How To Become An Inspector General: What It Is and Career Path

What is an inspector general and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Inspectors general are responsible for coordinating activities that promote accountability, integrity, and efficiency in government. They provide direction for, supervise, and coordinate audits, investigations, and management reviews relating to the programs and operations. They keep management informed of fraud, abuses, and deficiencies and recommend corrective action concerning the aforementioned vices.

Inspectors general earn an average salary of $61,000 annually or $29 per hour. They perform lots of duties, including ensuring effective coordination and cooperation between the auditor general, federal auditors, and other governmental bodies to avoid duplication. They also conduct, supervise, or coordinate other activities carried out or financed by the state agency to promote the economy.

Inspectors general are usually appointed by the governor's chief inspector general. They are selected on some basis and experience in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, or other closely related fields. They are expected to have integrity and possess solid leadership and communication skills to boot.

ScoreInspector GeneralUS Average

Salary

3.8

Avg. Salary $48,026

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.2

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.85%

Asian 8.31%

Black or African American 12.96%

Hispanic or Latino 17.22%

Unknown 4.86%

White 55.80%

Gender

female 30.82%

male 69.18%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.4

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an inspector general

Explore inspector general education requirements

Most common inspector general degrees

Bachelor's

48.7 %

Associate

18.6 %

Master's

16.0 %

Start to develop specific inspector general skills

Skills	Percentages
IG	15.15%
OIG	11.59%
DOD	6.60%
Corrective Action	6.43%
Audit Reports	5.66%

Complete relevant inspector general training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New inspectors general 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 an inspector general based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real inspector general resumes.

Research inspector general duties and responsibilities

Identify the appropriate DoD organizations and project locations to accomplish assign project objectives.
Conduct complex functional inspections, focuse on logistics management of DoD activities.
Issue hundreds of subpoenas for production of records.
Conduct inquiries, investigations and respond to Hotline complaints.

Prepare your inspector general resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable inspector general resume templates

Build a professional inspector general 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 inspector general resume.