Probation Officer (PO)

The salaries of probation officers are almost the same as that of the correctional officers, with perhaps a bit more added on in some provinces. Nevertheless, probation officers earn about CA$67,000 - CA$77,000 per year on an average in Canada, and their job is quite challenging to say the least. They too deal exclusively with criminals, as they are tasked with keeping paroled convicts out of trouble and in line with the law. The other part of the probational officer’s job requires him to report incidents of misconduct to the authorities, if they break the stipulations of the probation by any means. For the most part, though, a probation officer is expected to help an ex-con become rehabilitated with society again. This may include helping them find a job and any other help that they may need to get reintegrated back into society. As you can probably guess, regular interactions with various types of criminal personalities require a deeper understanding of the criminal mind than most other jobs within the criminal justice system do. The criminology degree being taught at Wilfrid Laurier University specializes in this, so you may want to take a look at their online programs before deciding which course to take.