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The differences between senior investigators and criminal 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 $54,520 average annual salary of a criminal investigator.
The top three skills for a senior investigator include senior level management, local law enforcement and claims handling. The most important skills for a criminal investigator are investigative reports, resourcefulness, and firearms.
| Senior Investigator | Criminal Investigator | |
| Yearly salary | $61,240 | $54,520 |
| Hourly rate | $29.44 | $26.21 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 4,525 | 5,131 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
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.
A criminal investigator is a law enforcement professional who endeavors to solve felony crimes. Criminal investigators may work alone or as a member of an investigative team whose goal is to uncover the certainty of a case and potentially keep suspects to prevent the ensuing criminal activity. Their tasks and responsibilities depend on various job functions and specialties. They may specialize in the information and evidence of a crime scene, conduct interviews and searches, or perform surveillance.
Senior investigators and criminal investigators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Investigator | Criminal Investigator | |
| Average salary | $61,240 | $54,520 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $105,000 | Between $34,000 And $85,000 |
| Highest paying City | Frederick, MD | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | California |
| Best paying company | DLA Piper | National Railroad Passenger Corporation |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Government |
There are a few differences between a senior investigator and a criminal investigator in terms of educational background:
| Senior Investigator | Criminal Investigator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between senior investigators' and criminal investigators' demographics:
| Senior Investigator | Criminal Investigator | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.4% Female, 34.6% | Male, 79.7% Female, 20.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 2.8% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |