Be Your Own Private Eye

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.

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.

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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.

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.” (more…)