Private Detectives and Investigators
Career, Salary and Education Information
What They Do: Private detectives and investigators search for information about legal, financial, and personal matters.
Work Environment: Private detectives and investigators work in many places, depending on their assignment or case. Some spend more time in offices, researching cases on computers, while others spend more time in the field, conducting interviews and performing surveillance. Private detectives and investigators often work irregular hours.
How to Become One: Most private detectives and investigators need several years of work experience and a high school diploma. In addition, the vast majority of states require private detectives and investigators to have a license.
Salary: The median annual wage for private detectives and investigators is $59,380.
Job Outlook: Employment of private detectives and investigators is projected to grow 6 percent over the next ten years, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Related Careers: Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of private detectives and investigators with similar occupations.
Following is everything you need to know about a career as a private detective or investigator with lots of details. As a first step, take a look at some of the following jobs, which are real jobs with real employers. You will be able to see the very real job career requirements for employers who are actively hiring. The link will open in a new tab so that you can come back to this page to continue reading about the career:
Top 3 Private Investigator Jobs
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Criminal Defense Private Investigator
- The Gipson Group LLC
- Portland, OR
The Criminal Defense Private Investigator will be responsible for conducting investigations related to criminal defense cases. Responsibilities: * Conduct investigations related to criminal defense ...
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Investigator - Mid to Experienced Level (Maryland)
- National Security Agency
- Fort Meade, MD
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has an opening for an Investigator within the Investigations division. The selectee will be responsible for conducting investigations involving allegations ...
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Psychiatry, Psychiatry Sub-Investigator Tucson AZ at M3 Wake Research
- CS Wake Research
- Tucson, AZ
Are you a BC Psychiatrist with experience as a Principle Investigator looking to work part-time as a Sub- Investigator ? M3 Wake Research has an opportunity for you in Tucson, AZ. Investigator role ...
What Private Detectives and Investigators Do[About this section] [To Top]
Private detectives and investigators search for information about legal, financial, and personal matters. They offer many services, such as verifying people's backgrounds and statements, finding missing persons, and investigating computer crimes.
Duties of Private Detectives and Investigators
Private detectives and investigators typically do the following:
- Interview people to gather information
- Search online, public, and court records to uncover clues
- Conduct surveillance
- Collect evidence for clients
- Check for civil judgments and criminal history
Private detectives and investigators offer many services for individuals, attorneys, and businesses. Examples include performing background checks, investigating employees for possible theft from a company, proving or disproving infidelity in a divorce case, and helping to locate a missing person.
Private detectives and investigators use a variety of tools when researching the facts in a case. Much of their work is done with a computer, allowing them to obtain information such as telephone numbers, details about social networks, descriptions of online activities, and records of a person's prior arrests. They make phone calls to verify facts and interview people when conducting a background investigation.
Detectives also conduct surveillance when investigating a case. They may watch locations, such as a person's home or office, often from a hidden position. Using cameras and binoculars, detectives gather information on people of interest.
Detectives and investigators must be mindful of the law when conducting investigations. Because they lack police authority, their work must be done with the same authority as a private citizen. As a result, detectives and investigators must have a good understanding of federal, state, and local laws, such as privacy laws, and other legal issues affecting their work. Otherwise, evidence they collect may not be useable in court and they could face prosecution.
Skip tracers specialize in locating people whose whereabouts are unknown. For example, debt collectors may employ them to locate people who have unpaid bills.
Work Environment for Private Detectives and Investigators[About this section] [To Top]
Private detectives and investigators hold about 37,000 jobs. The largest employers of private detectives and investigators are as follows:
| Self-employed workers | 22% |
| Investigation, guard, and armored car services | 18% |
| Government | 12% |
| Finance and insurance | 10% |
Private detectives and investigators work in many environments, depending on the case. Some spend more time in offices, researching cases on computers and making phone calls. Others spend more time in the field, conducting interviews or performing surveillance. In addition, private detectives and investigators may have to work outdoors or from a vehicle, in all kinds of weather, in order to obtain the information their client needs.
Although investigators often work alone, some work with others while conducting surveillance or carrying out large, complicated assignments.
