Garda V Prison Officer

li@mo

The Prison Service are currently recruiting through www.publicjobs.ie

Now I had my heart set on joining the Gardaí but as Im currently unemployed Im tempted to apply for the prison service.

Lets just say Im unsuccessful, would this in any way jepordise my Garda application in the interview?

Thanks

joebudden

Li@mo im in the same boat as you and have thought about it alot but they are toatlly different jobs!!! Fair enough prison officers earn savage money but its like being in prison yourself and constantly with the worst of the worst who'd hav no respect for you...I suppose if it for you then fire away but I applied and then kinda had sa think about and decided il wait it out for the Gardai!!!

Alias B

[EMAIL="Li@mo"]Li@mo[/EMAIL], i doubt very much it would damage your application to AGS however, because you applied to the force before the prison service, your prison service application could be seen as your Plan B. I recently applied for a Legal Researcher position through publicjobs.ie and apart of the application asked me if id previously applied for any other civil service jobs. Of course i put down AGS and I dont know for sure but im only guessing that my this will be a stumbling block when it comes to this other job, they might look at it and say, well shes only biding time til the gardai accept her so it could work against you in that respect!!!!!

Then again, i could be completely wrong! You can never speculate on the level of research recruitment within the civil service do. Thats obvious from all these ppl on this site wondering about medical dates and backround checks. All i can offer is my opinion!!!! Hope it helps and besta luck!

Elayne08

If i were you i'd go for it. Also as far as i know, the time spent as a prison officer counts towards service in the gaurds so it would of more benefit doing that than some other random job. And of course the money is very good.

robin banks

Elayne08 wrote: »

If i were you i'd go for it. Also as far as i know, the time spent as a prison officer counts towards service in the gaurds so it would of more benefit doing that than some other random job. And of course the money is very good.

The money is only good after about 5-6 increments . Up to that its very poor . 27K to start with plus allowances . That includes bank holidays and every second weekend ( fri-sun ) 12hrs shifts . Plus if you are from the country it will take you about 7-10 years approx to get a transfer . So if you are married my advice is to bring the whole family up to Dublin because you will be spending an awful long time residing there . On the other hand its a job with a lot of great people ( apart from management ) but it can be boring . Groundhog day everyday .

Eru

The money is not as good as everyone seems to think. Its one of the better paid public service jobs but you have to put up with a lot for it.

As far as I remember the prison service process takes a hell of a lot longer than the Garda one. I remember a friend of mine applied for the prisons before I applied for AGS (about 6 months). I was in Templemore and she was still waiting for her interview.

Salmon

robin banks wrote: »

The money is only good after about 5-6 increments . Up to that its very poor . 27K to start with plus allowances . That includes bank holidays and every second weekend ( fri-sun ) 12hrs shifts . Plus if you are from the country it will take you about 7-10 years approx to get a transfer . So if you are married my advice is to bring the whole family up to Dublin because you will be spending an awful long time residing there . On the other hand its a job with a lot of great people ( apart from management ) but it can be boring . Groundhog day everyday .

OP just to respond to a couple of things in the post above! Dont want to get into the whole PO V GS thing, each to their own but if you are interested in the PO position i thought its better if you are properly informed!
Heres my advice!:
1, Starting salary may be 27K but when allowances and overtime is thrown in its 45K.(these allowances and overtime is guaranteed) This will increase to around 75k over a period of about 7 years!
2.you will have a 6-8 year wait to move out of dublin.
3. The jobs not as boring as you think and the shift will leave you off for good periods! (ive had 13 weeks leave this year!)
4. There is a college course through Sligo IT which lasts 2 years part-time.

donvito99

Salmon wrote: »

OP just to respond to a couple of things in the post above! Dont want to get into the whole PO V GS thing, each to their own but if you are interested in the PO position i thought its better if you are properly informed!
Heres my advice!:
1, Starting salary may be 27K but when allowances and overtime is thrown in its 45K.(these allowances and overtime is guaranteed) This will increase to around 75k over a period of about 7 years!
2.you will have a 6-8 year wait to move out of dublin.
3. The jobs not as boring as you think and the shift will leave you off for good periods! (ive had 13 weeks leave this year!)
4. There is a college course through Sligo IT which lasts 2 years part-time.

Well, if you put it that way...:D

oldhollowman

i worked as a prison officer for 20 yrs and retired on ill health grounds, nevey in my 20 yrs did i earn 75k. i agree the craic with the lads is great. it can be groundhog day but after a while you can find a post that offers more variety on a daily basis. dont get sucked into the overtime thing if you can avoid it. it may be worth more money but if you can live on the basic then try to do so. service will carry on to any other public service job, this i know as i carried in service from the army. try to avoid joining if you are married and live a good bit outside dublin as mentioned above but the waiting time for transfers to the west has decreased rapidly, check it out with local officers if you know any, irish prisons service will probably tell you if you get the right person. never did i feel like a prisoner myself but each to their own line of thinking. the mates are like all service mates.. there for you through thick and thin. i dont regret it but it will open your eyes to thing that not everyone wants to see. good luck with your life whatever you choose

DustyMan

li@mo wrote: »

The Prison Service are currently recruiting through www.publicjobs.ie

Now I had my heart set on joining the Gardaí but as Im currently unemployed Im tempted to apply for the prison service.

Lets just say Im unsuccessful, would this in any way jepordise my Garda application in the interview?

Thanks

No wouldn't think so at all. I know a guy, he's passed away now God rest him, who was a Prison Officer and joined the Gardai, and went on to be a Detective, so it certainly didn't go against him.
I've worked myself for the Irish Prison Service. Frankly and for many reasons I wouldn't recommend it.

Stretch1432

Are prison officer paid more than Gardai..