On The Outside: Best Jobs for Felons

Once someone has been convicted of a felony it can be very hard for them to find work in the legal, professional world.

Most felons end up working labor and construction jobs, or day work off the books. While these jobs might provide immediate income, it is not a long term solution.

Felons who come out of jail end up working as laborers for property management firms, customer service for retail establishments, and employees of fast food and retail work.

If you ever encounter a felon, they will tell you about the long and arduous process of finding work. Most of it will be retail or fast food (major employers of felons) or warehouse work without benefits.

Many felons are stuck in and endless loop working:

• Fast food
• Retail
• Warehouse
• Labor Roles
• Drivers-Truck, Delivery, Private Bus

However, that’s not how it needs to be. In fact, there are many felons who end up in well paying roles, some of which are even in a professional environment. The trick is to know exactly what kinds of jobs embrace felons.

Do Businesses Discriminate Against Felons

The truth is that most corporate businesses do discriminate against felons unless they are incentivized not to. This might be a government grant that funds a program, or a legal requirement that a business employees a certain amount of felons who have completed a job training program.

Fast food, large retail chains, and many large corporate businesses with government funding will hire felons.

Felons are hired by retail businesses , large franchises, and other large businesses because they can pay felons minimum wage. Felons who are returning to the work force also often do not object to poor workplace environments and poor employee treatment.

Large companies such as Verizon and other service sector roles often not discriminate against Felons as well. However, it’s important to not think that any particular company has a standard policy. Unless you’re working with a government agency or non-profit, private sector businesses will always look at felons on a case by case basis.

Felons often end up working short term labor jobs, retail work, fast food jobs, restaurant jobs, high turnover roles at car dealerships, and school security work. None of these jobs provide a long term career.

Most temp staffing agencies do background checks because they are used as pre-screening tools by companies that do not want to emplyoe low standard workers. It’s the same reason that companies drug test, they want to avoid people who are not professional.

What Are The Best Jobs For Felons?

The best jobs for felons will be in the non-profit sector, government, or in the medical field. These are the two areas where felons have the best  chance of making a lot of money over the long term.

Non-profit work is perfect for felons. In fact, there are many non-profit organizations that are entirely devoted to helping people who have been incarcerated and are now released into society.

Government work is also a great area for felons to seek work. While some government jobs do not hire felons, many others do not care if a person is a felon. Cities such as New York City have billion dollar tax bases and need to hire millions of people to work for the city government. Because of this, institutions such as the MTA will hire felons.

Finally, the medical field is a ideal workplace for felons. While some clinics might have an issue with felons, the truth is that most hospitals and nursing homes employe felons on a regular basis.

There are complex legal regulations in play which prevent hospitals and other medical facilities from not hiring felons.  At most, the hiring managers at the facilities will be required to interview the felon and determine their individual case history.

These jobs are better than manual labor roles that are found through staffing agencies and retail work because they provide benefits and long term career growth.

Since everyone likes lists, here’s my list of the best jobs for felons–in no particular order (with some more detailed info below):

• Medical Worker –Particuarly Nurse
• Government Employee
• Non-Profit Employee
• Case Manager
• Company Culture Expert
• Housing Case Manager
• Therapist
• Drug and Alchool Counselor
• Hospital Employee- Clerical

The Non-Profit Angle: Felons Finding Work With Non-Profit Work

Research any non-profit and you will find people with an diverse background. This includes people who have been arrested and spent long periods of time incarcerated. There are also people who run non-profits who were long term drug addicts who spent decades in drug abuse before getting clean and ending up running non-profits.

Drug addition and recovery go hand in hand with the non-profit world. In a similar way, non-profits look kindly on people who have been to prison.

In fact, there are many non-profits who prefer to hire felons. Some non-profits only hire ex-offenders due to their funding program. They are funded by federal funding that seeks to make sure felons can re-enter the workplace.

