Becoming a detective requires many perquisites depending on who is hiring you. In some cases, a person can get away with having only a high school diploma to become a detective. Other cases required one to go to school for criminal justice or even have law enforcement experience. All of these are very important to make sure one does not start a field that will quickly turn sour for them.
The detailed requirements to become a detective are very basic and almost is common sense in ways. First, one must be very keen to perception and have strong leadership skills. Communication is a key factor in this field so one must not be afraid to talk to strangers. Multitasking is a must have talent in this field so learning how to manage it properly early is important.
Another important experience factor to become a detective is to have are computer skills, including a level of experience or skill in certain crime scene software. Last but certainly not least, a detective must be able to fearlessly use handcuffs, polygraphs, and fingerprinting and surveillance equipment.
First thing is first…go to school if you can. Take criminal justice courses, even if it is something that is cheap, an education is an education. If you are a returning vet or an experienced officer, you may already have the skills needed to further your career in law by becoming a detective. Having the experience is the best thing a person could have to land that position. Detectives have a lot of the same responsibilities that a cop does so it only makes sense.
Second, you must be a great physical shape. Learn how to manage your health and fitness to stay proactive in the cases you will be handling. A detective needs to have a clear mind as much as possible, and at times, may have to chase and take down a bad guy or two. Making sure that your health is top notch will ensure a smooth job well done.
A detective can make anywhere between $60,000 – $80,000 on a yearly salary depending on their location. For someone with the career goal of an investigator, going to school, joining the police academy, and gaining some well-needed experience is worth the end factor of living comfortably, but it can also have a mind draining effect on the person working the case.
A recommendation to anyone considering a career path in the investigation would be to seek a therapist you can get along with (before you start your job). Securing a person you trust to talk to about the mind-blowing reality a detective faces every day will release certain tensions and stresses that will build up over time. Seeing how there are so many police shootings on the news these days, maybe if they too had a mandatory session with a trusted physiatrist things in certain situations would have been handled differently. A detective can just as easily loose their grip on reality, especially when digging into people’s pasts.
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