Legal Careers

Parole officers work for the federal government. They work with prison inmates and with prisoners released on parole. "Released on parole" means the prisoner gets out of prison before the end of his or her sentence.

The parole board decides whether a prisoner should be released into the community to complete their sentence. Parole officers get cases ready for review by the parole board, review a prisoner's file and then make a recommendation to the board. They also supervise persons on parole, keep track of parolees, and help them with their transition back into the community.

Many parole officers start working as correctional workers and move on to working as parole officers. They learn about the job through on-the-job training. Usually parole officers have a university degree in one of the social sciences, social work, or human justice. However, the government may consider a person without a degree who has many years of experience working in correctional services.