Being a private investigator is a lucrative job in that the average salary for a private detective in the UK is close £ 27,000 per year. Becoming a private detective is not difficult all you require is that you have the adequate training, experience, and some technical skills.

Detail Oriented

These three things are the most important to have while there are other requirements that you would need to have as a person to make you an ideal candidate for the profession. To be a successful detective you must be a detail oriented and at the same time you would be required to see the big picture. This helps you piece out small pieces of evidence to link them together to be able to see the problem in its entirety.

Field Training

The first requirement for becoming a private detective is training in the field. There are a couple of bodies that educate people in becoming Private Investigators In The UK like Institute of Professional Investigators and Blackford Center for Private Investigation. These two institutions amongst many others will provide you with a diploma in private investigation upon completion of the course. The type of lessons that you will be taught is how to notice a shoplifter in a supermarket; a convict walking in the street, conducting Investigations, searching for information, interviewing and statements, process serving, surveillance, and someone who is troubled by something. These courses are between six months to a year. At the end of the training from these institutions, you will be able to take an exam to give you the license to operate as a private detective. If you don’t have the time or resources to be a study for PI you can go directly and to the exam after studying for the courses on your own.

Work Experience

After getting the technical know-how another important thing to have is experience to be able to work as a qualified investigator. As you are new to the field it will be hard for you to have any experience and as such you are advised to go work under another PI or PI firm. Working for another PI will teach you the practical knowledge of the lessons you had learnt in the PI school. You can work for a year or two for the person or organization and then you can branch out to work for yourself. If you are not able to get any jobs or internships position with these companies the next option is to work as a freelancer for anyone who will take your services. This gives you the chance to get the experience you are looking for as well as build your professional network. If you used to work as a police officer or an ex-military man then that can be counted as experience to work in the field.

Good Communicator

Other attributes that you should have are personal skills in that you should be a good communicator and be able to get your points across efficiently. You should be patient as there could be many times where you will have to spend hours upon hours waiting for suspects to do something and lastly you are needed to be detail oriented. This is because the clues are in the small details and to solve any case you should be able to pick them up.