Full Careers

How would a person go about persuing a career as a private investigator?

If I wanted to become a private investigator, how would I go about persuing this as a career? Is there college involved or just special training? How would I begin the special training/where would I sign up/how would I locate an institute within my area that provides training/education in this field? If you have *any info at all* on this, it will be greatly appreciated ~ thanks in advance.

Public Comments

1. First getting a degree in criminal justice or at least some security and law enforcement training to put on your resume will help. Military training in scouting and reconnaissance is a plus too. There are specialized classes that you can take at trade schools like ITT tech, Tidewater Institue, ECPI places like that. Also, you can get a job, or at least an internship at an established private investigator firm. Sadly, the majority of cases for private investigators are spying on cheating spouses. That's their bread and butter cases. Not trying to be funny or nothing, but if you are the right age and relatively attractive, you can use that to your advantage. There is a company called check-a-mate that I saw on the Montel Williams show. They are a female owned company. They have attractive people pose as decoys and bait to snag cheating spouses. You should check that out. http://www.matecheckpi.com/
2. Best way is to get law enforcement training either public sector or military. College education really doesn't apply here, although some police forces in larger metro areas may require a 4 year degree these days.