How To Become A Missing Persons Investigator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a missing persons investigator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a missing persons investigator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $23.86 an hour? That's $49,633 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 2,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreMissing Persons InvestigatorUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $49,633

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.26%

Asian 4.63%

Black or African American 14.30%

Hispanic or Latino 18.62%

Unknown 5.54%

White 56.65%

Gender

female 45.45%

male 54.55%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.3

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a missing persons investigator

Explore missing persons investigator education requirements

Most common missing persons investigator degrees

Bachelor's

47.8 %

Associate

19.6 %

High School Diploma

15.2 %

Start to develop specific missing persons investigator skills

Skills	Percentages
Law Enforcement Officials	100.00%

Complete relevant missing persons investigator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New missing persons investigators 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 a missing persons investigator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real missing persons investigator resumes.

Research missing persons investigator duties and responsibilities

Participate in and lead the controlled purchase of illegal narcotics and firearms to apprehend suspects.
Create quality control documentation associate with manufacturing process, raw materials and quality testing procedures according to corporate and FDA guidelines.
Ensure compliance of all plans and documentation by researching employment history, criminal records, civil filings, and DMV records.

Prepare your missing persons investigator resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable missing persons investigator resume templates

Build a professional missing persons investigator 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 missing persons investigator resume.