Investigator vs skip tracer

The differences between investigators and skip tracers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an investigator and a skip tracer. Additionally, an investigator has an average salary of $71,406, which is higher than the $36,545 average annual salary of a skip tracer.

The top three skills for an investigator include law enforcement agencies, management system and customer service. The most important skills for a skip tracer are debt collection, outbound calls, and skip trace.

Investigator vs skip tracer overview

	Investigator	Skip Tracer
Yearly salary	$71,406	$36,545
Hourly rate	$34.33	$17.57
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	5,085	1,464
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	High School Diploma, 29%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	6	6

Investigator vs skip tracer salary

Investigators and skip tracers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Investigator	Skip Tracer
Average salary	$71,406	$36,545
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $119,000	Between $20,000 And $66,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	-
Highest paying state	California	-
Best paying company	Apple	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between investigator and skip tracer education

There are a few differences between an investigator and a skip tracer in terms of educational background:

	Investigator	Skip Tracer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	High School Diploma, 29%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Business
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	California State University - Bakersfield

Investigator vs skip tracer demographics

Here are the differences between investigators' and skip tracers' demographics:

	Investigator	Skip Tracer
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 56.6% Female, 43.4%	Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 12.8% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 4.7% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between investigator and skip tracer duties and responsibilities

Investigator example responsibilities.

Participate in and lead the controlled purchase of illegal narcotics and firearms to apprehend suspects.
Manage all business reporting to include; payroll, taxes, client billing, account reconciliations and compliance reports.
Manage corporate-wide document production relative to complex litigation cases.
Receive multiple letters of commendation for effective investigations that lead to successful prosecutions.
Collaborate with federal agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ATF and IRS.
Write a detail case report, and attach all supporting documentation necessary to write up SAR's where necessary per BSA.

Skip tracer example responsibilities.

Prevent impeding loss and increasing profitability through negotiation and enforcement of schedule collection campaigns, consistently achieving high success standards.
Prevent impeding loss and increasing profitability through negotiation and enforcement of schedule collection campaigns, consistently achieving high success standards.
Utilize various skip-tracing services such as Accurint and TheWorkNumber in order to locate consumers and verify employment for account recovery purposes.

Investigator vs skip tracer skills

Common investigator skills

Law Enforcement Agencies, 7%
Management System, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Criminal Justice, 5%
Senior Level Management, 4%
Child Abuse, 4%

Common skip tracer skills

Debt Collection, 25%
Outbound Calls, 11%
Skip Trace, 7%
Delinquent Accounts, 6%
Payment Arrangements, 5%
FDCPA, 5%