Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between certified legal investigators and background investigators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a certified legal investigator and a background investigator. Additionally, a background investigator has an average salary of $51,076, which is higher than the $49,535 average annual salary of a certified legal investigator.
The top three skills for a certified legal investigator include law enforcement agencies, federal agencies and incident management. The most important skills for a background investigator are excellent time management, work ethic, and face-to-face interviews.
| Certified Legal Investigator | Background Investigator | |
| Yearly salary | $49,535 | $51,076 |
| Hourly rate | $23.81 | $24.56 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 43,351 | 4,428 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Certified legal investigators and background investigators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Certified Legal Investigator | Background Investigator | |
| Average salary | $49,535 | $51,076 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $89,000 | Between $28,000 And $90,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | - |
| Highest paying state | - | - |
| Best paying company | - | - |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a certified legal investigator and a background investigator in terms of educational background:
| Certified Legal Investigator | Background Investigator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | California State University - Bakersfield |
Here are the differences between certified legal investigators' and background investigators' demographics:
| Certified Legal Investigator | Background Investigator | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.2% Female, 61.8% | Male, 49.6% Female, 50.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 15.1% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 4.8% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 15.2% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.8% Asian, 4.6% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |