Ready for some detective work?

Fancy yourself as a modernday Sherlock Homes? Then consider becoming a private investigator.

Sure, it’s unlikely to be anything like as glamorous as it looks on TV, but a career as a private investigator is guaranteed to be anything but dull.

“Working as a private investigator can be varied, exciting and challenging,” say The Association of British Investigators, the UK’s leading organisation representing professional investigators in the private sector.

“No two days are the same. One day, you could be following a fraud suspect to the other side of the country. The next, you might be tracing a long-lost relative. The results can be rewarding.”

There are no set entry requirements to become a private investigator, although experience working in an enforcement or investigative role – like with the police, armed forces or local authority – would be useful.

A driving licence is usually essential for this type of work.

If you want to be self-employed, you’ll need the ability to run your own business and have legal knowledge of information laws and data protection rules.

As mentioned above, it’s highly unlikely you’ll be solving murders, but your cases could range from personal issues, like divorce, to company issues, like theft.

There are an estimated 10,000 private investigators in the UK, and services are as varied as serving documents, investigating insurance fraud, tracing missing persons, countering intellectual property theft, computer forensics, and gathering proof of adultery.

“It could be an excellent career move – especially if you’ve served in the police, the armed forces or security services,” say the ABI.

“No doubt, you’ll have a host of transferable skills. However, you don’t need to have come from one of those backgrounds to become a professional investigator, The ABI can help you.”

The ABI aside, there are other organisations offering a route into this industry – but be careful.

Some are reputable, some less so. “It’s often said in this industry: ‘If you’re going to become an investigator, your first job is to investigate the people who train you!’ warn the ABI.