Undercover agent vs federal investigator

The differences between undercover agents and federal investigators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an undercover agent and a federal investigator. Additionally, an undercover agent has an average salary of $67,706, which is higher than the $50,277 average annual salary of a federal investigator.

The top three skills for an undercover agent include law enforcement agencies, and . The most important skills for a federal investigator are background investigations, law enforcement agencies, and litigation.

Undercover agent vs federal investigator overview

	Undercover Agent	Federal Investigator
Yearly salary	$67,706	$50,277
Hourly rate	$32.55	$24.17
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	82,478	5,213
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

Undercover agent vs federal investigator salary

Undercover agents and federal investigators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Undercover Agent	Federal Investigator
Average salary	$67,706	$50,277
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $125,000	Between $33,000 And $76,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between undercover agent and federal investigator education

There are a few differences between an undercover agent and a federal investigator in terms of educational background:

	Undercover Agent	Federal Investigator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Undercover agent vs federal investigator demographics

Here are the differences between undercover agents' and federal investigators' demographics:

	Undercover Agent	Federal Investigator
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 64.0% Female, 36.0%	Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 2.9% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 2.8% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between undercover agent and federal investigator duties and responsibilities

Undercover agent example responsibilities.

Conduct joint planning and manage AFOSI's criminal investigations and counterintelligence operations in northern Italy.
Serve as ATF case agent and undercover agent on numerous firearms and narcotics trafficking cases.
Review all complete DEA integrity/misconduct investigations, shooting investigations, accidents with government vehicles and property loss or damage negligence/liability reports.
Review all complete DEA integrity/misconduct investigations, shooting investigations, accidents with government vehicles and property loss or damage negligence/liability reports.

Federal investigator example responsibilities.

Investigate and open cases on customers and non-customers who have potentially engage in activity which goes against federally mandate BSA/AML regulations.
Handle and safeguard sensitive and confidential information, including personal identifiable information (PII).

Undercover agent vs federal investigator skills

Common undercover agent skills

Law Enforcement Agencies, 100%

Common federal investigator skills

Background Investigations, 10%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 9%
Litigation, 8%
Federal Agencies, 8%
Security Clearance, 6%
Subpoenas, 6%

Undercover Agent vs. similar jobs

Undercover Agent related careers

Undercover Agent related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Protective Service Industry
Undercover Agent
Undercover Agent vs Federal Investigator

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse protective service jobs