Is Private Investigator the Career for You

Think you have what it takes to be a Private Investigator?

If you’ve ever considered a career as a private investigator there are a few things to consider prior to taking the leap. The biggest factor that you must keep in mind is that if what you’re looking for is a 9-5 job where you’re behind a desk, this isn’t the career for you. Although being a private investigator can be time consuming and seem to be the same thing over and over, the final result of putting together the pieces to the puzzle you’ve been trying to solve for who knows how long, is a feeling that is incomparable to.

Twelve Things to Consider Before Becoming a Private Investigator

If becoming a Private Investigator is something you may be considering as a future career. Then, there are some items to take into consideration before taking the plunge.

1. Private investigations is an around the clock job, there is no time clock to punch in and out of and your work can take you into the wee hours of the morning. You must be willing to put in the hours whether the day forces you to take an 18-hour shift or a lucky 3-hour shift. There is no way to tell how long a job will take you on any given day.
2. Before moving forward with an investigation you have to research what it is. What you are investigating. Whether it being a personal injury case or looking for information on someone, you have to be willing to do your homework on the subject or person. Learning about the subject is one of the most important aspects to having a positive outcome. Not only do you need to do your research on the subject, you also need to be sure that you are completely familiarized with all of the laws surrounding the subject, especially a persons rights and all privacy laws. The last thing you need is to be sued civilly; in addition, you may have to testify in court and will therefore need to be familiar with the laws surrounding your work.
3. When you are on a job you must remain focused and should for any reason your job become compromised. You have to be able to think on your feet, keep a poker face, and always remain discreet continuously being able to adapt to your surroundings. If a person feels they are being watched or followed they may approach you so being able to think quickly and keep a poker face is of the utmost importance as to keep yourself safe and not compromise your job.
4. In order to be a Private Investigator you must also be able to act, and not just pretending not to be following someone but acting like you’re someone that you aren’t. One day you might just be a doctor another day you might be pretending to be a long lost cousin. You must be able to stay in that role for however long you need to otherwise you risk messing up the task at hand.
5. Many times being a PI takes you out of your comfort zone. Doing things you normally wouldn’t do and being to keep you cool always remaining calm. What we mean by taking you out of your comfort zone is having to go somewhere you normally wouldn’t be caught dead in or having to surround yourself someone and with some people that might make you feel completely uncomfortable but a real Private Investigator can always overcome that complex.
6. You cannot pick and choose where a job will take you. You have to go where the job takes you. With that being said, you can’t choose to only follow a subject to a rich neighborhood and when he goes to a less appealing environment decide to cease the job for the day and come back tomorrow.
7. A Private Investigator must be able to adapt to a change in direction. When you’re working a job, you may know exactly where that job is taking you. And before you know it, things have gone completely sideways and you’re somewhere completely different. Somewhere you may not be dressed appropriately for, or somewhere that turns your one day job into a multi-day job. Unfortunately, you need to be able to adapt to this change and not quit due to unforeseen circumstances. Always pack for the unexpected, load your car with enough gas for unexpected trips, and keep items on you or in your vehicle should you trip turn into a multi-day fiasco.
8. You need to blend in with your environment, always remain discreet, and never bring attention to yourself. If people are walking down the street staring at you, you are failing at your task. If a person you’re following in a car starts to randomly turn at every corner in an attempt to see if you do the same, you’re not doing your job. You need to think of yourself as a chameleon, you should never stand out in the crowd.
9. When you find yourself taking on a more difficult task, can you think on your feet to come up with a way to solve your case. You may have to prove someone wasn’t really hurt on the job in a workman’s comp case or prove that a person was not injured in a personal injury case. You need to be able to think on your feet and figure out how to get the subject to show that their injuries really do not exist.
10. You MUST be tech savvy! There are all different types of gadgets you will find yourself needing to use on any given day and you know how to appropriately utilize those items.
11. Jobs aren’t always a one-man show, sometimes it takes an army, right? Being able to utilize your friends to help out with a job can come in handy. You may need 2 people for a job but you may need 10 so having people that you know that are willing to help out on a job is always useful.
12. The greatest Private Investigators have the guts to do the craziest tasks for a job. You aren’t dealing with the most trustworthy people when you’re on the job, we don’t usually have the need to follow an angel disguised as a person. Whether you’re terrified or not, a Private Investigation has to have the guts to do the job and come off as being cool, calm, and collected.

Overall, being a Private Investigator is an eventful, fulfilling, and rewarding career that teaches you a lot about people, your environment, and how to read a situation. It is definitely not a career for all people but if you work hard, are tech savvy, and take it seriously, you can become very successful at it. If becoming a Private Investigator is the career for you, contact us for a tour and for more information on the schooling we offer here at Desnoes Investigations.