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The differences between inspectors and investigators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an investigator has an average salary of $71,406, which is higher than the $38,757 average annual salary of an inspector.
The top three skills for an inspector include sketch, good communication and magnetic particle. The most important skills for an investigator are law enforcement agencies, management system, and customer service.
| Inspector | Investigator | |
| Yearly salary | $38,757 | $71,406 |
| Hourly rate | $18.63 | $34.33 |
| Growth rate | -3% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 17,670 | 5,085 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 45 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
An inspector is responsible for overseeing the overall condition of the site, ensuring that it complies with the safety standards and regulations. Inspectors' duties include monitoring the quality of the materials used, inspecting any defects and discrepancies that might compromise the operations, generating reports to assess the product costing if it meets the budget goals, and utilizing available resources in the market for the highest quality project. An inspector must have excellent decision-making and critical-thinking skills to perform comprehensive actions on risk management and service delivery.
Criminal investigators play an essential role in criminal justice and law enforcement. Their job entails solving open cases that may take them weeks or even months to accomplish. Collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, and arresting suspects are among their many tasks. They work at every level of criminal justice and law enforcement. For criminal investigators to succeed in their profession, they should have sound judgment, strong communication skills, ethical standards, physical fitness, and empathy. They also benefit from strong job prospects, in addition to an exciting and rewarding job.
Inspectors and investigators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Inspector | Investigator | |
| Average salary | $38,757 | $71,406 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $54,000 | Between $42,000 And $119,000 |
| Highest paying City | Vancouver, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Louisiana | California |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | - |
There are a few differences between an inspector and an investigator in terms of educational background:
| Inspector | Investigator | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Business | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | - | California State University - Bakersfield |
Here are the differences between inspectors' and investigators' demographics:
| Inspector | Investigator | |
| Average age | 45 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.7% Female, 38.3% | Male, 56.6% Female, 43.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.1% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 13.5% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 4.7% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 8% |