Private Detective and Investigator Work Schedules
Private detectives and investigators often work irregular hours because they conduct surveillance and contact people outside of normal work hours. They may work early mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays.
How to Become a Private Detective or Investigator[About this section] [To Top]
Get the education you need: Find schools for Private Detectives and Investigators near you!
Private detectives and investigators typically need several years of work experience and a high school diploma. In addition, the vast majority of states require private detectives and investigators to have a license.
Education for Private Detectives and Investigators
Education requirements vary greatly with the job, but most jobs require a high school diploma. Some, though, may require a 2- or 4-year degree in a field such as criminal justice.
Private Detective and Investigator Training
Most private detectives and investigators learn through on-the-job training, typically lasting between several months and a year.
Although new investigators must learn how to gather information, additional training depends on the type of firm that hires them. For example, investigators may learn to conduct remote surveillance, reconstruct accident scenes, or investigate insurance fraud. Corporate investigators hired by large companies may receive formal training in business practices, management structure, and various finance-related topics.
Work Experience in a Related Occupation for Private Detectives and Investigators
Private detectives and investigators must typically have previous work experience, usually in law enforcement, the military, or federal intelligence. Those in such jobs, who are frequently able to retire after 20 or 25 years of service, may become private detectives or investigators in a second career.
Other private detectives and investigators may have previously worked as bill and account collectors, claims adjusters, paralegals, or process servers.
Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations for Private Detectives and Investigators
Most states require private detectives and investigators to have a license. Check with your state for more information; Professional Investigator Magazine has links to most states' licensing requirements. Because laws often change, jobseekers should verify the licensing laws related to private investigators with the state and locality in which they want to work.
Candidates may also obtain certification, although it is not required for employment. Still, becoming certified through professional organizations can demonstrate competence and may help candidates advance in their careers.
For investigators who specialize in negligence or criminal defense investigation, the National Association of Legal Investigators offers the Certified Legal Investigator certification. For other investigators, ASIS International offers the Professional Certified Investigator certification.
Important Qualities for Private Detectives and Investigators
Communication skills. Private detectives and investigators must listen carefully and ask appropriate questions when interviewing a person of interest.
Decisionmaking skills. Private detectives and investigators must be able to think on their feet and make quick decisions, based on the limited information that they have at a given time.
Inquisitiveness. Private detectives and investigators must want to ask questions and search for the truth.
Patience. Private detectives and investigators may have to spend long periods conducting surveillance while waiting for an event to occur. Investigations may take a long time, and they may not provide a resolution quickly—or at all.
Resourcefulness. Private detectives and investigators must work persistently with whatever leads they have, no matter how limited, to determine the next step toward their goal. They sometimes need to anticipate what a person of interest will do next.
Private Detective and Investigator Salaries[About this section] [More salary/earnings info] [To Top]
The median annual wage for private detectives and investigators is $59,380. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $32,130, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $98,070.
The median annual wages for private detectives and investigators in the top industries in which they work are as follows:
| Finance and insurance | $64,010 |
| Government | $62,090 |
| Investigation, guard, and armored car services | $51,630 |
Private detectives and investigators often work irregular hours because they conduct surveillance and contact people outside of normal work hours. They may work early mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays.
Job Outlook for Private Detectives and Investigators[About this section] [To Top]
Employment of private detectives and investigators is projected to grow 6 percent over the next ten years, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
About 3,700 openings for private detectives and investigators are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment of Private Detectives and Investigators
Continued lawsuits, fraud and other crimes, and interpersonal mistrust are expected to create demand for investigative services.
Background checks will continue to be a source of work for some investigators, as online investigations are not always sufficient.
| Occupational Title | Employment, 2021 | Projected Employment, 2031 | Change, 2021-31 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | Numeric | |||
| Private detectives and investigators | 37,000 | 39,100 | 6 | 2,100 |
More Private Detective and Investigator Information[About this section] [To Top]
For more information about private detectives and investigators, including information on certification, visit
National Association of Legal Investigators
For more information about state licensing requirements, visit
A portion of the information on this page is used by permission of the U.S. Department of Labor.