How To Become A Chief Investigator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a chief investigator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a chief investigator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $33.79 an hour? That's $70,291 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 20,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreChief InvestigatorUS Average

Salary

5.5

Avg. Salary $70,291

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

10.0

Growth Rate 3%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.67%

Asian 2.85%

Black or African American 12.50%

Hispanic or Latino 16.48%

Unknown 5.01%

White 62.50%

Gender

female 16.44%

male 83.56%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress Level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.9

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.0

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a chief investigator

Explore chief investigator education requirements

Most common chief investigator degrees

Bachelor's

55.0 %

Associate

19.5 %

Master's

14.0 %

Start to develop specific chief investigator skills

Skills	Percentages
Law Enforcement Agencies	13.05%
Criminal Justice	9.11%
Criminal Investigations	9.07%
Investigative Reports	8.94%
Physical Evidence	7.85%

Complete relevant chief investigator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New chief investigators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a chief investigator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real chief investigator resumes.

Research chief investigator duties and responsibilities

Receive multiple letters of commendation for effective investigations that lead to successful prosecutions.
Investigate and open cases on customers and non-customers who have potentially engage in activity which goes against federally mandate BSA/AML regulations.
Evaluate impressions for AFIS (automate fingerprint identification system) potential.

Prepare your chief investigator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your chief investigator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a chief investigator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Chief Investigator Resume templates

Build a professional Chief Investigator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Chief Investigator resume.

Apply for chief investigator jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a chief investigator job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do chief investigators rate their job?