CRAWLING through ditches, changing identities and tailing cars are all in a day’s work for private investigator Sharyn Sully.

The mother of three said a thick skin was a necessity for what she called an unglamorous job.

Her job requires long hours on the road and confrontational situations, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. She finds the job rewarding because she can give clients what they want.

Specialising in matrimonial affairs, Ms Sully’s most common assignment is determining if romantic partners are being faithful.

She is paid to give closure, she said, but she’ll often refer couples to counselling services because the findings aren’t always positive.

“If they can learn to please each other the last thing I want to see is a broken family,” she said.

Ms Sully, who has been working as a licensed PI for 13 years, said the job was not for the faint-hearted.

“Everybody wants to be a private eye, but they have no idea what it entails,” she said.

She said the job was a form of acting, and blending in can be tricky.

“You have to be real quick and think on your feet – how can I pose to get in?”

Ms Sully keeps changes of clothing, shoes, wigs and sunglasses in her car so she can change her identity at a moment’s notice.

One day can be spent crawling across barren land to reach a subject’s house, while the next can be spent dressing up, painting her nails and going out clubbing.

Being the silent observer is a key part of the job, and enables her to learn about human behaviour.

The job can be dangerous and you have to be careful, she said, having had a gun pulled on her twice in her career. “I will sit on the outside of the room, keeping my back to the wall and scout out my exits.”