If you’ve been watching background investigator openings lately, you’ve probably noticed something: there are a lot of them.
That prompted a question in the ClearanceJobsBlog discussion forum: Does all this hiring mean investigators are finally heading back into the field?
Question: “With Peraton and CACI hiring more background investigators, are we heading back to more in-person work in the future?”
A current ClearanceJobs search for the exact phrase “background investigator” returns nearly 50 openings, including positions with CACI, Peraton and Xcelerate Solutions. The jobs range from entry-level investigator positions to experienced and credentialed roles, with openings spanning multiple regions of the country.
The answer appears to be: yes for some contracts and assignments, but don’t call it a return to the old model just yet.
CACI Is Hiring—But VTC Is Still Front and Center
CACI has one of the largest footprints in the current ClearanceJobs results. The company has listings for experienced investigators across the Northeast, Capital, Midwest, Southeast and West regions, along with several entry-level positions. Recent postings include entry-level opportunities for the Midwest, Northeast and Capital regions, among others.
But the job descriptions give us a pretty important clue about where the work is headed.
CACI’s experienced Northeast investigator posting says interviews may be conducted through VTC, telephone and in-person meetings—but VTC is the primary method. The position still requires a driver’s license, reliable vehicle and willingness to travel locally, and investigators could receive temporary duty assignments elsewhere in the country.
The same language appears in an entry-level Midwest position posted recently. That job calls for up to 10% local travel and says interviews can take place by VTC, phone or in person, again identifying VTC as the primary method. Applicants still need reliable transportation and must be willing to travel locally based on the assignment.
Entry-level regional positions show a similar model. A CACI Northeast posting, for example, combines a home office requirement with local travel and a mix of VTC, telephone and in-person interviewing.
So “remote” doesn’t necessarily mean an investigator never leaves home. But it also doesn’t mean the industry is reverting to a field-first model.
And CACI is hiring for an even more interesting variation in Tampa.
Its Experienced Background Investigator (Onsite) position requires investigators to report to CACI’s Virtual Investigations Operation Center in Tampa Monday through Friday. Yet once they’re there, their interviews are conducted primarily by VTC, with telephone as another option. The posting lists no travel requirement.
That’s not traditional fieldwork. It’s virtual investigation conducted from a physical worksite.
Peraton’s DHS Jobs Tell a Different Story
If you’re an investigator hoping to get back to face-to-face fieldwork, Peraton’s current DHS openings are probably the listings to watch.
ClearanceJobs currently shows Peraton experienced DHS background investigator positions in locations including San Diego, El Centro and Miami.
The San Diego description couldn’t be much clearer about the operating model.
Investigators are expected to travel daily while conducting in-person investigations, conduct face-to-face interviews with subjects, neighbors, employers and friends, and perform records searches at locations including police agencies, courthouses and educational institutions. Applicants must live within 30 miles of San Diego, have reliable transportation and may also face 14-to-30-day TDY assignments.
That’s genuine field investigation.
So there are current background investigation contracts where getting in the car, knocking on doors, visiting records locations and interviewing people face-to-face remain core parts of the job.
The distinction may be less about whether “background investigations” as a profession are returning to fieldwork and more about which customer and contract you’re supporting.
Xcelerate Shows the Hybrid Middle Ground
Xcelerate Solutions provides a third model. Its 1099 Background Investigator posting is advertised as remote and describes the location as “Remote, Hybrid, On Customer Site.” Investigators must be capable of conducting interviews both remotely and in person, and the position requires the ability to travel up to 50% of the time.
For background investigators, remote may describe where you complete reports or where your home office is located. It doesn’t automatically mean there is no field component.
Are Background Investigators Going Back Into the Field?
Based on the jobs currently being advertised, there isn’t evidence of one universal shift back to traditional in-person investigations. Instead, the workforce looks increasingly segmented.
Some positions are strongly virtual. Some are virtual-first but retain local fieldwork and travel requirements. Others, particularly some DHS investigative positions, remain unmistakably field-based. And still others combine home-office work, virtual interviews, in-person interviews and substantial travel. That also means the increase in hiring shouldn’t automatically be interpreted as proof that agencies are abandoning telephone or VTC investigations.
One commenter in the ClearanceJobsBlog discussion offered another explanation: employers could simply be replacing investigators leaving because of workload and the industry’s increased reliance on phone work. The commenter emphasized that this was only their opinion, but it’s an important alternative to the “fieldwork is coming back” theory.
The job postings themselves don’t tell us why each contractor is increasing or maintaining its investigator workforce. They do tell us what those investigators are currently being hired to do. And right now, the answer is: all of the above.
Read the Job Description, Not Just the Remote Tag
For investigators looking for their next position, the more useful question may not be “Is fieldwork coming back?” It’s: What kind of investigator job do I actually want?
If you miss traditional fieldwork, look for descriptions that specifically mention daily travel, face-to-face interviews, records searches, reliable transportation and geographically defined coverage areas. Peraton’s current DHS positions are a good example.
If you’d rather work primarily from a home office, look closely at the interview methodology. CACI’s regional positions currently describe VTC as the primary method even though some local travel and in-person meetings remain possible.
And if you want flexibility, or you’re considering independent contracting, pay close attention to travel percentages and language such as “remote and/or in-person.” Xcelerate’s 1099 posting, for instance, permits remote interviewing while still requiring availability for up to 50% travel.
There is one other encouraging signal in the current listings: opportunities aren’t limited to longtime investigators. CACI has multiple entry-level positions in the search results alongside its experienced investigator openings.
So is in-person fieldwork making a comeback?
It’s still very much alive. But based on today’s job postings, the future of background investigations looks less like a return to one old way of doing business and more like a mix of field, virtual and hybrid investigative models determined by the customer, contract and location.
For investigators who have strong preferences about how they work, that makes reading beyond the words “remote,” “hybrid” or “onsite” more important than ever.
Have a question for Ask CJ? Drop it in the ClearanceJobsBlog discussion forum, where clearance holders, investigators and national security professionals are talking through the issues affecting the cleared workforce.
Much about the clearance process resembles the Pirate’s Code: “more what you’d call guidelines than actual rules.” For this reason, we maintain ClearanceJobsBlog.com – a forum where clearance seekers can ask the cleared community for advice on their specific security concerns. Ask CJ explores questions posed on the ClearanceJobs Blog forum, emails received, and comments from this site. This article is intended as general information only and should not be construed as legal advice. Consult an attorney regarding your specific situation.
