Students: Your education is valuable to a private investigator

College is full swing around the country and students are working hard (okay, some are) toward their degrees in a myriad of subjects. While the atmosphere seems to be a bit more energetic and positive then in recent years, the on-going recession and the burgeoning student debt problem are still tempering the mood. The long-held belief that a college degree—any college degree—was a fast track to a lucrative career and high paying job has proven to be a myth. Before parents begin remodeling the guest room for a permanent resident or before students drown their sorrows in another cheap beer, let’s explore some ways in which student can translate a degree into a career as a professional private investigator.

Why should students consider the profession? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the field of private investigations will grow by 22% over the next eight years. This does not mean, of course, that you can just grab your diploma in Medieval European Literature, Gender Studies, or Business Administration, in May and get a job as a private investigator. As BLS also reports, 

Keen competition is expected for most jobs because private detective and investigator careers attract many qualified people, including relatively young retirees from law enforcement and military careers. The best opportunities for new jobseekers will be in entry-level jobs in detective agencies. Opportunities are expected to be favorable for qualified computer forensic investigators. (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos157.htm#projections_data) 

Clearly, it may be attractive for investigations companies to hire police or military retirees. But as we know, these guys and gals don’t always make the best private sector employees. So you have an equal chance at success. So in this post, I’d like to offer some advice regarding how you can improve your chances of getting a entry-level job upon graduation.

So how do you, a student with a degree in, let’s say, in Philosophy, position yourself in the competitive job market against people with greater practical experience? By understanding the profession, obviously; which means doing things today that will improve your resume and demonstrate you understand the needs of a private agency. In short, you must show that you have both knowledge and technical expertise in areas that are valuable to a fledgling agency.

Most private investigators are relatively small outfits. In fact, very few agencies employ full-time staff. There are some investigations and consulting companies that employ thousands of people (e.g., Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations), but these fall largely within the niche of corporate investigations. The type of private investigations I’m writing about are those that do a variety of small business and domestic-type cases: employee theft, cheating spouse, missing persons, skip tracing, process serving, and, among other things, criminal defense.

Given their small size and increased exposure to the uncertainties of the external environment, private investigations want to hire agents that mitigate risk and uncertainty. Show them that you are trained (or easily trainable) and can do your job well without much oversight. In return, you’ll be compensated handsomely. Starting salaries typically range from $18-$25 per hour, and you will likely be making much more than this in just a few years—especially if you follow the advice below.

So how exactly how does a philosophy student become a private investigator? (Obviously, if your degree is in political science, international affairs, public relations, communications, etc., then you have to translate your background differently. It’s doable. If you don’t see exactly how, I’ve provided below a contact of a person who may be able to help you.)

1. Like all jobs, you need to make a case for your fit within the profession. While some professions (e.g., accounting) have its own systems for vetting candidates (e.g., CPA licensure) and standardized curricula, there is not such standardization in the profession of private investigating. Agency owners, therefore, are persuadable.
   
   Like most folks, private investigators probably look at a philosophy degrees with a bit of suspicion. We want to hire someone who is going to be asking questions about the meaning of life when you should be asking “where is this guy going?” We want someone who can anticipate people’s moves, ask questions that elicit information, understand how to use maps, and use scientific reasoning to connect facts in order to draw conclusions in a case (wait, that sounds oddly like philosophy!).
   
   Our ignorance about philosophy degrees should not be your loss. This is why you need to inform us that there is a difference between an analytic philosopher and academic philosophers. We don’t realize, unless we’ve been informed as I have, that you’ve taken all those courses in logistics, which has sharpened your mind to the point that your degree is one of the most sought after in the United States, by companies and government agencies like UPS, FedEx, the Security and Exchange Commission and the CIA (see Forbes article.) In short, you have to sell us on your degree.
   
   
2.  Book knowledge is important, of course. However, there are other technical skills that are important to good private investigations work, so you should take courses that give you these transferable skills. Courses like photography, writing (e.g., grant writing, short story writing), communications (e.g., conflict mediation, organizational dynamics), and foreign languages (especially Spanish) can be invaluable to us. If you’re not sure how your background can be translated to the field of private investigations, hire a life coach or personal consultant.
   
   
3. Traditional students: Don’t forget the value of your age. While it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of age, and I am not advocating for this, there are times in our profession when age does matter. Under certain undercover situations, it is necessary to use a younger person. An old-looking private investigator walking into a bar full of college-age students is very inconspicuous (note the sarcasm). Thus, age is a bonafide occupational qualification. An agency must keep on staff younger private investigators in order to meet the changing demands of cases.
   
   
4. Build your experience in our profession. There are ways in which you can increase your chances of getting a private investigations position. You’d be surprised how many people have never actually experienced the demanding work of surveillance. “I love watching people” does not qualify you to be a private investigator. In fact, if you said in your interview, “I hate watching people, but I know it’s easy money,” you’ll increase your chances of getting a job. How do you learn to love to hate surveillance? By doing it. I recommend that you job shadow a private investigator or offer to help a local private investigator on a few assignments (you know, one where they need a college-age face?) Don’t wait until you graduate!
   
