Two reasons people are attracted to the field of forensic science are to help solve crimes and to see justice served. Forensic scientists collect evidence from crime scenes and analyze that evidence in labs.
Crime scene evidence can include bodily fluids, fibers and weapons. Forensic scientists are crime solvers who use chemical and biological technologies to analyze the evidence they collect. They document their findings with photographs and drawings and reconstruct crime scenes. And they can be called to testify in court as expert witnesses.
Routes to a Forensic Science Career
Experts in the field highly recommend a science major for those who wish to pursue a career in forensics. Common college degrees held by forensic science technicians are in the natural sciences, including physical science, biology and forensic science, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic.
Cleveland Miles, deputy director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab, received a biology degree from Fort Valley State University in Georgia. He had planned to become a physical therapist, but soured on that idea and started looking into other careers.
“Whatever I did had to have a basis in science,” he says. “And I wanted to do something that would be helpful to society.”
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Miles found his way to forensics by applying for a lab technician position with the GBI crime lab. He worked as a technician in drug chemistry, and less than two years later returned to college to take a class in biochemistry to qualify for a scientist position.
The GBI then promoted him to forensic biologist, where he worked in the serology and DNA sections. The GBI trained him in those areas. He was “working cases and working evidence,” giving him a great deal of fulfillment as a scientist, he says.
“I was using science and I was helping people,” Miles says. “They were victims of crime. Some were deceased. We were able to look at the evidence that was brought in and provide some factual information about it that could potentially help that investigation and lead to the arrest of someone, or to exonerate someone who was falsely accused.”
He worked as a scientist for around five years, then moved into management. He saw a chance to help more junior people with career aspirations in forensics.
To be hired in his department, candidates must pass polygraph and drug tests. When Miles speaks to younger people about a career in forensics, he urges them to be prepared for these tests, as he has seen many candidates fail them.
In addition to these requirements, per the BLS, technicians may need to pass proficiency exams in laboratory science topics, for example. Good communication and analytical skills are also necessary for success for forensic scientists.
Forensic Science Pay and Career Outlook
The BLS expects major employment growth in the field of forensic science — from 2024 to 2034 it’s projected to increase 13%. As of May 2024, the median salary for forensic science technicians was $67,440.
The bureau also reports that advances in science and technology will increase the availability of forensic information used in trials, which will require more of these professionals to work with law enforcement officials.
Thanks to popular movies and TV shows about crime investigations, competition for job openings is expected to be strong, experts say.
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Learning Forensic Science
Since 2004, high school forensics teacher Keri Meador has taught a forensic course to seniors at Central High Magnet Career Academy in Louisville, Kentucky. She created the course at the height of popularity of the “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” television series, where a group of forensic investigators work to solve grisly crimes. She was teaching biology at the time.
The students asked for such a class, and Meador persuaded administrators to give it a chance. She drew help from friends at the Louisville police department and from attending an American Academy of Forensic Science conference, where she learned from forensic specialists about best practices for crafting her class.
“It was an amazing experience that blossomed beyond the information I thought I knew,” she says.
Meador says students learn to apply their categorical science knowledge in a three-dimensional way: looking at a crime scene from the perspective of biology, the presence of living material; chemistry, for chemical reactions; and physics, looking at angles like how a gun was fired.
She makes it clear to students that what they’re used to seeing on a Hollywood show is unrealistic. “Solving a crime in 45 minutes is not always what happens. Not that it can’t happen, but the entire process from getting a call about a crime to determining the outcome of that crime can be a lengthy process.”
Careers in Forensic Science
Many of Meador’s forensic students have gone into law enforcement and homicide investigation, she says. “I have some students who went into lab work doing biology and chemistry work with DNA, students who’ve gone on to medicine, and some who went on to do law.”
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She recalls introducing one student to forensic nursing, “where you’re collecting evidence on living victims who have been sexually assaulted, domestically abused. That became her focus.”
Meador introduced other students to the field of cybercrime, where there is now a great demand, experts say.
“I tell my students you don’t have to go where blood and gore is, you can solve crime from a comfortable chair with a computer in front of you,” Meador says. “Those technology-driven fields have become more of a demand and more interesting to kids.”
Wildlife forensics and forensic meteorology are among the other specialties she has introduced to her students. “My job is to create a spectrum of awareness in the forensic science field and let the students navigate their paths in tandem with their personal interests.”
The work is there and not letting up, Miles says. Counties, cities, states, police departments, sheriff offices and some private companies will continue to hire forensic scientists.
These professionals can face tremendous pressure to get things right all the time, Miles adds.
“There will be a lot of work and pressure coming into the field. You will have a workload that can be heavy. You have to be able to navigate that stress from having that workload.”
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What Forensic Science Is and How to Become a Forensic Scientist originally appeared on usnews.com
