Flexible Job, Horrible Work - Background Investigator CACI International Employee Review

2.0
Dec 6, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Unless you're a well-established freelancer, there's really no equivalent for the freedom you have to define your schedule for work as a background investigator at CACI. While you do have a supervisor, you are either in the field gathering information or writing reports at home. So there is no manager breathing down your neck. This job has a consistent workload for you to get your weekly 40-hour workweek but also pays hourly so you can get paid overtime if you want. There's usually plenty of OT opportunities. Employee benefits include 401(k) with full match for 3%, stock benefits (5% discount), affordable insurance (primarily through United Healthcare), and if you're working in the suburbs or a rural region, then the pay is relatively competitive (slightly above market for suburb/rural but barely above average if you're living in a major city). Tuition reimbursement is also interestingly open to most degrees but is capped at 12% of your pay. People are generally nice. CACI has tried to learn from the mistakes of its predecessor in background investigations and so has been relatively stable.

Cons

Training is both draining and does not prepare you for the real work. So while you may have put plenty of effort, it is not going to get you very far. Moreover, as you gain experience, you often find yourself even more embittered by the grueling experience day-to-day. The whole process of this work is such a mess. If you make a mistake in your report, in can (and likely will) haunt you but often 6+ months after. Reviewers who re-open your cases are mostly unfamiliar with field investigators and so often make very petty demands because they have their own metrics to catch 'potential' issues that are unfortunately quite often just subjective. On top of that, if you are in the right, it is on you to send the rebuttal up-channel which distracts for your other work. Getting a promotion in this job 'track' is vastly centered on background investigations, which entails working and reporting on cases, assigning cases, reviewing reports. While CACI is primarily a technology/software company, the investigative division is simply that. If you have poor self-discipline, this job is going to be very rough for you. There are deadlines but in reality you are the one making sure that they happen. Some folks might have a harder time if they are used to an office environment for inspiration/opportunities to commiserate with co-workers. If you hate to drive, then this job is not a good fit. While they say that you will primarily work in a 20-mile radius around you, there are many cases that bring you much further out. And technically you could be brought for cases within 100 miles from where you live.

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5.0
Jun 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great benefits and opportunities. I love working here.

Cons

None that I can think of.

3.0
May 26, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great support from other team members

Cons

Communication from the Web Content Analyst lead could be improved. Employees were often expected to complete tasks with limited guidance or knowledge sharing, which made onboarding and professional development more difficult. Interactions with leadership could sometimes feel unnecessarily dismissive or discouraging, especially when employees asked questions or requested clarification on technical processes. Expectations and priorities occasionally changed without clear communication, creating confusion and additional stress for team members trying to meet deadlines and deliver quality work. Technical information sometimes felt unnecessarily restricted, which created challenges for collaboration, efficiency, and overall team growth. Feedback was not always delivered in a constructive or supportive manner, which could negatively affect morale and confidence within the team. Stronger communication, mentorship, professionalism, and a more collaborative leadership approach would greatly improve the overall employee experience and workplace culture.

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