How To Become A Narcotics Detective: What It Is and Career Path

What is a narcotics detective and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a narcotics detective. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.52 an hour? That's $51,008 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 20,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreNarcotics DetectiveUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,008

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.67%

Asian 2.83%

Black or African American 11.95%

Hispanic or Latino 17.03%

Unknown 5.00%

White 62.53%

Gender

female 10.90%

male 89.10%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a narcotics detective

Explore narcotics detective education requirements

Most common narcotics detective degrees

Bachelor's

52.5 %

Associate

23.5 %

High School Diploma

10.1 %

Start to develop specific narcotics detective skills

Skills	Percentages
Surveillance Operations	18.47%
Patrol	14.26%
Crime Scenes	12.64%
Law Enforcement Agencies	8.14%
Public Safety	4.23%

Complete relevant narcotics detective training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New narcotics detectives 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 narcotics detective based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real narcotics detective resumes.

Research narcotics detective duties and responsibilities

Job duties as a patrol deputy are to answer calls, transport mental people, serve warrants.
Train troopers in patrol investigation procedures.
Demonstrate expert proficiency in firearms usage and maintenance.
Supervise all-source intelligence collection, cycle and processes in accordance with FBI and DEA investigative requirements regarding information gaps.

Prepare your narcotics detective resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable narcotics detective resume templates

Build a professional narcotics detective 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 narcotics detective resume.