Salary Range
$25,000 to $100,000+
Detectives are almost always plainclothes investigators who gather difficult-to-obtain information about criminal activity and other subjects. They conduct interviews and surveillance, locate missing persons and criminal suspects, examine records, and write detailed reports. Some make arrests and take part in raids. There are 113,400 police detectives and criminal investigators and 38,800 private detectives and investigators employed in the United States.
Minimum Education Level
Bachelor's DegreeCertification/License
RequiredOutlook
About as Fast as the AverageOrganized
Problem-Solving
Realistic

Chief Detective

Detective

Police Officer
- Airport Security Personnel
- Bail Bondsmen
- Bailiffs
- Bodyguards
- Border Patrol Agents
- Bounty Hunters
- Corrections Officers
- Court Interpreters and Translators
- Court Reporters
- Crime Analysts
- Criminal Lawyers
- Customs Officials
- Deputy U.S. Marshals
- Directors of Security
- Emergency Management Directors
- Emergency Medical Technicians
- Emergency Services Dispatchers
- FBI Agents
- Fire Inspectors
- Fire Investigators
- Fire Protection Engineers
- Fire Safety Directors
- Fire Safety Technicians
- Firefighters
- Fish and Game Wardens
- Forensic Experts
- Forensic Meteorologists
- Forest Fire Prevention Specialists
- Fraud Examiners, Investigators, and Analysts
- Genetic Genealogists
- Intelligence Officers
- Judges
- Lawyers
- Legal Nurse Consultants
- Legal Secretaries
- Paralegals
- Park Rangers
- Parole Officers
- Police Officers
- Polygraph Examiners
- Process Servers
- Secret Service Special Agents
- Security Consultants
- Security Guards
- Wildland Firefighters