11 Surprising Facts About Being A Real-Life Private Investigator

There aren't a lot of options when your bladder is full after a long day of staking out a suspect, so most PI's have become very comfortable with relieving themselves in bottles, jugs, or anything handy while sitting for hours in cars.

Yep, just like in the movies! While much of the job has moved into online territory when it comes to scooping up information on a suspect, they don't shy away from getting their hands dirty too.

Depending on the laws in your town, it could be completely legal for them to take something that may be crucial evidence once it's been tossed away.

Turns out, it's a numbers game. Though some PI's prefer to work solo, there are larger companies that will send out two investigators to alternate tracking a car on the road when they're trying to be extra stealthy.

That way, the suspect has no way of noticing any patterns going on behind them.

Thanks to pop culture depictions of gumshoe detectives such as Columbo above, there are plenty of investigators who cringe at the idea of being labeled a "PI." Instead, they might refer to themselves as a "legal investigator."

But it doesn't hurt, of course, to bone up with a degree in criminal justice or other legal studies.

Otherwise, it depends on the agency that hires you or finding the proper training on your own before obtaining your license and opening up your own business, though that can be understandably risky.

For the most part, PI's are hired by insurance companies to investigate potential fraud.

According to Reddit user alienware99, a detective who spilled the beans about his job, about 80 percent of his cases are of this variety, with domestic issues like infidelity trickling in now and again as well.

Unlike the trench coats donned by PI's in old movies and TV shows, they tend to relax in their most comfortable clothes since they know they'll be spending most of their day cooped up in a car.

They probably have a spare outfit in their trunk just in case, though.

Obviously, stake outs are a lot of nothing until something finally happens, so they rely on music, books on tape, or podcasts to keep their minds alert while their eyes continue to scope out the scene.

Just like any investigator, another Reddit user explained that they're hired to report on just the facts. Their license could be taken away if they were found perjuring for a few good bucks, so don't go looking for a PI to help you conjure up a guilty party out of thin air.

Sure, some of the bigger companies with money to burn might go all out with their fancy equipment, but for the most part, PI's aren't getting any of the spy-level stuff you see in a James Bond movie.

Again, Reddit user alienware99 admitted that the most impressive secret tool that he possessed was a simple pen camera.

Plenty of movies show the relationship between police officers and private investigators as contentious or competitive, but they actually work closely together to make sure justice is really served — PI's aren't rebelling against the authorities in any way, as fun as that might sound for a movie.

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