Narcotics agent vs postal inspector

The differences between narcotics agents and postal inspectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a narcotics agent and a postal inspector. Additionally, a postal inspector has an average salary of $68,901, which is higher than the $65,852 average annual salary of a narcotics agent.

The top three skills for a narcotics agent include patrol, criminal investigations and crime scenes. The most important skills for a postal inspector are bank fraud, law enforcement agencies, and criminal investigations.

Narcotics agent vs postal inspector overview

	Narcotics Agent	Postal Inspector
Yearly salary	$65,852	$68,901
Hourly rate	$31.66	$33.13
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	25,101	20,088
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

Narcotics agent vs postal inspector salary

Narcotics agents and postal inspectors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Narcotics Agent	Postal Inspector
Average salary	$65,852	$68,901
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $97,000	Between $39,000 And $119,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between narcotics agent and postal inspector education

There are a few differences between a narcotics agent and a postal inspector in terms of educational background:

	Narcotics Agent	Postal Inspector
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Narcotics agent vs postal inspector demographics

Here are the differences between narcotics agents' and postal inspectors' demographics:

	Narcotics Agent	Postal Inspector
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 88.1% Female, 11.9%	Male, 76.1% Female, 23.9%
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, 12.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 2.8% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between narcotics agent and postal inspector duties and responsibilities

Narcotics agent example responsibilities.

Conduct joint planning and manage AFOSI's criminal investigations and counterintelligence operations in northern Italy.
Conduct searches of all Latin American and Caribbean AA flights inbound and outbound for illegal narcotics and firearms.
Review all complete DEA integrity/misconduct investigations, shooting investigations, accidents with government vehicles and property loss or damage negligence/liability reports.
Conduct joint planning and manage AFOSI's criminal investigations and counterintelligence operations in northern Italy.

Postal inspector example responsibilities.

Manage customs service's facility and team in the immediate AO to active military and DoD civilians.
Conduct joint planning and manage AFOSI's criminal investigations and counterintelligence operations in northern Italy.
Experience obtaining grand jury subpoenas and have obtained and serve federal search, arrest and asset forfeiture warrants.
Perform background investigations of employees applying for security positions within the USPS.
Review and enforce the application of state laws and regulations pertaining to the CDFA.
Serve subpoenas to witnesses, suspects, financial institutions, internet service providers, etc.

Narcotics agent vs postal inspector skills

Common narcotics agent skills

Patrol, 17%
Criminal Investigations, 14%
Crime Scenes, 11%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 10%
Electronic Surveillance, 9%
Subpoenas, 5%

Common postal inspector skills

Bank Fraud, 15%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 12%
Criminal Investigations, 9%
Postal Service, 9%
Subpoenas, 8%
Inspection Services, 7%

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Narcotics Agent
Narcotics Agent vs Postal Inspector

Updated January 8, 2025

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