Forensic Analyst Jobs

Forensic analysts work in a wide variety of areas supplying helpful information to law enforcement officials related to crime scene evidence. When considering a career as a forensic analyst, there are six general areas to choose from. In addition, within each area of practice it is possible to choose a specialty.

Medical Examiners

A medical examiner will require an individual to obtain a medical degree. Medical examiners work directly with dead bodies, looking for the evidence that shows how the person has died. Establishing DNA evidence, documenting injuries, and analyzing the blood of the victim are all part of a medical examiners job. In addition to performing these tests, a medical examiner will spend time in court explaining the cause of death to the judge/jury.

Forensic Engineer

Forensic engineers will be required to have at least a bachelor’s degree in some type of engineering program such as electrical engineering, materials engineering, traffic engineering, civil engineering, or civil engineering. As a forensic engineer, your job will be to aid law enforcement officials in a variety of cases including traffic accidents, fire investigations, wrongful injury claims, and patent disputes. Using science and math, a forensic engineer will recreate accidents to determine the cause of the crash.

Crime Laboratory Analyst

The job of a crime laboratory analyst involves working inside crime laboratories examining evidence gathered from crime scenes. This includes analyzing blood, firearms, drugs, and other toxicological samples, and at times assisting with autopsies. The educational requirements to work as a crime laboratory analyst include a bachelor’s degree in either natural science or forensic science. The most relevant degree for this position is a degree in chemistry.

Crime Scene Examiner

Evidence technicians, forensic investigators, and criminalistics officers are all relative titles to a job as a crime scene examiner. As a crime scene examiner your job duties include securing the crime scene, collecting evidence, document findings, and writing reports about the evidence collected. The educational requirements to become a crime scene examiner vary by district, with some agencies accepting associate’s degrees and others requiring a bachelor’s degree.

Forensic Psychologist

The job of a forensic psychologist in criminal investigations is to determine whether or not an individual involved in a crime is mentally ill and whether or not they can stand trial. Giving expert testimonies is one of the largest parts of the forensic psychologist’s job. In order to become a forensic psychologist a Ph.D. in psychology including forensic training must be obtained.

Computer Forensic Analyst

With the increasing use of technology in everyday life, it is common that some type of computer will be involved in a crime. This is where a computer forensic analyst comes in to aid in a crime investigation. Computer forensic analysts are able to recover corrupted and deleted files from a computer’s hard drive in order to extract evidence. A bachelor’s degree in computer science or a relative field is essential for success within this field.

Overall, there are many options to choose from in the forensic analyst career category. Each career choice not only offers specialty areas within the field, but also offers a unique perspective on using forensic evidence to support criminal cases.