Please advise, and thanks!