Will being a prison officer affect my relationship?

I’m looking for genuinely honest advice.

I’m thinking about joining the Prison Service and becoming a Prison Officer, but my partner and I have been having a lot of serious conversations about what that would actually mean for us and our life together.

My partner is supportive of me wanting this career, but naturally they’re worried. We’ve talked about the hard truths of how this job could change me as a person, the potential mental and physical impact, the shift patterns, nights, mental load, and the overall lifestyle change.

For context, we both currently work Monday–Friday office jobs. Our hours match, we have weekends together, and we’ve built a really nice routine and life. We spend a lot of time together. The issue is, I’m unhappy in my current job and have always wanted this kind of line of work!

I’m worried about how this career could affect our relationship — whether we’d grow apart, whether the distance and different schedules would create strain, not being able to contact each other during shifts, and my partner feeling anxious when I’m on nights or at work in general. My family say things like if you start this job you have to realise you’re dragging your partner into to it, as they’ll have worry and have to be the one to support you when you’ve seen awful things etc

I’d really value hearing from people who’ve been in a similar position. Did you have these worries and it worked out okay? Or, asking for the brutal truth, did it take a toll on your relationship or your partner? Any advice on how to make it work outside in your home life?