Pros
Teams can be awesome, depending on which one you're on. Most officers look out for each other, some are more standoffish, but everyone tends to work well together. Supervisors are great at standing with officers when MANAGEMENT decides to randomly pick an officer to demean or harass. Hours. The hours are great, standard 8-5 unless you need to stay/leave to get field visits done. Benefits. The benefits are pretty great. PTO and sick days are generous enough. You can flex (work extra) if you want to get out early on a Friday, although apparently MANAGEMENT is cracking down on this as well.
Cons
First, let's talk about COMPENSATION, because that's what everyone's here for. As a probation officer at Concho Valley CSCD, never expect to make more than $33k a year, unless you decide you are brave enough to take on the Sex Offender Caseload, which pays around $38k. Neighboring counties start at $36k for the regular caseload with regular pay raises every 6 months to 1 year +. Here, you're lucky to get a bonus at the end of the year, which might cover half your rent for that month. Raises do not happen here, and forget about moving up the ranks. There are 5 supervisor positions and supervisors do not quit often. While other counties might have senior officers, this one does not. If you get a promotion, it will be timed so that you don’t qualify for an annual bonus. Turnover is so high that if you are a supervisor, you'd be better off handling the caseloads yourself rather than rely on someone who might work for 3 months and then quit for something better, because it's not hard to beat working at probation in San Angelo. People who have stayed for 6+ months are considered veterans. The department is more likely to promote from the outside than the inside. DO NOT STAY HERE IF YOU EXPECT TO BECOME A SUPERVISOR AS A RESULT OF LONG TERM EMPLOYMENT - it is not likely to happen. Second issue: UPPER MANAGEMENT. MANAGEMENT at this place is absolute garbage. Never expect to be praised for your work. You will literally never know if you're doing your job right, because the only time you'll get feedback is if you do something wrong or wear the wrong sandals during the summer months. That's right. If you wear Birkenstocks or sandals without a heel strap, you will receive a very petty, targeted email from HR. MANAGEMENT is so busy worrying about funding that they couldn't care less about company morale. There is absolutely no sense of camaraderie at this workplace. People come here to work and go home. If you linger too long in the hallways to chat with a coworker, guess what happens. OH THAT'S RIGHT, ANOTHER PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE EMAIL FROM HR. What a surprise. HR would rather see you sitting at your desk with the light on than out in the field or otherwise doing your job .HR oversteps constantly and doesn’t seem to know what their function is within the department - will regularly go with MANAGEMENT into employee’s offices when they are not in and snoop around their belongings for seemingly no reason. If you have a health condition that may affect your ability to work, don’t expect HR to keep it discreet - they apparently don’t know what HIPAA means. MANAGEMENT likes to pick and choose which employees they target at any given time. Depending on what is happening in MANAGEMENT'S personal life, you might get a smile or be treated like utter trash. If you absolutely have no other options, your best bet is to do your job, make no waves, and try not to be in or near MANAGEMENT'S hallway. If you are remotely assertive or have more spine than spaghetti, expect to be targeted and impeded from doing your job well. MANAGEMENT’S favorite tactics include: gaslighting, cold shoulder/silent treatment, confusing/convoluted emails, flip-flopping on decisions regarding sanctions, and demeaning language. Key takeaway from MANAGEMENT: if you think your family is more important than the job, you’re wrong. CSOs are instructed NOT to communicate with the DA’s office and are told to go against judge’s instruction in some cases. Judges and MANAGEMENT do not seem to be on the same page nor have the same interests in mind. There is way too much politics involved between the DA’s office, judges, and MANAGEMENT, making it difficult to enforce sanctions on defendants who violate. FIELD WORK: CSO’s are unprotected in the field, vehicles are old and only specially funded programs get new, reliable vehicles. If you get stranded in the field, don’t expect anyone to help you. This would be the perfect workplace. Unfortunately, bad MANAGEMENT and low pay are the ideal breeding ground for employee turnover. Great job you guys, if you love spending thousands of dollars on training for new employees every few months, I think you've met your goal this year!