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

What is a senior investigator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Gary LaFree,

Jodi Gill

A Senior Investigator is exactly what you think they are. Well, maybe a little less noir and moody than that, but otherwise, yes, they are detectives on a path of discovering the truth, investigating alleged cases of fraud and deceit, corruption, and organized crime.

They are often hired by national agencies and organizations, big tech and financial companies. Senior investigators examine a department within and can sniff out an illegal scheme by a customer or a partnering body. When hired by public entities, such as a bank, the investigator may also need to meet with many people, especially those higher up in the company or larger clients and partners. They also mentor those less experienced and work on crafting new methods of investigation based upon their own.

The requirements that a potential candidate has to possess vary from one state or employer to another. Some companies may only prefer that a person have an Associate's or Bachelor's degree, say in Business, Law, Accounting, or so on, while putting pressure on the experience that a person possesses, especially if relevant to their market.

What general advice would you give to a senior 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.

ScoreSenior InvestigatorUS Average

Salary

4.8

Avg. Salary $61,240

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.66%

Asian 2.82%

Black or African American 11.81%

Hispanic or Latino 16.82%

Unknown 4.99%

White 62.89%

Gender

female 34.64%

male 65.36%

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

7.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior investigator

Explore senior investigator education requirements

Most common senior investigator degrees

Bachelor's

65.6 %

Associate

13.4 %

Master's

11.9 %

Start to develop specific senior investigator skills

Skills	Percentages
Senior Level Management	12.51%
Local Law Enforcement	9.19%
Claims Handling	8.18%
Court Proceedings	7.73%
Data Analysis	4.37%

Complete relevant senior investigator training and internships

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

Research senior investigator duties and 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.

Get senior investigator experience

Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a senior investigator. The most common roles before becoming a senior investigator include investigator, police officer team lead and special agent.

Prepare your senior investigator resume

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

Build a professional senior 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 senior investigator resume.