Forensic Science Technician

1

• Forensic Science Technician

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
2
Forensic Science Technician

• Overview
• Forensic science technicians investigate crimes
  by collecting and analyzing physical evidence.
  Often, they specialize in areas such as DNA
  analysis or firearm examination, performing tests
  on weapons or on substances such as fiber, glass,
  hair, tissue, and body fluids to determine their
  significance to the investigation. Proper
  collection and storage methods are important to
  protect the evidence.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
3
Forensic Science Technician

• Overview (continued)
• Forensic science technicians also prepare reports
  to document their findings and the laboratory
  techniques used, and they may provide information
  and expert opinions to investigators. When
  criminal cases come to trial, forensic science
  technicians often give testimony as expert
  witnesses on laboratory findings by identifying
  and classifying substances, materials, and other
  evidence collected at the scene of a crime. Some
  forensic science technicians work closely with
  other experts or technicians.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
4
Forensic Science Technician

• Preparation
• Forensic science technicians usually need to have
  earned a bachelor's degree to work in the field.
• There are also several master's degree programs,
  and some certificate programs that are usually
  offered in conjunction with a bachelor's degree
  program in science.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
5
Forensic Science Technician

• Preparation (continued)
• Approximately 30 colleges and universities offer
  a bachelor's degree program in forensic science
  about another 25 schools offer a bachelors
  degree in a natural science with an emphasis on
  forensic science or criminology a few additional
  schools offer a bachelors degree with an
  emphasis in a specialty area, such as
  criminology, pathology, jurisprudence,
  investigation, odontology, toxicology, or
  forensic accounting. 

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
6
Forensic Science Technician

• Preparation (continued)
• In the United States, forensic science programs
  are accredited by the American Academy of
  Forensic Sciences Forensic Science Education
  Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC). 
• A list of all accredited programs is available on
  the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
7
Forensic Science Technician

• Day in the Life
• Science technicians work under a wide variety of
  conditions. Most work indoors, usually in
  laboratories, and have regular hours. Some
  occasionally work irregular hours to monitor
  experiments that cannot be completed during
  regular working hours.
• Forensic science technicians may work anywhere,
  both indoor and outdoor. Some science technicians
  may be exposed to hazards from equipment,
  chemicals, or toxic materials.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
8
Forensic Science Technician

• Day in the Life
• For example, forensic science technicians often
  are exposed to human body fluids and firearms.
• However, these working conditions pose little
  risk if proper safety procedures are followed.
• For forensic science technicians, collecting
  evidence from crime scenes can be distressing and
  unpleasant.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
9
Forensic Science Technician

• Earnings
• According to the US Department of Labor, Bureau
  of Labor Statistics, the median hourly earnings
  of environmental science and protection
  technicians are about 21.79 per hour.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
10
Forensic Science Technician

• Employment
• According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau
  of Labor Statistics, forensic science technicians
  hold about 13,000 jobs in the United States. 
• Forensic science technicians work primarily for
  State and local governments. 

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
11
Forensic Science Technician

• Career Path Forecast
• Jobs for forensic science technicians are
  expected to increase much faster than the average
  during the 2006-16 decade. Employment growth in
  state and local government should be driven by
  the increasing application of forensic science to
  examine, solve, and prevent crime.
• Crime scene technicians who work for state and
  county crime labs should experience favorable
  employment prospects resulting from strong job
  growth.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
12
Forensic Science Technician

• Resources
• More information about Forensic Science
  Technicians is available at the Sloan Career
  Cornerstone Center, including lists of programs,
  suggestions for precollege students, a free
  monthly careers newsletter, and a PDF summarizing
  the field.
• Associations
• American Academy of Forensic Sciences
• Young Forensic Scientists Forum

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.