How To Become An Investigations Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is an investigations director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

An investigations director has to have a good nose for the truth. That is because they are in charge of a whole department investigating inconsistencies and bringing falsehoods to light. They can work for insurance companies, universities, or any other business interested in dealing with complaints or exposing fraud.

The investigations director helps manage a business's investigations. Often they are in charge of developing investigative plans starting with identifying problem areas to standardizing procedures for investigating the issue. Once the investigations team has gathered all the necessary information, the investigations director analyzes it and makes recommendations for mediating conflict.

To become an investigations director, a person usually needs a bachelor's degree and several years of work experience. Depending on the field they are working in, for example, if they are looking for work at a university, they may need even specialized degrees or experience to advance to this position.

ScoreInvestigations DirectorUS Average

Salary

7.1

Avg. Salary $91,261

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.0

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 6.39%

Black or African American 7.94%

Hispanic or Latino 14.58%

Unknown 5.59%

White 65.34%

Gender

female 25.64%

male 74.36%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.2

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an investigations director

Explore investigations director education requirements

Most common investigations director degrees

Bachelor's

61.1 %

Master's

16.2 %

Associate

7.6 %

Start to develop specific investigations director skills

Skills	Percentages
Oversight	9.20%
Law Enforcement Agencies	8.93%
Ethics	7.37%
Litigation	6.47%
Fraud Investigations	6.34%

Complete relevant investigations director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New investigations directors 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 investigations director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real investigations director resumes.

Research investigations director duties and responsibilities

Manage and maintain building security CCTV security cameras and issuing of access cards.
Manage SIU's arrears settlement program, negotiating offers, drafting justifications and executing agreements.
Manage a data analytics team spanning five locations as part of an FCPA investigation of an oil and gas services company.
Manage a proprietary POS transaction exception reporting and auditing process.

Get investigations director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become an investigations director. The most common roles before becoming an investigations director include special agent, police officer team lead and investigator.

Apply for investigations director jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an investigations director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams