Starting out...

How did you get your start doing criminal investigator work, and what career moves did you make to get to your current position?

Do you need a particular educational background?

is there anyone who just recently got a job as a criminal investigator for the government?? how did you do it???

did you need to go to the academy to become a criminal investigator or is a college degree in criminal justice enough?

Would the job accept applicants
who have an MA in English? I don't think I'm interested in teaching as much as I thought, meaning burnout syndrome and I was wondering how I could turn the skills learned from the 12 years of teaching into this field and what would they think of applicants with a teaching background and this particular degree.

Has anyone answered your question?Because I had thought of pursuing a career in criminal investigation because it is my first love;by first love I mean that this was the career I fell in love with in the first place,but then I began to think about the future,my family,how much time I would be devoted to them.If I would be stuck on a case or on call;For this I had decided to change my career towards becoming a teacher;But now I do not believe I would be as happy teaching as I would being a criminal investigator.Im a sophomore at Pan Am and was wondering if there are any programs that would give you some sort of experience to look good in your resume. Thank you for your time.

I noticed several people seem to want the same thing you do, but I can tell you there are no shortcuts! I spent 10 yrs as a criminal, fraud and counterintelligence officer in the USAF and I also worked as an investigator for the DOD. Even though I graduated from college with a degree in Law Enforcement & Corrections, I didn't want to be a patrol officer waiting for a chance to become a detective. So, to make a long story short, I went into the USAF and worked for the Office of Special Investigations. The military was willing to take a junior officer fresh out of college like myself and train me to be an investigator. I had to work at it and learn from a lot of people, usually NCOs with more time at the job. At my last investigative job, I saw a Federal agency take in prospective agents from the steno pool and other career fields and discover that most of them weren't very effective at anything other than report writing. They lacked the experience in interviewing and assessing people--something that can't be taught in a classroom, but is critical to success in the field. This is a skill that many patrol officers learn in the field. There's a reason why you just can't waltz in and apply for investigations jobs and it boils down to experience. There is no substitute for it and no shortcuts getting it.

Host said: How did you get your start doing criminal investigator work, and what career moves did you make to get to your current position?

Do you need a particular educational background?

If you're talking federal governement (1811 series) be prepared to wait. And wait some more. On average you are looking at a 2 to 3 year waiting period once you start the application process. Every fed agency is different, but for the most part you need at least a 4 year degree and usually some type of skill (language, prior law enforcement, sometimes military).

I have prior military active duty service, a college degree, and 4 years of entry level police patrol work (also federal). Believe it or not, many others in my agency also have a similar resume prior to landing a special agent position. BUT...I have seen "street hires" straight out of college get the job. Not many, but some (thank God!).

Think of it as a detective position. Don't expect to get there with out putting a few years of grunt work in. Once you're there, expect to make 6 figure pay checks after about 4 to 5 years of service. Not too shabby compared to most city/state departments. Good luck.....and learn that second language to be even more competitive (in my opinion).

You should be happy doing whatever you are doing. And if you want to be a criminal invesstigator you should go ahead. Whatever makes you happy you should go for it.

They might and if they dont then try for something else theres a million possiblities

jason8373 in Bloomfield, New Jersey said: If you're talking federal governement (1811 series) be prepared to wait. And wait some more. On average you are looking at a 2 to 3 year waiting period once you start the application process. Every fed agency is different, but for the most part you need at least a 4 year degree and usually some type of skill (language, prior law enforcement, sometimes military).

I have prior military active duty service, a college degree, and 4 years of entry level police patrol work (also federal). Believe it or not, many others in my agency also have a similar resume prior to landing a special agent position. BUT...I have seen "street hires" straight out of college get the job. Not many, but some (thank God!).

Think of it as a detective position. Don't expect to get there with out putting a few years of grunt work in. Once you're there, expect to make 6 figure pay checks after about 4 to 5 years of service. Not too shabby compared to most city/state departments. Good luck.....and learn that second language to be even more competitive (in my opinion).

Six figures?! LOL yeah right. Ain't no way bro!

Ramiro in Harlingen, Texas said: Has anyone answered your question?Because I had thought of pursuing a career in criminal investigation because it is my first love;by first love I mean that this was the career I fell in love with in the first place,but then I began to think about the future,my family,how much time I would be devoted to them.If I would be stuck on a case or on call;For this I had decided to change my career towards becoming a teacher;But now I do not believe I would be as happy teaching as I would being a criminal investigator.Im a sophomore at Pan Am and was wondering if there are any programs that would give you some sort of experience to look good in your resume. Thank you for your time.

Hello I am Ramiro