How To Become A Detective And Intelligence Analyst: What It Is and Career Path

What is a detective and intelligence analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Misty Weitzel Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a detective and intelligence analyst. For example, did you know that they make an average of $23.41 an hour? That's $48,702 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 20,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a detective and intelligence analyst?

Misty Weitzel Ph.D.

Professor and Division Chair of Criminal Justice Sciences, Western Oregon University

Maximizing your salary potential depends on what you plan to do in the field. An undergraduate degree can set you apart from others, especially if you augmented your degree with a minor (for example in psychology communications, juvenile justice, etc.). Speaking a second language can be very useful and sometimes means a bump in salary. A Master's degree may also be required for promotion in some agencies and organizations. Adding a couple extra years could mean the difference of a few thousand dollars a year.

ScoreDetective And Intelligence AnalystUS Average

Salary

3.8

Avg. Salary $48,702

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.1

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.68%

Asian 2.89%

Black or African American 10.91%

Hispanic or Latino 15.26%

Unknown 5.04%

White 65.22%

Gender

female 32.79%

male 67.21%

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 detective and intelligence analyst

Explore detective and intelligence analyst education requirements

Most common detective and intelligence analyst degrees

Bachelor's

68.6 %

Master's

11.4 %

Associate

11.4 %

Start to develop specific detective and intelligence analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Vulnerability Assessments	41.65%
Patrol	40.20%
Criminal Investigations	18.14%

Complete relevant detective and intelligence analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New detective and intelligence analysts 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 detective and intelligence analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real detective and intelligence analyst resumes.

Research detective and intelligence analyst duties and responsibilities

Communicate with higher level echelons to distribute and manage non-organic ISR assets.
Study activities relating terrorism and other security threats to prepare the organization for both training and real-world operations in relative locales.
Send specimens to laboratory to obtain DNA.

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