While the general perception of the fast-growing field of private investigation is that it's nonstop excitement, local private investigators say that much of the work is tedious.

It requires a lot of patience and common sense. "It's got to be in your blood. You don't think it's neat when you're sitting there for 12 to 15 hours watching day turn to night."

But many PIs -- a field expected to grow 18 to 26 percent through 2014 -- don't conduct surveillance anymore because many investigative cases aren't the lurk-in-the-shadows variety the public typically thinks of.

Many investigate personal injury cases, as well as accident cases and criminal cases. .

"Our business is more services to the legal industry rather than solving crimes, Our main objective is to gather all of the facts and give those to the attorney to evaluate in his or her case."

The investigators are typically hired by lawyers looking to beef up their cases or by insurance companies trying to determine if an employee's injury is legitimate.

Private investigators across the country work in more than 40 different areas.

It's very diverse what private investigators do.

They're also hired by individuals for a number of reasons: solving cold cases, checking for wrongdoing at daycare centers or eldercare facilities, gathering facts for custody and divorce cases, or exonerating an inmate.

While all of the cases are different, they involve one common denominator -- they're usually difficult to solve.

"Most of the people that do it are above-average intelligence because they really do have to use skill to solve a case.
It's a profession, not something that we call a blue-collar job."

In some personal injury cases, PIs perform nearly the same duties, but it depends on who hired them. If the insurance company hired them, then they may have to do surveillance on the person to determine if the injury they claim to have is legit.

For Means, one of the most difficult parts has been dealing with the stress that comes along with discovering information that his clients don't really want to know.

It's also difficult not to get consumed by cases, especially ones involving children.

Qualities and skills possessed by good private investigators:

--Patience

--Inquisitiveness

--Organization

--Charisma

--Technological savviness

--Familiarity with public records searches

--Good at research