Career fit quiz

Is Detective the Right Career for You?

A quick, free 8-question quiz to see how well the detective career fits your personality, preferences and goals.

Updated By the Career Education Institute Curriculum Team
How this quiz works

Rate how much you agree with each statement. The quiz compares your answers with the realities of the detective job and gives you an honest fit score in under two minutes. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

Statement 1 of 8I love solving puzzles
Statement 2 of 8I’m persistent
Statement 3 of 8I can talk with all kinds of people
Statement 4 of 8I write clearly
Statement 5 of 8I can handle difficult cases
Statement 6 of 8I want to advance in law enforcement
Statement 7 of 8I’m willing to spend about 3–5 years as a police officer training for this career
Statement 8 of 8A typical salary around $93,790 a year would meet my needs

What this career really involves

Detectives and criminal investigators gather facts and evidence, interview witnesses and suspects, and build cases on crimes such as theft, fraud, assault and homicide.

  • Investigate crimes and review case reports
  • Process scenes and collect evidence
  • Interview victims, witnesses and suspects
  • Write search and arrest warrants
  • Analyze records, video and digital evidence

Read a full day in the life or see detective salary data.

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