Becoming a P.I. in California?

[Journeystuart]

I'm a college student and resident of Orange County, CA. I'm considering private investigation as a future career and I've got some questions. As I don't know any P.I.'s personally and the P.I. Union forum hasn't been helpful I took it here. I'm not sure if this is the right place for this, but considering P.I. work is in the same vein as law enforcement and many P.I.'s are retired policemen, I figured maybe some of you might have some answers.

Anyway

I've done some research online on the requirements and I have several questions but first and foremost, as far as the background check goes, does an infraction marijuana ticket count as a criminal record? I've never been in any trouble with the law besides that. When I was 18 I was searched and confiscated of less than a gram of pot for which I was given a ticket for possession (an infraction, not a misdemeanor) and a court date with a fine (plus court fees) totaling to $189 (if I remember correctly). My question is whether this will prevent me from becoming a licensed private investigator.

So assuming it doesn't, I have some questions about the whole process. To quote a thread on P.I. licensing in a job hunting forum:

"You need a AA degree in police science, criminal law or justice and need at least 2 and half years of experience which is around 5,000 hours."

This post is too vague. Two and a half years of what kind of experience (specifically)?

"You must have 3 years of compensated investigative work experience which is about 6,000 hours in total."

What exactly qualifies as compensated investigative work?

I've never had any training or taken any courses in anything relating to this or criminal justice so I'll admit I don't know much. But I appreciate any useful information you guys can provide.

Thanks,

Juan

[Joeyd6]

Why would somebody hire you to investigate a matter when they can hire a retired cop doing it who has experience with the law, investigations in general, interviewing techniques and deceptive people?