Private Investigator Careers

The very first step to becoming a private investigator is to decide if this is really what you want to do. Day dreaming about it is okay but not enough to rely upon in making what could be a life-altering move. You need to do a little research such as reading about the types of work performed by a private investigator. A book called The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Private Investigating by Steve Kerry Brown is an excellent source for this purpose. Forget the humor in the title—this book is really one of the best.

Another beginning step is to talk with one or more licensed private investigators. Choose those you know to be reliable and worth listening to. Be prepared to ask questions about job opportunity, salary and working conditions.

Contact the professional private investigation association in your state or at the national level (see our link called Private Investigator Associations). Attend an association meeting, which is usually held over lunch. Guests are almost always welcomed. Most associations have student and associate classes of membership. Holding membership and networking through the association can yield very valuable information and job opportunities.

After you’ve decided you want to become a private investigator, identify the state’s licensing requirements, if any. A very few states do not require a license. If this is the case in your situation, do two things: get some training under your belt and hook-up with an experienced investigator willing to give you on-the-job guidance. Don’t start off unprepared: a single mistake can cause you to be sued or arrested.

If your state has licensing requirements, find out what they are and how to apply. See our link called Private Investigator Licensing Boards.

A state that requires licensing will have a board or commission that oversees the industry to ensure compliance with the standards it has set. The standards typically relate to age, education, criminal history, and physical/mental conditions.

Before submitting an application for a license, your state board may require you to complete an approved training course. Make sure the course is approved. Too many people have been hoodwinked into paying high fees for a course that will not be recognized by the state.

A certificate or diploma issued by the training school must accompany other documents in the application packet. The other documents are typically an application form, high school and/or college diploma, waivers or releases that permit the board to verify the representations you made in the application, fingerprint cards (for making a background check), and the license fee.

Completing a pre-license training course can be a hassle. When the training is offered in a classroom or workshop, you may have to wait several months to begin the training—and it may be conducted at a considerable distance from where you reside. An excellent alternative is an online course. A few states require the applicant to attend a course administered in the state by a state agency such as the Public Safety Department, State Insurance Department, Secretary of State or State Department of Justice.

A few states will require you to pass a state examination before the license is issued. Georgia is one of those states.

The initial license you receive may be a probationary license, meaning that you must work for a certain number of days under the supervision of a licensed investigator at a licensed private investigation agency. In the probationary period, expect to be assigned uncomplicated, non-critical tasks such as surveillance, data base searching, and telephone interviewing. If you are found to be efficient, you will most likely be assigned more challenging work.

When you have passed the probationary period, it is time to choose a private investigation specialty. Specialties are numerous and varied. Some investigators like to work family-related cases such as child custody, divorce and division of family assets; others enjoy working for insurance companies in the areas of medical fraud, workers’ compensation fraud, bank fraud and embezzlement. A very large number of investigators like to conduct pre-employment screening and background investigation. The number-oriented investigators tend to migrate to forensic auditing. Former police officers, because of their background, tend to enter the criminal defense investigation field. Some take up work in retail, distributing and transportation businesses, and some hire on as investigators with large corporations. Then there are the consultants that specialize in executive protection, information security, installation of physical security safeguards and identification of a client’s weaknesses in preventing or mitigating sabotage and terrorist attacks.

If there is one thing that a license applicant needs is good training.

Finally, the private investigation field is interesting, challenging and highly remunerative for the very best.