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Officer vs senior investigator

The differences between officers and senior investigators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior investigator has an average salary of $61,240, which is higher than the $52,506 average annual salary of an officer.

The top three skills for an officer include patrol, customer service and public safety. The most important skills for a senior investigator are senior level management, local law enforcement, and claims handling.

Officer vs senior investigator overview

OfficerSenior Investigator
Yearly salary$52,506$61,240
Hourly rate$25.24$29.44
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs114,2674,525
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age4344
Years of experience-2

What does an officer do?

An officer is responsible for managing the daily operations of the assigned area, ensuring its peace and security by monitoring and reporting unusual and suspicious activities. Officers are the ones enforcing strict safety protocols and procedures to maintain the order within the premises. They also coordinate with law enforcement agencies in conducting appropriate investigations for any violating cases. An officer must be highly-knowledgeable of the law policies, as well as possessing excellent leadership skills to manage the members under the officer's patrol.

What does a senior investigator do?

As a senior investigator, you will be responsible for managing investigations for crimes, including corruption, organized crime, and fraud. You will work closely with the district attorney and law enforcement to investigate and solve these crimes. This role will require you to perform other additional duties, including collecting DNA samples from the crime scene, suspects and victims, organizing live training on risk, compliance, and ethics, and testifying in criminal and civil courts, civil service hearings, and ethics commission.

Officer vs senior investigator salary

Officers and senior investigators have different pay scales, as shown below.

OfficerSenior Investigator
Average salary$52,506$61,240
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $103,000Between $35,000 And $105,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYFrederick, MD
Highest paying stateNew YorkMaryland
Best paying companyMetaDLA Piper
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between officer and senior investigator education

There are a few differences between an officer and a senior investigator in terms of educational background:

OfficerSenior Investigator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorBusinessCriminal Justice
Most common college--

Officer vs senior investigator demographics

Here are the differences between officers' and senior investigators' demographics:

OfficerSenior Investigator
Average age4344
Gender ratioMale, 63.9% Female, 36.1%Male, 65.4% Female, 34.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 15.2% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9%Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 2.8% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage6%9%

Differences between officer and senior investigator duties and responsibilities

Officer example responsibilities.

  • Lead 50 2nd lieutenants, manage schedules, and ensure timely completion of missions.
  • Achieve highest ranking of Lt.
  • Manage social media (Facebook): upload pictures, post announcements/news, update information.
  • Manage base active duty populations' compliance with USAF instructions regarding proper balance of fitness level and body fat percentage.
  • Manage training for CBRN response operations including detection and decontamination equipment.
  • Manage environmental safety occupational health compliance program, full spectrum threat response and anti terrorism programs.
  • Show more

Senior investigator example responsibilities.

  • Investigate allegations of suspect FWA / prioritize and manage case load / maintain comprehensive case files.
  • Receive multiple letters of commendation for effective investigations that lead to successful prosecutions.
  • Create budget friendly evidence collection boxes for investigations and patrol officers.
  • Send specimens to laboratory to obtain DNA.
  • Participate on committees and teams supporting GMP compliance programs.
  • Collect possible DNA samples from the scene, victims, and suspects.
  • Show more

Officer vs senior investigator skills

Common officer skills
  • Patrol, 19%
  • Customer Service, 18%
  • Public Safety, 10%
  • Emergency Situations, 6%
  • PowerPoint, 3%
  • CPR, 3%
Common senior investigator skills
  • Senior Level Management, 13%
  • Local Law Enforcement, 9%
  • Claims Handling, 8%
  • Court Proceedings, 8%
  • Data Analysis, 4%
  • Management System, 3%

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