Private Investigating

Ninpin

Hello,
I am an unemployed graduate :-( who has been doing crappy jobs for two years, and it is now time for me to decide what I ACTUALLY want to do with my life.

Private Investigating is one of the areas I am thinking about. I am a VERY logical person, great at working out puzzles and solving problems, so feel I would be good at and enjoy this job.

The problem is, I don't know anything about the actual job! It is quite a hard job to find out about! I have speculatively applied for work experience at some places near me, but have heard nothing back.

Does anyone know anything about this line of work and how I would get in to it?

Thanks.

P.S. I know you can become a detective through the police, but you have to be a 'bobby on the beat' first and that's not me!

DVardysShadow

Ninpin wrote: »

... I am a VERY logical person, great at working out puzzles and solving problems, so feel I would be good at and enjoy this job.

I imagine you need more people skills than logical ability.

Logic? Puzzles? If you are OK at abstract manipulation of symbols, software may be more your thing.

scooby088

Plus there is also many ex police detectives that are private investigators, think it's more of a job that you need years and not months of experience.

Hammyman

DVardysShadow wrote: »

I imagine you need more people skills than logical ability.

Indeed. For example, I managed to get the service manager at my local Ford garage to admit that the air filter hadn't been changed in a long time by clever questions and tone of voice. Only when he said "Yeah, looks like its been in there a fair while" did I then let on they'd done the last three services and would he care to explain.

You need to be able to do that kind of thing to wring information out of people without being seen as nothing more than casual interest.

And there's waiting, lots and lots and lots of waiting. If you've watched benefit fraud investigators on TV, its not uncommon for them to park outside a target house at 4am and still be there at teatime.

hartcjhart

Jigsaws and rubik cubes are no good to you in this line of work,

are you a good photographer? you will need to be
are you easilly bored? if so no good for this type of work
do you stand out in a crowd? again as above
are you physically fit?you will need to be
do you feel the cold?again no good for this type of work
have you got a strong accent or very obvious distinguishing marks/tatts?as above
do you smoke?it helps if you do

as for finding a job sending in a letter or cv is not the way,you will need to go into an office and speak direct to them.

at the end of the day it is not a glamourous job,very boring and mundane

but sometimes a good shout comes up

MrRedundant

Why not live on the real world and look for a proper job. These type of jobs are rare and the ones that offer career prospects or regular income are filled with people with real experience of which there are plentiful such as retired police offices, army officers and other security agencies. Most police offices retire for example in their late 40's-50's and have 10-15 years to fill before they are ready to hit the golf courses and these jobs are normally cherry picked for them.

HO87

In addition to what hartcjhart has said private investigators also tend to be involved in what is called "process serving". In essence, this involves satisfactorily serving court documents on those who are interested in, and sometimes highly motivated, to avoid them and consequently means working at either end of the day i.e. from 5 or 6am and then again throughout the evening. The work is inevitably carried out alone and normally entails confronting the named person who may, for example, be known to be extremely violent and aggressive and even if he/she is not, rarely wants to be served. If you lack physical confidence then this is certainly not a job for you.

Wanno

Might I suggest you start off trying to find a job as say a benefits officer or council tax officer at the very least. You will need to get a few basic qualifications under your belt such as PINS or ACFSMS. (don't worry they are short intense courses not whole degrees and you can in some cases take them without having an employer sponsoring you). Which mean you would learn regulations such as RIPA, HRA and learn some of the skills need to conduct surveillance or even talk to people who are helping with investigation as well as court procedures, witness statements and very basic investigations skills which is a little different from puzzle solving. Going in without the necessary qualifications, equipment and legisative knowledge would mean you are about to breach a whole host of laws.

I have been in an investigation role for a number of years and I would unfortunately laugh anybody off without having some experience and the basic qualifications. Dont worry though- it is very easy to start off on this route and it opens up a great many options other than a small niche route which is highly unrealistic.

suburbanwifey

Wanno wrote: »

Might I suggest you start off trying to find a job as say a benefits officer or council tax officer at the very least. You will need to get a few basic qualifications under your belt such as PINS or ACFSMS. (don't worry they are short intense courses not whole degrees and you can in some cases take them without having an employer sponsoring you). Which mean you would learn regulations such as RIPA, HRA and learn some of the skills need to conduct surveillance or even talk to people who are helping with investigation as well as court procedures, witness statements and very basic investigations skills which is a little different from puzzle solving. Going in without the necessary qualifications, equipment and legisative knowledge would mean you are about to breach a whole host of laws.

I have been in an investigation role for a number of years and I would unfortunately laugh anybody off without having some experience and the basic qualifications. Dont worry though- it is very easy to start off on this route and it opens up a great many options other than a small niche route which is highly unrealistic.

Your last post elsewhere states that you have been unemployed for several months, suffer from depression etc....so I presume you are no longer 'in an investigative role' and that the job is very stressful?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/38614632#Comment_38614632

olias

To the OP.

First things first. You need to go out and purchase a trenchcoat and a trilby hat - oh, and develop an american accent. Hope that helps.

Olias

Wanno

suburbanwifey wrote: »

Your last post elsewhere states that you have been unemployed for several months, suffer from depression etc....so I presume you are no longer 'in an investigative role' and that the job is very stressful?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/38614632#Comment_38614632

Thanks very much for that! Not sure whether my current situation is relevant to this post.
I finished a FTC in October and decided to change my career path away from investigation and because my personal situation suddenly altered. I was a specialist for a number of years in various types of investigative roles so would have thought my advice was relevant. Just because I am currently unemployed doesn't mean I am not qualified to offer advice.
Yes, it is a stressful job in some areas, some with huge hours attached, and some are enjoyable.