How To Become A Criminal Research Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a criminal research specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a criminal research specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $23.77 an hour? That's $49,440 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 20,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCriminal Research SpecialistUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $49,440

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.1

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.66%

Asian 2.82%

Black or African American 11.82%

Hispanic or Latino 16.83%

Unknown 4.99%

White 62.88%

Gender

female 70.82%

male 29.18%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

6.1

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.5

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a criminal research specialist

Explore criminal research specialist education requirements

Most common criminal research specialist degrees

Bachelor's

54.7 %

Associate

17.0 %

High School Diploma

16.6 %

Start to develop specific criminal research specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Search Results	30.01%
Criminal Background Checks	19.22%
Criminal Justice	9.67%
Court Research	9.52%
Data Entry	7.08%

Complete relevant criminal research specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New criminal research specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a criminal research specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real criminal research specialist resumes.

Research criminal research specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage thousands of cases for several firms with deadlines for depositions while ensuring accuracy, confidentiality, and HIPAA compliance.
Verse in NCIC and GCIC database research and interpretation.
Operate USMS NY/NJ RFTF command posts during sweeps and initiatives.
Use computer programs, such as databases, statistical analysis software and GIS (geographic information systems).

Prepare your criminal research specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your criminal research specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a criminal research specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable criminal research specialist resume templates

Build a professional criminal research specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your criminal research specialist resume.