The person who helps people with criminal records find and keep jobs — providing job readiness support, connecting clients with employers willing to hire, and coaching through the workplace challenges that often follow incarceration or court involvement.
Offender Employment Specialist (OES) pay typically runs $52K–$84K at this level, and jobs in this field are projected to grow 3% through 2034.
Day-to-day tends to involve client meetings on job readiness, employer outreach, job placement work, follow-up with clients in new positions, and coordination with probation, parole, or reentry programs. The work happens at the intersection of workforce development and reentry — addressing both employment skills and the systemic barriers facing job seekers with records.
Coordination tends to happen with clients, employers, probation/parole officers, reentry programs, and the broader workforce development network. Building a network of fair-chance employers is much of the long-term work — placements depend on businesses willing to look past records, and maintaining those relationships requires consistent communication and good matches.
People who tend to thrive here are patient, persistent, and grounded in the reality that recidivism drops dramatically with stable employment. If you struggle with the slow arc of the work or with the systemic barriers, the role can wear. If you find satisfaction in being the person who helps someone build a working life that actually changes their trajectory, the role can be among the most meaningful in workforce and reentry services.
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Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Social Services roles →The person who helps people with criminal records find and keep jobs — providing job readiness support, connecting clients with employers willing to hire, and coaching through the workplace challenges that often follow incarceration or court involvement.
Median pay for an Offender Employment Specialist (OES) is about $65K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $44K to $106K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, and Service Orientation.
Most people in this role hold a bachelor's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 3.05% through 2034, with roughly 429,170 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Senior Career Development Specialist, Senior Employment Specialist, and Correctional Probation Specialist.
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