   
5. Start developing a list of contacts. Let’s face it, a private investigator wants you to be more than just an investigator. If you can bring a list of contacts to the organization that can help land future contracts, especially with insurance agents/adjusters, attorneys, and small businesses, then you are valuable. If you have a lot of contacts, you should consider negotiating a stipulation in your employment contract that assures that you get a percentage of all new sales you make. So start tapping into your social and professional network that exists on college campuses. Your faculty, your sorority sisters and fraternity brother, your classmates, and friends, likely can give you leads. If you develop a list of contacts and can show this to an investigator, your chances of getting a job will markedly increase.
   
   
6.  Don’t over party. Okay, there may be some professions where a little jail time for a hard weekend of partying is not going to thwart your chances of getting a job. Private investigating is not one of them. By law, people with certain types of convictions are barred from the profession.
   
   
7.  Attend conferences and associations. It’s never too late to actually take a course in private investigations or to attend any one of the several conferences available.
   
   
8.  Read books about the profession. Here are some recommendations, and we’ll be posting reviews of others in the near future.

If you heed just some of the advice listed above, you’ll be in a much better position than other job candidates. If you’re a high quality person and are ambitious enough, you can help grow a small agency into a bigger one. In so doing, you will likely be rewarded through partnership.

College is a great time in your life; however, don’t forget to keep in mind that you need to start building and shaping your post-graduation career. The sooner you know what you want to do, the more opportunities you will have to craft your experiences into something valuable to potential employers.

  

If you’re serious about exploring career options, please feel free to call Dr. Craig Engstrom of Critical Hours Education Services. For a marginal fee, he’ll help you create a career action plan. His number is 314.732.1717.

  

Want to improve your chances of getting a PI job?

According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field of private investigations is projected to grow by 22% over the next decade.

Although the field is growing, competition for employment is keen. Agency owners receive several calls a month from people who say, “I’d like to be a private investigator.” But most of these callers do not have the qualifications to become a private investigator or fail to grab the agency owner's attention. Truth be told, an investigative agency that finds a qualified individual will often create a part-time position for him or her. Given the high turnover rate in the profession, such individuals will likely move quickly into a full time position.

This blog entry is designed to help you increase your chances of getting hired by a private detective agency and help you prepare for life on the job.

First, and most importantly, before calling an investigator about employment, make sure you qualify in your state to be a field investigator for a private agency. These rules vary by state. InTexas, for example, you are typically disqualified if you have a felony conviction, but you can obtain a field license without any specialized courses as long as you are 18 years old. The investigative agency will sponsor you. In Illinois, however, you have to be 21 years or older and complete a 20-hour course to qualify for work with a licensed agency.

Second, deeply consider whether you really can work as a private investigator. Unless you have some special training in law, accounting, or computer forensics, you are not likely going to be an investigator with a nine-to-five schedule. If you happen to know accounting, you may be able to work as a fraud examiner with a more stable schedule. But it’s more likely that you are someone who does not have much formal training in investigative work. That is fine, but you’re going to work primarily for an agency as a surveillance specialist. The needs for surveillance-related work are high, so it is a great way to get started with an agency when you don’t have many specialized skills. But be forewarned: The hours are erratic and you will likely need to work every weekend from early evening to early morning (1600 hours to 0300 hours). You will have weeks that are busy and weeks that are slow. What this means is that some weeks you will not sleep much and other weeks you won’t have income. Does this sound okay for you? If it does, then this is something you should tell an agency owner. But you have to follow through. If you work hard, you’ll likely get to do other things and move up in the company. Eventually, you may even qualify for your own agency license. But answer this question truthfully: Are you willing to forgo your personal life for a few years? As a “part-time” employee you won’t work a set 20- hours-per-week schedule, you’ll be called upon at various times in the week. If you say you can’t go to work too often, then you’ll stop receiving calls for work.

Third, when you do call an agency owner and he or she asks you why you want (or are qualified) to be a private investigator, do not reply in any way similar to the following: “I’ve always thought it would be cool to be a private investigator,” “I like the shows Cheaters and Sex Decoys and would like to do this work,” “I just need a job and I’ve always been good at snooping on my neighbors.” Many people say this and it is not impressive. Consider more deeply what special skills or knowledge you can bring to an agency and start there: “I know how to operate a camera, can drive defensively, and have a great deal of common sense—you know, those things that can make you good at doing surveillance work.”

Fourth, prepare yourself. You can begin your career as a private investigator without a college degree. However, this does not mean you do not have to educate yourself about rules, laws, and regulations. If you still believe that you’d make a great investigator after all you’ve read, you can impress an agency owner with your knowledge of laws. For self-education, the following reading materials are recommended:

• Your state’s laws regulating the profession and relevant practices (e.g., pretexting and recording conversations).
• The following two books:

While this information cannot guarantee employment, it is likely going to help your chances. Being a private investigator can be rewarding, but it takes a great deal of hard work, specific knowledge, and practice to succeed.