Private Investigation Education and Training for Beginners

An exciting career awaits those completing private investigation education and training
By Renee Baumgardner Individuals completing private detective education and training can choose from a variety of specialties. One of the most common types of private investigation work is investigating cheating spouses. Private investigators perform surveillance on suspected husbands or wives and provide any relevant documentation as part of the divorce proceedings. Other types of investigative work include workers compensation and insurance fraud cases, where companies or agencies may suspect an individual is “faking” their injuries or disabilities. Private investigators also perform services such as background checks on individuals to obtain information on prior arrests, employment and residential histories.
 

Private investigator education and training does not require any formal education, however is it common to find private investigators with a law enforcement or criminal justice background, as this is a field law enforcement officers tend to seek employment in upon retirement. To see if a career in private investigation is for you, perform the following:

1. Look for any private investigator education requirements.

2. Find private investigator schools that will teach you the skills you need.

3. Look for online private investigator training programs to study in your spare time.

Research private investigator education and training requirements

There are no formal education requirements to complete private investigation education and training, although some individuals possess bachelor's degrees in criminal justice, computer science, accounting or other field where they have an interest in performing investigative work. It is important to note that in order to perform investigative work, one must possess a valid private investigators license.
Try: The Bureau of Labor Statistics and Career Overview provide information regarding education and training for a private detective.

Research private investigator schools that offer investigative training in a classroom environment

Contact schools that offer private investigator classes in a classroom environment to get an overview of their private investigation education and training. For beginners, make sure they offer private investigation courses pertaining to civil and criminal law, surveillance, fraud investigations, workers compensation investigations, marital investigations and testifying in the courtroom.
Try: The Discovery Detective Academy is a private detective training school that offers their Private Investigator Master Course in a classroom environment. Contact the United States Association of Professional Investigators for more information on private investigation training schools offering classroom instruction.

Research private investigator schools that offer investigative training online

There are private investigator schools that offer online Private Investigator Master courses that one may complete as their private investigation education and training. For beginners, in addition to verifying that the curriculum offers courses related to surveillance, marital, insurance, fraud and workers compensation investigations, one should also verify before enrolling in a program that the program has received accreditation.
Try: The Detective Training Institute and Penn Foster Career School offer online private investigation training that may be more accommodating to the schedule of those students with jobs, family and other responsibilities.