You must be seriously considering becoming your own private eye by now. I’ve shown you the benefits of becoming a private eye with its steady faster-than-average growth in employment and demand and with the great compensation that you could be getting should you decide to become one soon.

As more and more people are becoming aware of the need to hire private investigators to locate a missing relative, to track a cheating spouse, to investigate on a prospective employee and for many other reasons, more and more people are also starting to become interested in becoming a private investigator. The question is, how does one start to become a private eye?

Training is essential. Unless, of course, you were once a private eye who decided to be off for a while. Even so, if that’s the case, you would still need to update yourself on the modern means of private investigation to keep yourself abreast with the modern technologies that are being used in the business. You have two options for training. You can 1) look around for reputable, state-approved private investigation academies or 2) you can search online for private investigation online trainings and resources that are authored by reliable and accredited entities, not from some fly-by-night scammers. 

After your training, since you want to gain better experience with the pros, you might want to consider employment with an established agency. Training, after all, is a continuous process and who better to train with than with men who have already established their grounds on the field? Invest in yourself through training to become a good private eye before anyone banks on you.

Most of the 50 states require that a private investigator should be licensed before practicing his expertise. In states where licensing is required, you must be at least 18 years old and a pre-licensing education is prerequisite. Educational background and experience also differ in some states. These are some of the things that you have to consider when becoming your own private eye. Conduct thorough research for your state’s requirements. By doing so you’ve started training yourself to become one.

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We live in the information age. A lot of old-timers thought they would not live to see the day when everything that you need to know about is widely available and that access to these huge amounts of information can be done anytime, anywhere. Even private eyes who once scoured offline data are now changing their search methods. Because of this many are now considering becoming a private eye. Many private eyes now sit right in front their computers, scouring the Internet, harnessing all online resources available.

Continue reading "Information Right at Your Fingertips"

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There could be a lot of means whereby you could work independently, allowing you to earn back your freedom and earn substantially at the same time. You could be a salesman of some sort of merchandise. You could be a specialist or a consultant for all you want. You could become a Netrepreneur or an online affiliate. But perhaps nothing is as challenging and as exciting at the same time as becoming your own private eye.

Sure, there are a lot of people who are considering becoming one and the competition is fierce out there. However, private investigation is not as saturated as other careers and the demand is huge with a faster-than-average growth. In fact, according to the Society for Human Resource Management, there has been a 96 percent increase in the number of employers who background check their prospective employees. About 10 years ago, the number is only 51 percent. Fraudulent identities and credentials and workplace related violence and harassment have necessitated these that’s why more and more companies these days employ the service of a private eye.

Universities have also started to consider the importance of having a skilled investigator in their backyard. Recently, Harvard hired a former professional screener for its undergraduate admissions office. (With the recent turn of events related to campus violence, I wonder, are universities now considering private eyes to investigate each student stringently to avoid another one of those unfortunate incidents?)

The growing concerns of increased crime rate and litigations, intellectual property piracy and identity theft all add up to the reasons why private eyes are in demand these days. Cheating spouses also is a factor. In the UK, hiring sleuths to investigate on cheating spouses is involved in half of all the divorce cases last year.

These are but some of the reasons why you should consider becoming your own private eye. There are even more which include your personal need to hire one. Instead of hiring someone, why not become one yourself and do your own sleuthing for yourself? And once you get the hang of it, who knows you might start to consider soliciting from corporate and legal entities for your service.

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There are more reasons to become your own private eye. Private investigation has seen growth in demand these days. In the UK, for example, half of the divorce cases last year involved employment of private eyes to gather pertinent information to speed up the process. As shown in recent posts, private investigation is a very profitable business. Apart from that, as a private eye, you can do basic research at the comfort of your home and still run a lucrative enterprise.

But there is more to it than just the prospect of earning big bucks and enjoying your freedom. Continue reading "More Reasons to Become Your Own Private Eye"

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For many, although they have already been motivated to become a private eye, taking the first step could be quite a challenge. Why? They have a lot of hesitations that stand in the way between them and starting to become a PI.

How does one become a private investigator?

At the outset, all you need is a burning desire. The knack for conducting research online and offline, good communication skills that are necessary for investigating and interrogating, the ability to think under pressure and deductive reasoning are all qualities an aspirant should possess to become successful in this exciting and promising endeavor. There are risks involved, of course, as one is sometimes required to confront. But if that thought makes you weak in the knees, don’t fret. Doing basic online research at home is for you.

Private eye training resources abound. You can buy books so you could do self-training or you could buy training materials online. But be sure to test the waters first. Find out if the resource you’re looking at is from a reliable author. Better yet, find out if the author is a member of an accredited association for private investigators. Training could take a couple of weeks after which you could start by promoting your service to friends and relatives first who you think require your help just to gain several experiences and get the hang of it before you head out to take on more complex and big assignments from corporations and other entities.

