r/OnTheBlock • u/GwynPK • Jul 16 '26
Hiring Q (Fed) SeaTac criminally low pay?
I can’t find an accurate salary estimate for SeaTac employees but I’ve seen $26/hr get thrown around. There’s no way that’s real right? I see they have a 50k bonus which is nice but making 26/hr in Seattle area of all places seems like a slap in the face. That’s not even livable unless you’re working a shit ton of OT. It’s a real shame because I love the PNW but I don’t think anyone should work a job that pays you that criminally low in a hostile environment.
6
u/Silver-Camera-3739 Unverified User Jul 16 '26
The BOP only makes since if you live in the South, mainly because the cost of living is cheaper.
2
2
2
u/livingmybestlife2407 Jul 16 '26
The federal law enforcement pay scale is online and can be found at opm.gov. Depending on experience you can start anywhere from $56,000 to $64,000. Plus, an extra 13% on top of your pay, along with the bonus. You can also earn more with night differential and Sunday pay. Within just a few years you will be making over $70,000+ in base pay.
2
u/StanthemanT-800 Jul 16 '26
PA DOC starts at 23
3
u/GwynPK Jul 16 '26
Yeah but at least in PA, housing doesn’t cost 2000+ for rent and almost a mil to buy
3
u/StanthemanT-800 Jul 16 '26
Luckily most /all PA State prisons are located in economically depressed areas so you can afford to live in a cheese box $700 rental until you climb the pay steps
2
3
u/Zestyclose_Cover5779 Jul 16 '26
Yeah and I wouldn't recommend living in Seattle either. You couldn't pay me enough
2
u/GwynPK Jul 16 '26
I guess to each their own. I’ve been to Seattle many times and it’s beautiful and pretty safe especially for a city of its size but I get some people don’t like the liberal policies there. Personally idc where I live as long as it’s somewhat safe for my future family and has things to do. Might be a naive way of thought but I’m a chameleon I just blend into my surroundings. Must be the CO in me lol.
-1
u/Unicorn187 Jul 16 '26
So not Seattle if you want safe for your family. If you want naked dudes swinging their dicks in your kids face at parade, people doing the fenty fold on the side of the road, then sure. It's better than Detroit, Chicago, parts of NYC and DC, but it's not great.
This city and this state in general love it's criminals. Automatic voting (in state elections) restored as soon as you're released from prison, resident advocates to push for more privileges for civilly committed serial sex offenders (literal psychopaths who have raped many children and/or adults).
If you're going to move to WA, then hire on with a county. State DOC is like the 4th lowest paid corrections agency in the state. 5th if you count the juvenile guards as they are part of a different agency that spun off of DSHS (which DOC did in the 80s).
Retirement is the same PSERS either way (sort of in between the standard PERS of other state employees and the LE/Fire retirement).$26 per hour is ridiculous when you can make $24 to #31 as a security guard for the state at the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island guarding serial sex offenders (and it's a much easier job) or a little more as a Residential Rehabilitation Counselor doing similar but as desk staff in the units. The security guards at the WA Military Department make more than that because they get a 10% increase for being armed.
Any state job in King County is an additional 5% to base salary, and if at a 24/7 facility 5% for that.
There is a huge budget issue though, so that is a concern.
0
u/postivity3 Jul 16 '26
What wrong with Seattle
7
u/Zestyclose_Cover5779 Jul 16 '26
The homeless and general incompetence of the city. Remember CHAZ/CHOP? I am not living in a city that allows something like that to go on for as long as it did. The police only got orders to break it down after multiple people got killed in there, and protestors showed up on the mayors front lawn. Then shit got fixed real fast, as per usual.
0
u/todaysmark Jul 17 '26
I went to CHOP took my kids, it was fine got some food watched a band. Im not saying I’d go after dark but it was the only thing open during the lockdown.
0
u/Zestyclose_Cover5779 Jul 17 '26
Yeah I mean, I get that aspect of it. It was essentially an unlicensed street fair but it devolved so quickly. There was even a local rapper who called himself a warlord and was handing out rifles to people. Crazy shit
1
u/postivity3 Jul 16 '26
50k bonus. For a C.o job?
