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

What is a narcotics investigator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Gary LaFree

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a narcotics investigator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.03 an hour? That's $49,987 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 20,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a narcotics investigator?

Gary LaFree

Chair and Professor, University of Maryland

Think about obtaining as much education and training as you can. Be patient. The fundamentals of the economy are relatively strong. Outlet should be much better when we get through the current crisis.

ScoreNarcotics InvestigatorUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $49,987

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.67%

Asian 2.84%

Black or African American 12.19%

Hispanic or Latino 16.07%

Unknown 5.00%

White 63.23%

Gender

female 10.45%

male 89.55%

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 investigator

Explore narcotics investigator education requirements

Most common narcotics investigator degrees

Bachelor's

52.0 %

Associate

23.6 %

High School Diploma

9.3 %

Start to develop specific narcotics investigator skills

Skills	Percentages
Patrol	14.69%
Evidence Collection	11.81%
Conduct Surveillance	11.61%
Crime Scenes	9.72%
Traffic Laws	6.68%

Complete relevant narcotics investigator training and internships

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

Research narcotics investigator duties and responsibilities

Receive multiple letters of commendation for effective investigations that lead to successful prosecutions.
Assign to oversee the firearms training for the police department, and to schedule and conduct training for the department personnel.
Conduct investigations on narcotics, firearms and human trafficking.
Gather preliminary information from informants, patrol arrests and local units.

Prepare your narcotics investigator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your narcotics 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 narcotics 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 narcotics investigator resume templates

Build a professional narcotics 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 narcotics investigator resume.