What a detective really does
You take a case nobody has solved yet, follow the records and the people, and write it up so it can stand in court.
FieldLaw and public service
Preparation (O*NET Job Zone)Medium preparation needed
What the work involves
What fills a typical week for detectives, built from O*NET occupation data.
- Read new patrol reports assigned to you and decide what follow up each case needs.
- Pull records such as bank statements, phone records, pawn data and agency files to find the links between people and events.
- Interview victims, witnesses and people of interest, and record what they say.
- Coordinate with prosecutors, other agencies and lab staff by phone and email every day.
- Keep the case file current and write reports that a supervisor, judge or prosecutor will rely on.
- Prepare paperwork for warrants and charges, and testify when a case goes to court.
- Work long weeks across many open cases at the same time.
What the days are like
What people in the job know
- Precision is everything. A wrong date or a misquoted statement can sink a case. Importance of Being Exact or Accurate: 99% extremely important; Consequence of Error: 82% extremely serious (O*NET Work Context)
- You live on the phone and in email, not just on the street. E-Mail: 100% every day; Telephone Conversations: 100% every day (O*NET Work Context)
- Writing the findings report is the single most important task. Task rank 1 'Prepare reports that detail investigation findings' importance 96 (O*NET)
- People you talk to are often upset with you, including victims who want faster results. Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People: 60% every day; Conflict Situations: 68% every day (O*NET Work Context)
- Long hours are the norm. Duration of Typical Work Week: 67% more than 40 hours (O*NET Work Context)
How people get into it
O*NET places this in Job Zone 3. Respondents report 26% of roles need a post secondary certificate, 23% a high school diploma and 20% some college. Most police detectives are promoted from patrol after several years as officers; some federal and state investigator roles hire with degrees.
The Firstday trial, easy to hard
Three simulated tasks with AI coworkers who message you, react to your work and coach with questions. Nobody scores you.
What the trial can't show: This trial does not cover physical scene work, evidence collection, surveillance, warrant service, arrests or any tactical activity. It contains no graphic content. It cannot show the years of patrol experience most detectives bring, the legal rules that govern interviews, or the strain of carrying many cases at once. You act as a newly assigned investigator under a sergeant, and every person, bank and business is fictional. Records and reporting rules follow a fictional state modeled on Georgia law; other states differ.
Reading about it is one thing.
Find out how the work feels to you before you spend on a degree, course or job change. Your first trial is free.
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Job details on this page are built from O*NET OnLine, 33-3021.00. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.