How To Become A Deputy Sheriff/Investigator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a deputy sheriff/investigator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a deputy sheriff/investigator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.76 an hour? That's $47,349 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 20,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreDeputy Sheriff/InvestigatorUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $47,349

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.93%

Asian 3.25%

Black or African American 14.71%

Hispanic or Latino 18.37%

Unknown 4.41%

White 58.34%

Gender

female 12.62%

male 87.38%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.1

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.8

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a deputy sheriff/investigator

Explore deputy sheriff/investigator education requirements

Most common deputy sheriff/investigator degrees

Bachelor's

42.9 %

Associate

33.3 %

High School Diploma

8.8 %

Start to develop specific deputy sheriff/investigator skills

Skills	Percentages
Patrol	25.52%
County Ordinances	12.85%
Physical Evidence	10.39%
Law Enforcement Agencies	8.86%
Public Safety	5.00%

Complete relevant deputy sheriff/investigator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New deputy sheriff/investigators 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 deputy sheriff/investigator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real deputy sheriff/investigator resumes.

Research deputy sheriff/investigator duties and responsibilities

Review and process court summons and subpoenas for employees order to appear in court.
Increase community safety, decrease crime rate, assist citizens, investigate crashes, conduct patrol to community to ensure safety.
Develop basic & some advance patrol division investigative skills.
Supervise assigned deputy sheriffs overseeing all incidents, accidents and criminal investigations.

Prepare your deputy sheriff/investigator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your deputy sheriff/investigator 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 deputy sheriff/investigator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable deputy sheriff/investigator resume templates

Build a professional deputy sheriff/investigator 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 deputy sheriff/investigator resume.