Also called: Defense Investigator, Litigation Investigator
Finds witnesses, evidence, and facts for lawyers preparing cases.
A legal investigator for a public defender might knock on doors in a neighborhood to find a witness, photograph a crime scene, or check whether a store's camera footage still exists. They're often retired police officers or curious paralegals.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 2 years after high school. Associate or bachelor's; many states require a private investigator license.
Ways in: 2-year college, Certification, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Criminal Justice, Paralegal Studies, Journalism.
Growing slowly (about 1% over 10 years). Approximate; private detectives and investigators.
Low risk for 10 years. AI searches databases and social media faster; knocking on doors, finding witnesses and photographing scenes stay human.
Classes: Criminal justice CTE class, Psychology, Photography, Spanish.
Official data: O*NET occupation 33-9021.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.