According to statistics there really is an increasing demand for private eyes. Employment is faster-than-average as more individuals and corporations realize the indispensability of hiring a sleuth to check on a cheating spouse or suspicious employees. But do private eyes necessarily have special qualifications? If so, what are the qualifications?

Although many private investigators have college degrees and some even have relevant experience as some come from the police force or from a related field, having a formal education or experience is not a requisite to becoming a private eye, although it’s quite a plus to have these feathers in your cap. Requirements for private eyes vary in many states. Some states require that a private eye obtain a state license. Some don’t. Others don’t require special training for aspirants, but today many states are already endorsing compulsory training for private detectives or investigators.

Search for your niche in private investigation and find out if this is really for you. This is now the right time to break into this awesome career.

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So you now have a burning desire to become your own private eye. Good! Now, you’re scratching your head wondering, “There are many training schools and training materials out there. Boy! Which ones are the best?”

Continue reading "Finding the Right Mentor for You"

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Private investigation is a very challenging career where the challenges each time a new assignment is presented one is never the same as the former or any other task. It is a very versatile career where you can choose and specialize in any type of assignment that suites you.

What are the different types of private investigation jobs that an aspiring private eye can choose from?

Many large corporations employ the service of a private eye to investigate on a prospective employee’s background. Conducting a background check with the aide of a private investigator is essential to assure the company that the qualified applicant that they are about to hire was not involved in any legal disputes with his previous employer or that he has a satisfactory track record with them. Background check also helps the employer determine if the applicant has criminal records. Private investigators may also be hired by corporations to conduct investigations on employees suspected of illegal activities within or outside the company such as fraud, embezzlement, violation of intellectual property rights laws, theft and, in the case of public companies, insider trading.

Insurance companies also hire private investigators to investigate questionable insurance claims before such claims are served. Sadly, a lot of people are guilty of fraudulently claiming insurance proceeds by faking disabilities by conniving with phony physicians and even faking the insured’s death!

Other private investigation assignments involve covert video or photographic surveillance where a sleuth could tail the person or entities being investigated. This is one task that is most challenging and is sometimes dangerous. Private investigators could also sell, install and rent surveillance equipments for profit.

Whatever the task is, if you are up for the challenges and if you’ve got what it takes to become a private eye, don’t waste any moment and see for yourself if this career is right for you.

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There are a lot of advantages or benefits to be had by becoming a private eye. A private investigator or a private detective, also commonly known as private eye, is someone who collects information for corporations, legal entities or individuals. A private eye’s job is flexible with jobs ranging from investigating insurance fraud for insurance companies, pre-employment background check for corporations, investigate and work on civil cases for lawyers or investigate on cheating spouses for individuals.

Continue reading "Become your own private eye – and reap the benefits"

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Probably you’re looking into becoming a private eye by now. After all, the career seems promising and very lucrative. If you’re looking for a job where you can have flexible working conditions or something that you can do at home, becoming a private investigator is also an excellent opportunity to explore. But, is there a need for more private eye?

The competition out there is fierce. Many people are now looking into this opportunity as well as into other home-based jobs as something they can fall back to due to corporate downsizing and other economic uncertainties. But according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor and Statistics, there is indeed a need for more private investigators. In the department’s website it cites fear of crime, increased litigation and the need to protect confidential information and property of all kinds as reasons for the increased demand for more private detectives and investigators.

We can also add sleuthing on cheating spouses, the need to protect our children from online predation and the need to track down illegal online activities to the reasons cited about. It also states that the employment of private detectives and investigators is expected to grow faster than the average through 2014. Another reason it states is the need to replace those who retire from service each year. In a recent survey it has been shown that there is a need for 50% more PIs today. Now, that’s a whole lot of private investigators needed for many more years!

What about compensation? Does it really pay to become a private investigator? Is it really a lucrative opportunity? Still on the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s website, it conservatively quoted that in 2004 the median annual earnings of salaried private investigators were $32,110. Other independent contractors earn at least $50 an hour. Still, other independent contractors are awarded thousands of dollars by corporations or legal concerns who hire them just for a couple of hours sleuthing online.

Yes, there is still a need for more private investigators and, yes, the opportunity is both exciting and rewarding. Try it out for yourself.

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When I was still taking up my Journalism major in college, I remember being pressured about the thought of needing to know so much and become overwhelmed with too much information just to become a successful journalist one day. Thankfully enough, one of my professor’s took off that pressure once and for all when he said, “As a journalist, you don’t need to know everything. All you need to know is where to get everything.” Continue reading "It’s not about how much you know"

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