Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between detectives and parking enforcement officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a detective has an average salary of $57,984, which is higher than the $38,755 average annual salary of a parking enforcement officer.
The top three skills for a detective include physical evidence, patrol and law enforcement agencies. The most important skills for a parking enforcement officer are parking enforcement, patrol, and motor vehicle.
| Detective | Parking Enforcement Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $57,984 | $38,755 |
| Hourly rate | $27.88 | $18.63 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 56,521 | 120,053 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 41% |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A detective is responsible for conducting in-depth investigations for criminal activities, potential threats, and other law-violating incidents, coordinating closely with law-enforcement agencies and crime intelligence analysts. Detectives often work on the field, gathering data and related evidence to support claims and connect the timeline of events. They keep an organized record of their findings for further validation before reporting it to the authority. A detective must have excellent investigative and critical-thinking skills, especially on solving puzzles and security solutions.
A parking enforcement officer is responsible for monitoring parking lots, ramps, and streets to make sure that drivers adhere to the parking laws and regulations. It is their duty to patrol assigned areas and monitor parking meters, issuing citations on improperly or illegally parked vehicles. There are also times when they must call for towing services, assess suspicious vehicles and scan their plates, and testify in courts as necessary. Moreover, a parking enforcement officer must maintain records of all issued tickets and respond to concerns professionally.
Detectives and parking enforcement officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Detective | Parking Enforcement Officer | |
| Average salary | $57,984 | $38,755 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $95,000 | Between $28,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Bellingham, WA |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | City of Detroit |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a detective and a parking enforcement officer in terms of educational background:
| Detective | Parking Enforcement Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 41% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | University of Arizona | California State University - Bakersfield |
Here are the differences between detectives' and parking enforcement officers' demographics:
| Detective | Parking Enforcement Officer | |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 82.7% Female, 17.3% | Male, 63.1% Female, 36.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 2.8% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 1.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 11.1% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 24% |