Many job training programs specifically cater to felons. There are numerous charities that employ felons in the role of “case manager”. Oftentimes these case manager roles are simply roles that help transition the felon into the population of civilian life again.

It’s not unusual to see felons get out of jail and become case managers for charities helping with things such as vocational training or job counseling. They are in turn helping the same sort of felons who they once were.

Hollywood Is Calling: NYC and L.A Work for Felons

For a totally different turn of pace, there is Hollywood or showbiz. It doesn’t even have to be a job in California, there are TV and Movie productions around the country. But primarily New York and L.A are going to be the best bets.

The way in which felons get hired onto movie productions and tv productions is quite interesting. They are hired as security through independent staffing agencies that supply labor to movie and television productions.

The film studios never hire the felons directly, but if you were to walk past any major production and look at the security on site, you’re going to see a likely felon.

There are agencies located around the country that hire security for film and tv production. These agencies actually want felons. They want people who have a history of violence because that’s exactly what the studios want.

In some instances studios can hire official police, but they also need to hire unofficial security who will rough up paparazzi and keep fans and stalkers away.

Some of these felons (who work on most tv and movie sets) end up working their way up to personal bodyguard and security details, but more often than not they are simply paid a flat fee to guard the set for the night.

Police will not risk committing a crime against someone for the studio, which is why felons are often hired to guard film sets in NYC and LA during exterior shoots.

The studios themselves won’t hire felons, but they will pay staffing firms who staff temp security personal and they do not care about who is hired.

Is Corporate America Off Limits? DEI and Second Chance Programs

In years past, a felon would have a hard time finding work in corporate America. Unless you were to consider janitorial or mailroom work, it was simply not possible for a felon to work in a corporate setting.

However, that’s no longer the case. Most major companies now have DEI boards that are designed to make sure that the workplace is diverse, equitable and inclusive. Along with mandating that hiring managers interview BPIOC and other disenfranchised persons, there are also programs to make inclusive workplaces for felons.

Many large companies will hire and train felons, often for very high paying roles. They will provide assistance and support as many of these felons will be coming straight from a job training program.

Of course, these jobs are very lucrative and attractive, so the average felon is not likely to get them. Felons who have improved themselves while incarcerated, and more importantly, those felons who have networked into a powerful non-profit space are the likely candidates.

But it’s not unusual to see a major company employe felons in role such as employee culture, workplace sensitivity trainer, or equity partner. These roles stress the goal of inclusivity and work with felons who might not have real world work experience or a working knowledge of software or the language of the business world.

Can Felons Be Nurses?

Yes, in most cases felons can be nurses. It’s not a job where a prior felony can prevent you from becoming a nurse. In most cases the licensing board will review your particular case history to determine the eligibility.

However, nurses –and not just registered nurses but LPN and CNA and NPs—can often have prior felonies.

Nursing is a field where many people who have had criminal histories find a second chance. There are education and training programs designed to help former criminals and felons transition into the workplace and find work in the medical field.

Private clinics and high end private practices will tend to be more selective in their hiring practices than hospitals and non-profits, so felons might have a more difficult time finding medical work with a private practice.

It’s important to remember that nursing is very important work. Society could not function without nurses. If a felon has served their time and can explain why they are looking to contrubute to society, then they can often become a nurse. It’s not hard to get into nursing school now with all of the affordable options as well as understanding adminssion boards.

Look To Government Work

One of the best places for felons to work is for the government. Depending on the type of government role, it will either be possible to work as a felon or it’s not in the cards.

Some government jobs such as police do not allow felons. However, other roles such as transit workers and sanitation workers, as well as most janitorial and medical and clerk roles do not prohibit felons.

In large cities such as New York, felons can find work in government jobs in the public sector such as with the MTA. The type of the felony will be an issue, with some people who commit extremely egregious felonies and those who lie about them running into trouble. If you’re curious about certain issues make sure to research that particualr agency. Here, for instance, is a great forum dedicated to the MTA.

These jobs are highly desirable as they provide a pension and excellent job security.