If you find yourself analytical and intuitive, would being a Private Investigator make a good career?

Question

If you are a PI, do you like your field? Is it difficult to become one?

What other careers would work for me?

Answer 1

Most PI's are self-employed and work looooong hours to make ends meet. The ones I know also try to find other PT jobs to help fill the gap, doing background checks, etc...

Are you planning to go to college? Are you wanting something you can do quickly like through a certification program? If so, this might not be a bad gig, but just remember being self-employed also requires a lot of discipline and has higher taxes (but also more write-offs) which usually means you need some kind of financial guidance or an accountant.

Have you taken the Myers Briggs Type Indicator? You can google it (or google MBTI) and even the free shorter versions can give you some real insight into what might be a good career field for you.

There are a lot of other things we don't know about you to really make a strong recommendation... but a lot of analytical and intuitive people will be found in Accounting, Engineering, and IT and you are likely to make a lot more money.

If you consider a technical career, there are shorter term programs to help you get various computer certifications... but if you don't have any experience - its sometimes a hard field to break into... Software Development, Programming, Systems Analyst, and Networking will pay the most - whereas Hardware (auto-mechanics for PC's) will still only have you at a technician level making technician wages...

I'm also very technical, analytical, and intuitive.... yet I'm in the field of Human Resources and Consulting... but have business degrees. I am a little different in my approach to a lot of things because I am very analytical and build a business case for anything I take on, can look at both sides of an issue and make a decision, can do needs analysis, cost-benefit, project management, etc... I don't specialize in what most people consider the "touchy feely" people element of HR - but I'm still great with employee relations, because I have to be in order to be successful.

So my other suggestion if you consider the college route is to consider a business degree... because there is so much intuition and analysis that has to be done at so many levels in various business disciplines... You learn critical thinking, project management, economics, accounting, finance, statistics, law... and you learn to think on your feet and make critical decisions... which is where intuition and the ability to analyze become critical success factors.

Good luck!

Answer 2

PI's are licensed usually by the state government. There is probably a test to be taken. What kind of a educational and employment experience do you have? Does your state have an employment consultation service. Get some good professional advice. It is better to talk to one of these people than to stumble around in the darkness.