How To Become An Investigation Officer: What It Is and Career Path

What is an investigation officer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an investigation officer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $31.97 an hour? That's $66,489 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 20,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreInvestigation OfficerUS Average

Salary

5.2

Avg. Salary $66,489

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.67%

Asian 2.83%

Black or African American 11.92%

Hispanic or Latino 17.00%

Unknown 5.00%

White 62.59%

Gender

female 27.24%

male 72.76%

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

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an investigation officer

Explore investigation officer education requirements

Most common investigation officer degrees

Bachelor's

60.1 %

Associate

14.9 %

Master's

12.6 %

Start to develop specific investigation officer skills

Skills	Percentages
Criminal Justice	12.66%
Patrol	8.89%
Law Enforcement Agencies	7.91%
Administrative Hearings	5.62%
SAR	5.39%

Complete relevant investigation officer training and internships

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

Research investigation officer duties and responsibilities

Manage corporate-wide document production relative to complex litigation cases.
Screen entities against OFAC list to determine if enhance due diligence is required.
Serve active criminal warrants and subpoenas.
Patrol facility by foot and patrol vehicle.

Prepare your investigation officer resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable investigation officer resume templates

Build a professional investigation officer 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 investigation officer resume.