A little career letter
Find Your Flow
find what moves you, one small step at a time
Vol. 23 · Sunday, July 5
Just one job today
Legal investigator
You love the law and you love figuring people out, so here is the detective side of it. A legal investigator digs up the facts behind a case, finds and interviews witnesses, tracks down records, and pieces together what really happened for the lawyers. No law school, and here is the best part: Colorado dropped its private-investigator license in 2021, so in this state you do not need a license to start.
What you actually do
Find people, ask questions, get answers
A big part of the job is talking to people: knocking on a door, sitting down with a witness, getting the real story. The rest is the hunt, pulling records, mapping out a timeline, visiting the scene, and writing it all up clearly. It runs on the exact things you are good at, reading people and being easy to talk to, and your Spanish is a real edge because bilingual investigators are in demand.
Who hires them
There’s an office right in Golden
Legal investigators work for public defender offices, law firms, and district attorneys. The Colorado State Public Defender has a trial office right here in Golden that covers Jefferson County, and every one of their offices keeps a crew of criminal-defense investigators on the team. So this is not some far-off big-city job, it is a real career you could build minutes from the house.
The life · the perk
Meaningful, steady, and never boring
A government investigator job comes with real benefits, a pension, and steady hours, so your evenings and snow days stay yours. And the work matters: you are helping make sure people get a fair shake. It is a mix of being out in the field and at a desk, so you are never stuck in one chair all day. Purpose plus stability, which is a rare combo.
How to get in
No license, one small first step
Since Colorado needs no PI license, the path is shorter than you think. The offices want a background in criminal justice or equivalent experience, so the tiny first step is a criminal-justice associate at a local community college (it transfers if you ever want the bachelor’s). Even quicker: get in the door now as a legal assistant to build experience, then move into investigations. One class or one application, not a whole degree, starts it.
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How to get qualified (just this one job)
Good news first: Colorado does not require a private-investigator license (the state ended it in 2021), so there is no exam or fee standing in your way to start. What the offices look for is a criminal-justice background or equivalent experience.
The smallest first step: a Criminal Justice associate at a local community college, which openly lists private investigations as one of its paths and transfers toward a bachelor’s later if you want it. Even faster, you can start as a legal assistant now to build the experience the offices count as equal to a degree. Then apply to the Colorado State Public Defender in Golden, where investigators are trained on the defense team.
The Criminal Justice associate (transfers) › How to become an investigator ›A real job in this field, and what it pays
Criminal Defense Investigator, Colorado State Public Defender (Golden)
A real role at the public defender’s own Golden office, minutes from home. Investigators locate and interview witnesses, pull records, serve subpoenas, view scenes, and help the defense team build the case. They want a criminal-justice-type background or equivalent education and experience, plus a driver’s license and a working vehicle. Offices hire their own investigators and train you on the team, so read their investigator page for exactly how to apply, then watch the Golden office.
See the Golden office ›Just one job today, on purpose, so it is easy to sit with. You said you liked the law but never wanted to be a lawyer, and the legal investigator is the part that is pure curiosity and people, no law school, no Colorado license. One small step, reading the investigator page or looking at the Criminal Justice associate, moves you forward more than a week of thinking about it. Small steps are still steps.
Made with love, just for you. Reply any time and we will chase down whatever sparks your interest. Legal assistant is coming on another day. xo