Powerful Geography
Private Investigator

Private Investigator

Private Investigator

I. JOB SUMMARY

Main Topic: Places and Regions
Secondary Topic: Human Geography

Overview: Private detectives and investigators search for information about legal, financial, and personal issues through a variety of services. They must be able to communicate with people, gather information, search records, conduct surveillance, collect evidence, and check public records. They are very independent workers, mostly using technology to find evidence. It is important for them to understand the geography of an area, especially when they are conducting surveillance. Private investigators must pay close attention to the law since they lack police authority if evidence is collected incorrectly it may not be usable in court. A type of private investigator that specializes in locating people known as skip tracers. Most private investigators work in the private sector or for finance companies, however some work for the government or are self-employed. In the coming decade, this job will see growth with strong competition for qualified candidates.

Geographers at work: Human geographers, Business geographers, Local geographers

Recommended College Courses: Introduction to Cultural Geography, World Geography, Research Methods in Geography, Community and Regional Planning, Regional Field Studies, Cities and Urban Design, Digital Image Processing and Machine Learning, Location Analysis, American Ethnic Geography

Skills: Data retrieval and research skills, Local geographic knowledge, Qualitative methods, Field methods, Location analysis, Working with census data

Occupation Group: Protective Service

Learn more about Private Investigators from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Department of Labor: https://www.bls.gov/OOH/protective-service/private-detectives-and-investigators.htm

Written by Dr. Richard G. Boehm