Protective Service · Holland code CEI

Private Detectives and Investigators

Gather, analyze, compile, and report information regarding individuals or organizations to clients, or detect occurrences of unlawful acts or infractions of rules in private establishment.

Also called: Investigator, Loss Prevention Detective, Loss Prevention Officer, Private Investigator, Asset Protection Detective, Field Investigator, Loss Prevention Agent, Loss Prevention Associate.

O*NET 33-9021.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $51,220; Middle half earn $40,700 to $73,990. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 38% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +6% · Faster than average; 43,600 jobs in 2024, projected 46,200. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Private detectives and investigators".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Write reports or case summaries to document investigations.
Conduct private investigations on a paid basis.
Search computer databases, credit reports, public records, tax or legal filings, or other resources to locate persons or to compile information for investigations.
Conduct personal background investigations, such as pre-employment checks, to obtain information about an individual's character, financial status, or personal history.
Expose fraudulent insurance claims or stolen funds.
Obtain and analyze information on suspects, crimes, or disturbances to solve cases, to identify criminal activity, or to gather information for court cases.
Testify at hearings or court trials to present evidence.
Question persons to obtain evidence for cases of divorce, child custody, or missing persons or information about individuals' character or financial status.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening4.1 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
Writing3.6 / 5
Active Learning3.4 / 5

Knowledge areas

English Language4.2 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.2 / 5
Law and Government4.0 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.6 / 5
Administrative3.5 / 5
Administration and Management3.5 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic23
Investigative48
Artistic7
Social31
Enterprising51
Conventional74

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

financial fraud examiner · DE Prüfer im Bereich Finanzbetrug/Prüferin im Bereich Finanzbetrug · FR commissaire aux comptes
intelligence officer · DE Mitarbeiter im Bereich Informationsgewinnung/Mitarbeiterin im Bereich Informationsgewinnung · FR agent du renseignement/agente du renseignement
polygraph examiner · DE Polygrafiesachverständiger/Polygrafiesachverständige · FR spécialiste du détecteur de mensonges
insurance fraud investigator · DE Versicherungsdetektiv/Versicherungsdetektivin · FR inspecteur enquêteur d’assurances/inspectrice enquêteuse d’assurances
social security inspector · DE Sozialversicherungsprüfer/Sozialversicherungsprüferin · FR contrôleur des situations individuelles/contrôleuse des situations individuelles
criminal investigator · DE Polizeibeamter im Ermittlungsdienst/Polizeibeamtin im Ermittlungsdienst · FR officier de police judiciaire/officière de police judiciaire

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Chartered and certified accountants (2421)233,600 employed
Clinical psychologists (2225)23,900 employed
Other psychologists (2226)39,000 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.75. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (33-9021).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test