As one who has been through both state and federal prison, I can attest that an inmate doesn't have to work if they don't want to. There are some privileges lost, and of course, if there is no alternative income, you truly know what it is to go without.
Also, you don't have to work any job they assign. An inmate can choose to be a yard or hall orderly (janitor) or work in the kitchen or laundry.
I earned enough each month to have a soda and candy bar daily, a quart of ice cream weekly, and enough disposable money to get comfortable sweat pants and shirts and then a book every month. (I played D&D, so those books were about $32 with shipping.)
I worked in the laundry, then the commissary (prison store). While in the store, I took a drafting course and upon graduation, I became a tutor for that course. At the next prison, I worked in the Electrical maintenance shop until the prison Engineer discovered I could draft, and then I drew blueprints.
The tutor and draftsman jobs were very cushy and I earned about $120/month. Plus, I had a side hustle at both of them where I could use a photocopier to make copies for other inmates that weren't allowed in the law library.
And, if you can get a hustle selling something like cigarettes you can make upwards of $10000 a month.
It depends on where you are imprisoned. In Angola prison, in Louisiana, "inmates at Angola, once cleared by the prison doctor, can be forced to work under threat of punishment as severe as solitary confinement. Legally, this labor may be totally uncompensated; more typically inmates are paid meagerly—as little as two cents per hour—for their full-time work in the fields, manufacturing warehouses, or kitchens."
It's also the case that federal prisons are usually better than state prisons. In terms of living conditions, respect for basic human rights, and access to resources for recreation and rehabilitation, federal low- and minimimum-security prisons are probably the best places to be incarcerated in the US. (although that's about as faint as praise gets)
Also, you don't have to work any job they assign. An inmate can choose to be a yard or hall orderly (janitor) or work in the kitchen or laundry.
I earned enough each month to have a soda and candy bar daily, a quart of ice cream weekly, and enough disposable money to get comfortable sweat pants and shirts and then a book every month. (I played D&D, so those books were about $32 with shipping.)
I worked in the laundry, then the commissary (prison store). While in the store, I took a drafting course and upon graduation, I became a tutor for that course. At the next prison, I worked in the Electrical maintenance shop until the prison Engineer discovered I could draft, and then I drew blueprints.
The tutor and draftsman jobs were very cushy and I earned about $120/month. Plus, I had a side hustle at both of them where I could use a photocopier to make copies for other inmates that weren't allowed in the law library.
And, if you can get a hustle selling something like cigarettes you can make upwards of $10000 a month.