Professional Interview Essay

Professional Interview
Cleveland Sharpe
Florida Technical College
Dr. Christina Aleksic
October 21, 2014

I interviewed William Carswell who just recently retired from the Georgia Department of Corrections after 31 years of service.

1. Why did you decide to work in this field?
I chose this field because of location, job security, and benefits.
2. Did you have another career before you went to school to become a ________? What was it like to change from one career to another?
I went to college to become a coach but after my freshman year I dropped out of college to join the workforce. This is where I made my choice to become a Correctional Officer because the job was located near my home, with great job security and benefits. There really wasn’t a great change since I never started working as a coach.
3. Where did you go to school for this job? What was the hardest part of school for you?
I trained in Forsyth, Georgia for Correctional Officers School. The training wasn’t hard, just different from anything I have ever done growing up on a farm.
4. What is a typical workday like? Do you have a lot of overtime? (If yes, How is overtime scheduled? Do you have enough notification so you can adjust your schedule at home, etc.?)
There is no such thing as a typical day in the Correctional Officer field. My routine as a Detail Officer (where I took inmates out to work) would begin with getting my (detail) inmates out of the Institution and report to the shop supervisor to receive our work orders for the day. Once I received the work orders I would transport the inmates to the worksite to carry out the assignment for the day. There wasn’t much overtime but there were times when we were called upon to work after hours if there were some kind of disturbance or incident within the institution. Incidents such this would occur without warning.

5. Do you work under a lot of pressure in this job? (If yes) Can you give me an example of a typical high-pressure situation?
There is a lot of pressure as a Correctional Officer which comes from different areas of the job. First would be the security of trying to ensure that no inmates escape or try and escape from the detail because we usually work in populated areas and we also must maintain a safe working environment. Second there’s a lot of pressure in making sure that we complete the task in a timely manner and also trying to prevent contraband from getting into the hands of the inmates to take back inside the institution.
6. Is there a lot of take-home work in this job? (If yes, do you ever find it hard to turn-off work at home and enjoy a personal/family life?)
No there isn’t any work to take home but this job can sometimes be mental. It was not hard for me to turn-off work because I enjoyed my personal time with sports and being active with my family.
7. What kind of professional development opportunities are there in this field? Can a person move up in this career?
There’s always job opportunities to move up, if a person desires to do so and willing to get the proper training and education.
8. Do you see this field growing and expanding? Can you give me examples of why you think this is happening?
Yes this field is always growing and expanding. As long as individuals of the world are out there breaking the law and committing crimes, someone will have to supervise them while they are incarcerated.

9. Is this a secure field? Can you give me a reason why you think this is true?
Yes this is a very secure field. (Reasons are the same as the answer above.) There will always be Correctional Facilities and Jails.
10. Does this job give you the challenges you need to stay interested in this field?
It can become routine, but you have to always stay alert when working with inmates. Inmates are always trying to gain access to contraband and other illegal items that they are not allowed to have while incarcerated. It is really hard to

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