Private Investigator?

Question

What would be a good way for me to break into the business and start working as a private investigator? I know I need to get a license from my state, but what should I do beyond that and what can I do to gain experience that would make me a more attractive hire for agencies? I have already read several books and articles about PI work.

Answer 1

You need to become a police officer, get promoted to a detective then go off on your own as a private investigator.  Without the background you will have no credibility.  You can also try to get into the FBI, good luck, you have a lot of work ahead of you.

Answer 2

It varies pretty drastically depending on your level of education, work experience and the city that you live in.

I graduate from a decent school with a b.a. in criminal justice and kinda fell into the field.  I'v been doing it for about a year now and i do enjoy it.  But you dont have to have a degree to be a p.i.  Infact the only thing that school can teach you for the job is the legality of certain conduct, which you could have already gotten from the books you said you read.  

If you want to go the education route then definitely get some internship/volunteer experience while your doing that.  Something law enforcement related on your resume would help.    

If you are looking to go the professional route i would say stick with the profession.  If you are lucky enough to get accepted into the FBI or make detective rank on a police force i wouldn't trade it in for p.i. work.  

My company tends to stay away from the detectives and law enforcement (current and retired) personnel and favors those with relevant academic backgrounds but there are other firms that are the other way around.

Within the field of private investigations there are many specialized areas; missing person’s investigation, criminal investigation, trial prep, surveillance, matrimonial, counter-surveillance, catastrophic claims, SIU.  

Also big cities have a much higher demand for P.I.’s and from what I have been learning the field is growing so depending where you live you might want to try getting close to a major city.  

Either way just keep sending your resume out and working at it and you'll eventually get your foot in the door.

Cheers