Prison Sperg
I'm actually a nurse, so my perspective is probably a bit different. I like that the inmates are generally there long-term (unless they're in d-seg [disciplinary segregation]). It gives me a chance to get to know their healthcare needs and figure out the best way to help them (usually a referral to our mental health team tbf). They're also pretty funny most of the time, and you get the chance to develop respect with some pretty bad guys, which sounds silly but can be quite rewarding and useful, especially when they're having behavioral issues on the unit. Nurses they trust and respect are often the only people they'll listen to, for example. I enjoy going cell-to-cell and the guards are often very fun to work with as well (depending which shift is on).
To actually answer your question, CO's like Max because it's actually very light in terms of workload. You can only exercise 3 guys at a time, and everyone else is locked up (Max rules are 23 hour lockup, 30 mins exercise per shift). This greatly reduces fights and you don't have to worry about supervising 70+ guys all at once. Our prison is "open-concept" (aka dumb AF), so the guard desks are directly on the units.
Being a CO does seem like fun. It's very common to catch them having movie nights at the panel, eating snacks and having a great time. If only nursing had the opportunity

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