Question for PIs on the board.

[coolchange]

How do you become one. Is there licenseing requirements? I realize most are probably retired leos. Is it a good profession. No I dont have visions of 007 and figure that its mostly sit and watch and follow. I've thought about it for a long time and am gettin tired of restoring cars that are worth millions for people thaat are worth $$$ and not getting much $.

[thatguy]

An old HS buddy of mine does that. Ex-Corrections officer. These days most of his workload is people searches and Google. He has an account with one of those background checking places on line.
It seems that he is always doing record and finacial searches for divorce cases. Or character and activity research in liability (car wreck) cases.
Mostly from attorneys. His days seem rather boring actually. Good money though, but he is on "retainer" from those attorneys.
I suppose it could be made more exciting if one wanted it to be.
Don't really know what license is needed.
Tommy

[BoatPI]

A lot is needed in CA and AZ for a license. Many investigative hours, and credit is given for working for a PI in CA. A decent test with 200 questions from penal code to labor laws. In CA you are a "qualified licensed PI Manager".
As a PI you can employ hundreds of peeps if you like. That is how most start off. I suggest that you work for a PI first, perhaps for a year or so to learn. You can get into trouble very fast in this business.

[BigDoug]

I graduated from "West Coast Detective Academy" to become a P.I. and or detective for law inforcement. :)

[C-2]

Coolchange what state?

[coolchange]

Coolchange what state?
CA. Are the licenses transferable? ie: CA moves to AZ after a few years or do you start over? Seems like something you could do for a long time. Ya I figure you can get in some trouble if you're not careful or even if you are I imagine.

[C-2]

If you’re a middle-aged guy without LEO experience it’s tough to get in. The majority of new PI’s these days are retired/fired LEO’s. They use their LEO experience to get around the required 6000 hours of work experience, which I believe is about 3 years of fulltime employment. I started as an investigator trainee (serving papers) when I was 21, so I was able to endure the long hours and low pay.
Getting the hours is tough to come by since most guys work for themselves. And nobody will just “sign” for your hours since the bureau makes it a point to audit personnel records – the state really doesn’t like us.
They say the average salary is $45-$60K per year, and I think that’s pretty common. If you can find a specialty niche, you can make several times that amount. In fact without a niche, it’s hard to make it.
The Internet made it real easy for lawyers, insurance companies and the general public to do their own work, so when they do call, they usually want you to find the homeless guy under the bridge, tomorrow, and oh yeah, our budget is $100.
There are TONS of PI’s who do nothing more than sit around, waiting for a case (any case) to come in. The reality is you need volume to say afloat, which again is why you need a specialty to survive.
Surveillance, undercover work and infidelity investigations are boring as hell. For $85/hr, I would much rather go out and serve papers on somebody avoiding service. In fact, that might be your only way in – to approach a PI and offer to start serving papers in exchange for learning the trade.
I only work in civil litigation and have done so for the past 20 years. My niche is working for the various City Attorney offices in So Cal. I also have a specialty in real estate fraud/transactions, and court procedure/protocol.
As it’s looking now, we might be regulated out of existence over the next few years, so you might want to reconsider doing it. Locksmiths are busy right now with all the foreclosures, and there are no minimum qualifications other than passing the usual DOJ background investigation.
Some states offer reciprocity, others do not.
http://www.bsis.ca.gov/
:)

[coolchange]

As it’s looking now, we might be regulated out of existence over the next few years, so you might want to reconsider doing it. Locksmiths are busy right now with all the foreclosures, and there are no minimum qualifications other than passing the usual DOJ background investigation.
Some states offer reciprocity, others do not.
http://www.bsis.ca.gov/
:)
Its hard to find some kind of independent contractor biz you can do on your own without employees. Seems they're all being regulated to death. DUNNO, maybe window washing? Thanks for taking the time to lay out a real perspective on the business every one.

[Mohave Vice]

Be more than happy to help answer any questions. PM me.