Investigation officer vs special agent

The differences between investigation officers and special agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an investigation officer and a special agent. Additionally, an investigation officer has an average salary of $66,489, which is higher than the $60,916 average annual salary of a special agent.

The top three skills for an investigation officer include criminal justice, patrol and law enforcement agencies. The most important skills for a special agent are professional work, national security, and local law enforcement.

Investigation officer vs special agent overview

	Investigation Officer	Special Agent
Yearly salary	$66,489	$60,916
Hourly rate	$31.97	$29.29
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	67,540	46,232
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

Investigation officer vs special agent salary

Investigation officers and special agents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Investigation Officer	Special Agent
Average salary	$66,489	$60,916
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $100,000	Between $43,000 And $85,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	BNSF Railway
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between investigation officer and special agent education

There are a few differences between an investigation officer and a special agent in terms of educational background:

	Investigation Officer	Special Agent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Investigation officer vs special agent demographics

Here are the differences between investigation officers' and special agents' demographics:

	Investigation Officer	Special Agent
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 72.8% Female, 27.2%	Male, 83.1% Female, 16.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 2.8% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 2.8% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between investigation officer and special agent duties and responsibilities

Investigation officer example 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.
Recover video evidence from CCTV surveillance systems.
Prepare, maintain and update OFAC block and rejection reports.

Special agent example responsibilities.

Manage a team of field supervisors on a project to modernize and improve the ATF system of office inspection.
Conduct joint planning and manage AFOSI's criminal investigations and counterintelligence operations in northern Italy.
Follow up on tips receive from a variety of sources, including patrol officers, community members, and confidential informants.
Conduct detailed and precise SIU investigations involving insurance fraud.
Authore products highly praise by senior FBI and DOJ officials.
Interview witnesses, gather evidence and prepare cases for litigation.

Investigation officer vs special agent skills

Common investigation officer skills

Criminal Justice, 13%
Patrol, 9%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 8%
Administrative Hearings, 6%
SAR, 5%
Food Safety, 5%

Common special agent skills

Professional Work, 73%
National Security, 8%
Local Law Enforcement, 5%
Search Warrants, 2%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 2%
Counterintelligence Investigations, 1%