Want to Make Money? Don't go to Harvard, go to Prison!

When I taught in China, every one of my students wanted to go to Harvard so they could make a lot of money in the future.  They were wrong.  As Allysia Finley shows in her article that is almost too absurd to believe how prison guards in California have a more advantageous position financially than the typical Harvard alum.

The job might not sound glamorous, but a brochure from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations boasts that it "has been called 'the greatest entry-level job in California'—and for good reason. Our officers earn a great salary, and a retirement package you just can't find in private industry. We even pay you to attend our academy." That's right—instead of paying more than $200,000 to attend Harvard, you could earn $3,050 a month at cadet academy.

It gets better.

Training only takes four months, and upon graduating you can look forward to a job with great health, dental and vision benefits and a starting base salary between $45,288 and $65,364. By comparison, Harvard grads can expect to earn $49,897 fresh out of college and $124,759 after 20 years.

As a California prison guard, you can make six figures in overtime and bonuses alone. While Harvard-educated lawyers and consultants often have to work long hours with little recompense besides Chinese take-out, prison guards receive time-and-a-half whenever they work more than 40 hours a week. One sergeant with a base salary of $81,683 collected $114,334 in overtime and $8,648 in bonuses last year, and he's not even the highest paid.

Sure, Harvard grads working in the private sector get bonuses, too, but only if they're good at what they do. Prison guards receive a $1,560 "fitness" bonus just for getting an annual check-up.

Most Harvard grads only get three weeks of vacation each year, even after working for 20 years—and they're often too busy to take a long trip. Prison guards, on the other hand, get seven weeks of vacation, five of them paid. If they're too busy racking up overtime to use their vacation days, they can cash the days in when they retire. There's no cap on how many vacation days they can cash in! Eighty officers last year cashed in over $100,000 at retirement.

If you say "Well, that's California, they've always been a little off" you aren't being realistic.  In 2010, 76 correctional sergeants in Wisconsin received at least $100,000 in pay.  Every one of these officers made at least $20,000 in overtime alone!  The highest paid correctional officer made $162,676 in salary and $102,168 in overtime for a combined salary of over $250K!

Looking back on it, t's no wonder why there were so many police and fire fighters protesting with the teachers in Madison over the last few months: they don't want the same thing to happen to them.  And why wouldn't they be so angry about the thought of paring their salaries back?  Who wants to make less than $100K per year?