Choose a Career with NJI

Private investigators gather information from record searches and interviews. The information obtained from these efforts provides an investigator with the details and clear evidence for the client by way of documents, photographs and video.

If you possess qualities being detail-oriented, organized, persistent, aggressive and professional then you possess the basic skills needed to begin a career as an investigator.

On average an intern field investigator can make anywhere from $13.00 to $21.00 per hour and seasoned investigators range from $ 20.00 to $30.00 per hour. Some interns have been known to jump up to the qualities of a seasoned investigator making the same money.

With our in house training and printed manuals you will learn nearly all you need to secure a job as an intern private investigator. As an intern you will later ride along with a seasoned investigator who will "show you the ropes" and help you fine tune what you have learned along the way.. You may have heard about schools that teach private investigator courses. Thousands of dollars in cost to attend theses classes are not always beneficial and a possible waste of time and money. In the course of this type of training, usually you are taught a little of everything. In order to be the best of the best, it is my suggestion to concentrate on one specialized field of investigations such as personal injury, criminal, domestic or civil investigations.

In most states you must be at least 18 years old, have no criminal convictions on record and be of sound mind and body. There are approximately eight states that do not require you to have a private investigator license to perform this job. You will need to contact your local state division of licensing department for the information pertaining to the state within which you wish to work. You may also need to contact some of the local and county licensing departments. In the State of Florida an individual takes an online test then obtains his training and applies with an agency to sponsor him as an intern. He then applies for his "CC" license with the state of Florida and can then begin working as an investigator intern for a period of two years. The exception to the two year requirement would be someone with a criminal justice degree or with applicable documented experience in other fields such as law enforcement or in the military. With a criminal justice degree, your internship time frame is minimized to a one-year internship. Following the internship, the investigator then applies for his "C" license which is a fully licensed private investigator.

The answer is YES. When I first started in this industry, I interviewed a young female that was very determined to enter into this field. During the interview, I was very convinced that she would be a good candidate for the position. Truth be told, she excelled beyond many of the seasoned investigators due to her determination and methodical methods. I found that her note taking was very detailed, her searches were diligent and she was not perceived as much of a threat to claimants as males were. People feel more relaxed and trusting when talking to females. Since hiring this female my agency was very open to employing female investigators.