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The differences between senior investigators and detectives 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 $57,984 average annual salary of a detective.
The top three skills for a senior investigator include senior level management, local law enforcement and claims handling. The most important skills for a detective are physical evidence, patrol, and law enforcement agencies.
| Senior Investigator | Detective | |
| Yearly salary | $61,240 | $57,984 |
| Hourly rate | $29.44 | $27.88 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 4,525 | 56,521 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| 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 detective is responsible for conducting in-depth investigations for criminal activities, potential threats, and other law-violating incidents, coordinating closely with law-enforcement agencies and crime intelligence analysts. Detectives often work on the field, gathering data and related evidence to support claims and connect the timeline of events. They keep an organized record of their findings for further validation before reporting it to the authority. A detective must have excellent investigative and critical-thinking skills, especially on solving puzzles and security solutions.
Senior investigators and detectives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Investigator | Detective | |
| Average salary | $61,240 | $57,984 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $105,000 | Between $35,000 And $95,000 |
| Highest paying City | Frederick, MD | - |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | - |
| Best paying company | DLA Piper | - |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between a senior investigator and a detective in terms of educational background:
| Senior Investigator | Detective | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | - | University of Arizona |
Here are the differences between senior investigators' and detectives' demographics:
| Senior Investigator | Detective | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.4% Female, 34.6% | Male, 82.7% Female, 17.3% |
| 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, 16.7% Asian, 2.8% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |