How Can You Maximize Your Pay In Federal Prison?
Many federal prisons require their inmate population to work. This is especially relevant at federal prison camps.
At all federal prisons, if you’re working a regular job outside of UNICOR, you’re working on a pay scale starting at Grade A, which is 12 cents per hour, ranging up to a little bit less than $1 per hour.
The best paying jobs on a federal prison compound are always through UNICOR or Federal Prison Industries.
The UNICOR jobs at each federal prison with the program varies. Some will sew or wash clothes to support military and government programs. Others make furniture. At Leavenworth, they make paper supplies. Some even have call centers via contracts with private companies.
Of course, not all federal prisons have UNICOR. Many federal prisons have a UNICOR waiting list. For these institutions, you must simply start at the beginner’s pay scale and work your way up.
Some prisons, such as FPC Morgantown, have real skill-building jobs, like their dog-handling program. Inmates in this coveted program are trained by West Virginia University professors to train dogs to work as service dogs for veterans. Material covered includes how to incentivize dogs to perform commands and how to root out unwanted behaviors.
Inmates in this program live with their dog in a wing separated from the general population. It’s a highly desired position, and only inmates who demonstrate a strong willingness to learn and perform are let into the program. For most institutions, this job pays particularly well.