Become a Field Inspector

Field Service inspectors perform inspection tasks for bank, finance and insurance industries. This can also include property preservation specialists that perform property maintenance tasks.

Field service inspectors basically get all their training on-the-job. There is no special education required to become a field inspector. Most firms provide their own training packet with their own set of guidelines and procedures. They also provide the forms you'll need to use, so you have to create nothing on your own.

There are usually no E&O (errors&omissions), insurance requirements, just an internet connection, fax machine (rarely), and a digital camera is all you need to perform the majority of field service inspections.

By clicking "Field Inspection Companies", in on your search engine, you will find a list of companies to apply to.

Starting out you can choose to do what is known as a drive-by. All you need to do is find the address and take a photo of the residence. Sometimes companies want you to note if the residence is vacant or occupied. Some companies will ask, and pay more money, for you to contact the mortgager of a property to get updated information for their records.

A lot of companies will ask you to do an insurance inspection. This generally involves making an appointment, taking photos and noting what percentage of the insurance claim has been completed.

There are also "merchant site" inspections where an appointment is almost always required with a designated person or contact from that business and then you have a list of questions to ask this contact person. The questions are mostly about fire safety issues, hazards or inventory of the business.

Most firms pay a flat rate for certain inspections and it's not a lot, but this is considered part-time, supplemental, contract income. They take out no taxes and 1099 you at the end of the year so you are responsible for taxes. But they usually don't have a problem if you combine one company's work with another, although each job is confidential and separate from the next. They also rarely pay mileage but "rush" inspections or inspections with immediate turn around do usually pay double.

You only choose to do jobs in your area, as far as you are willing to drive and they will pay an inspector that is reliable more and send more work your way. I have made a decent living doing this type of work in the "middle of nowhere, Tennessee", so someone that lives in a larger city could make a lot more, depending on his or her own initiative.