Top Criminal Investigator Schools
- Everest University Online Click for Recommended Degree Program
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Criminal Investigator Jobs
Criminal investigator jobs are extremely unique, exciting, and rewarding. However, what most people think of when they hear “criminal investigator” is the glamorized jobs they see on television shows like “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Law and Order,” or “Bones.” While many aspects of this job are dramatized in these shows, there are aspects of these depictions that are close to reality.
What Criminal Investigators Do
In real life, criminal investigators don’t always drive the newest SUVs and they don’t solve crimes and tie up all the loose ends within an hour. Criminal investigators do, however, have fast-paced jobs. They often work on more than one case at a time and spend lots of time at the scene of a crime gathering and analyzing evidence. Most crime scene investigators also spend some of their time in an office compiling reports.
Speaking of offices, a criminal investigator on television usually works in a fancy office with lots of glass dividers, low hanging lights, and darkly lit labs. In real life, criminal investigators usually work in a normal office and while the lights in the lab do go off for certain tests, most of the time they are brightly lit.
Even though in real life the results don’t come as quickly and there is more work that needs to be done by humans and not computers, criminal investigators do work with the latest technology to analyze evidence and match finger prints with suspects, just like on television.
Why Become a Criminal Investigator
The evidence provided by criminal investigators on television is usually cut and dry, and almost always leads to the conviction of criminals. In real life, it’s not always that easy. There may not be enough evidence to convict a person and the evidence that is available may not always be so black and white.
Criminal investigator jobs may not be exactly how they appear on television, but they are still excellent and even exciting jobs. People with this career are rewarded as they protect communities and bring criminals to justice.