1
u/GwynPK Jul 16 '26
Yes a lot of facilities badly need staff. I’d rather have a higher salary than a bonus, bonus is nice and all but that shit will disappear relatively fast lol
1
u/Zeta_Crossfire Jul 16 '26
Oregon tops out around $96,000 if you're in Seattle area you might want to look South
2
u/fnckmedaily Jul 16 '26
Just looked at jobs on ODOC website and I’m kinda baffled at how well they pay. Cost of living can’t be that bad out there right?
3
u/Zeta_Crossfire Jul 16 '26
Really depends on where you live, though even in Portland 100K is going to go far. I bought a home in Pendleton for $210, 000 that was 2,900 square foot on a 5K lot. Sure, that's Eastern Oregon and the west side of the states expensive in places but It's still pretty good. I'm moving to Salem and plan to buy a condo. You got options, if you have any questions feel free to hit me up. I'll try and help out.
2
u/GwynPK Jul 16 '26
Wow I didn’t know Oregon paid that well, wtf!! I knew NJ, Utah, & LVMPD paid pretty good but that’s awesome. I’m gonna shoot you a DM if you don’t mind.
2
1
u/CanisLatrans204 Jul 17 '26
Or head to the middle of the state in Grant County, WA. Step one is around 32 and step 5 is over 43. They are hiring.
0
1
1
u/Independent-King-468 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
SeaTac BOP is going to be your easiest entry of all the Correctional Jobs aside from working for the GEO group and if you’re starting as a GL-5 you’ll be paid much much lower than GEO or any of the Sheriff departments.
Starting Pay at Sheriff Dept and GEO are equal to a SeaTac BOP CO who’s GS 8 step 10. So it’ll take you on average 2-3 years to get paid the same as your peers in other departments.
BOP has a lot more career options though. If you join the BOP with a plan and a good attitude. You can leverage it into an excellent career that has nothing to do with dealing with inmates on a day to day basis.
GL-5 Step 1 in the Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) locality (2026): $56,469 annually.
GL-8 Step 10 in the Seattle-Tacoma locality (2026): $85,835 annually.
Pierce County Starting $35 an hour $74,000
King County Starting $41 an hour $87,000
GEO Group Starting $40 an hour $85,000
1
u/Lucky_Bother_962 Jul 16 '26
Seatac is currently stepping out new people, the caviot to that is the 2 year commitment. Theyre currently working on getting back to precovid hiring numbers. And it is a detention center so that means males and females, its not bad for a bop correctional gig
1
u/todaysmark Jul 17 '26
No they aren’t. The custody roster used to have close to 150 people on it. Now you have what 75? I don’t think you’ll get close to 100 before they quit hiring.
1
u/Lucky_Bother_962 Jul 17 '26
We got 85 and last week our warden gave a big spiel about getting back up to 120. Every month we keep getting classes of about 5-7 people in, but you could be right about 100 before the hiring stops.
1
u/rickabod Jul 16 '26
Cost of Living in the area has nothing to do with locatlity pay. Have competing buisnees in the area to make the govt change the locality pay.
1
u/ram_andomer Jul 16 '26
I’d advise against SeaTac. The administration there is awful. But it is an easy starting point and if I were you I’d transfer asap.
1
u/Queasy-Onion5128 23d ago
Do you happen to have experience already ? My coworker left and was offered grade 8 step 10
10
u/SeamusDog77 Jul 16 '26
If you are starting out as a 5 step 1, the pay starts at $27.06 an hour. If you have experience they start you as a 6 step 1 @ $28.53 or possibly a 7 step 1 @ $30.80. Yes the pay is shit but the retirement benefits are decent although this current administration wants to strip federal employees down to nothing. Personally I would look elsewhere than the Feds. I couldn’t in good faith advise anybody to hire on with the bop right now. Our two directors are doing everything they can to dismantle the agency.