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Private Detectives and Investigators

Law, Public Safety, Corrections and SecurityO*NET 33-9021.00United States

Gather, analyze, compile, and report information regarding individuals or organizations to clients, or detect occurrences of unlawful acts or infractions of rules in private establishment.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning
Median annual earnings
$53,002

50th percentile, United States

Projected change
+7.9%

2025 to 2035

Typical education
Bachelor's degree

42.2% of the workforce

Employment
42.89K jobs

Growing to 46.29K by 2035

Explore this career by location

Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

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The work

What private detectives and investigators do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

  • Write reports or case summaries to document investigations.
  • Conduct private investigations on a paid basis.
  • Search computer databases, credit reports, public records, tax or legal filings, or other resources to locate persons or to compile information for investigations.
  • Conduct personal background investigations, such as pre-employment checks, to obtain information about an individual's character, financial status, or personal history.
  • Expose fraudulent insurance claims or stolen funds.
  • Obtain and analyze information on suspects, crimes, or disturbances to solve cases, to identify criminal activity, or to gather information for court cases.
  • Testify at hearings or court trials to present evidence.
  • Question persons to obtain evidence for cases of divorce, child custody, or missing persons or information about individuals' character or financial status.
  • Observe and document activities of individuals to detect unlawful acts or to obtain evidence for cases, using binoculars and still or video cameras.
  • Confer with establishment officials, security departments, police, or postal officials to identify problems, provide information, or receive instructions.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile
$33,609
25th percentile
$39,041
50th percentile
$53,002
75th percentile
$81,665
90th percentile
$123,682

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $53,002 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

+7.9%faster than average
202542,889 jobs
2035 projected46,286 jobs

3,397 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

Bachelor's degree
42.2%
High school diploma or less
25.1%
Associate degree
16.4%
Some college
12.1%
Certificate
4.3%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

  • Law Enforcement
  • Physical Security Operations
  • Loss Prevention
  • Punctuation and Capitalization
  • Auditing
  • Data Collection
  • Lifting Ability
  • Internal Controls
  • Good Driving Record
  • Workers' Compensation
  • Liability Insurance
  • Legal Hearings
  • Regulatory Compliance
  • Witness Interviews
  • Site Inspection
  • Medicaid
  • Data Analysis
  • Investigative Journalism
  • Closed-Circuit Television Systems (CCTV)
  • Medicare

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

  1. 01Surveillance Investigators2,257 postings
  2. 02Surveillance Officers1,522 postings
  3. 03Private Investigators776 postings
  4. 04Investigators741 postings
  5. 05Surveillance Agents700 postings
  6. 06Background Investigators684 postings
  7. 07Surveillance Operators533 postings
  8. 08Field Site Managers461 postings
  9. 09Surveillance Managers241 postings
  10. 10Field Investigators147 postings
  11. 11Healthcare Agents136 postings
  12. 12Special Investigators96 postings
  13. 13Fraud Investigators91 postings
  14. 14Security Ambassadors91 postings
  15. 15Off Duty Officers85 postings
  16. 16Surveillance Specialists81 postings
  17. 17Surveillance Technicians78 postings
  18. 18Surveillance Supervisors76 postings
  19. 19Surveillance Analysts67 postings
  20. 20Surveillance Observers67 postings

Top employers

  1. 01GardaWorld1,865 postings
  2. 02Allied Universal1,592 postings
  3. 03Digistream Investigations500 postings
  4. 04Command Investigations261 postings
  5. 05Ethos Risk Services261 postings
  6. 06Peraton206 postings
  7. 07Adc Ltd Nm202 postings
  8. 08Federal Bureau of Investigation150 postings
  9. 09Lemieux & Associates144 postings
  10. 10Frasco142 postings
  11. 11Marshall Investigative Group123 postings
  12. 12State of Florida121 postings
  13. 13Advantage Surveillance118 postings
  14. 14Coventbridge Group118 postings
  15. 15Insight Service Group118 postings
  16. 16Advantage Investigations116 postings
  17. 17Security Industry Specialists116 postings
  18. 18CACI International98 postings
  19. 19Caesars Entertainment97 postings
  20. 20State of South Carolina88 postings

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