Education Requirements for a Crime Scene Investigator
After fulfilling crime scene investor education requirements, you will have a solid foundation for launching an exciting career in the criminal justice system. Crime scene investigators analyze evidence that may help convict a guilty criminal or free a jailed suspect who was wrongly accused. A combination of mental fortitude, formal education and on-the-job training is required to develop the sophisticated skills needed to process a disturbing crime scene, report on the findings and testify in court. If you are highly interesting in studying forensic science and the legal system, you may want to consider enrolling in a crime scene investigator school and earning a prestigious crime scene investigator degree.
Expert technicians who hold a crime scene investigator degree search for clues and help solve the puzzle of what took place at a crime scene. Advances in technology provide tools and techniques for figuring out who committed a recent murder or a cold case from decades ago. In crime scene investigator school, students learn proper procedures for gathering and cataloging evidence such as hair strands, rug fibers and finger prints. Any trace of contamination will make the evidence inadmissible for criminal prosecution. Crime scene investigators must also learn how to take digital photos and videos of the crime scene, noting blood spatter patterns, tire tracks in the mud or bloody footprints, for instance. Back in the lab, they run diagnostic tests or send samples to pathologists or experts in DNA and firearms. Accurate recall is crucial because their testimony in court may carry considerable weight with jurors.
Multiple pathways can lead to a crime scene investigator degree. Preparing for a job with this level of responsibility will be rigorous. It is possible to find a job as crime scene technician with a two year associate degree in forensic science, but you will have more opportunities with a college degree in forensic science or a closely related field. Most employers prefer a bachelor’s or a master’s in forensic science, or a science major like biochemistry with a forensic science minor. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, competition is keen for forensic technician jobs, and those with a four-year degree or better will have a strong advantage. Your crime scene investigator school curriculum will be science-intensive, with classes like anatomy, chemistry, physics, toxicology and pathology. In addition, you will receive hands-on training and you'll practice crime scene processing under close supervision. Internships may also be required.
Industry and Salary
Crime scene investigator requirements include an ability to emotionally handle accident scenes and brutal homicides. You will see disturbing images that you may never forget. Your hours can be long and irregular. In the middle of the night, you may be called to assist police, and you will be expected to get there immediately. After gathering the evidence, you may then spend many long days and nights in the laboratory methodically and meticulously recording and analyzing every shred of material found at the scene. Overtime work is not uncommon, because police rely heavily on forensic findings to aid the investigation, which puts pressure on you to get them a report. Working in the lab is painstaking and less exciting than working with police behind crime scene tape, but still, it's fascinating, if you have a scientific mind.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that forensic science technicians, including crime scene investigators, earn a median salary of $57,850 per year, or $27.81 an hour, as of May 2017. The lowest paid 10 percent wage bracket earn less than $33,880 and those in the top 10 percent earn more than $95,600. The highest salaries were reported in testing laboratories that paid a median annual wage of $62,130.
Years of Experience
Even with a bachelor’s or a master’s degree, you will need extensive on-the-job training because a crime scene investigator degree will not teach you everything you need to know. With experience, you will gain respect and credibility with police officers and criminal prosecutors who come to trust your work and irrefutable conclusions. Crime scene investigators who helped break major cases will have a competitive edge when seeking good jobs with higher pay and better hours.
Job Growth Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the demand for forensic science technicians will grow by 17 percent between 2016 and 2026, which is much higher than the average of all other jobs combined. Opportunities will be best in government, because of the many criminal cases that go to trial. However, the BLS also notes that an increasing number of people are earning a crime scene investigator degree, therefore, competition for jobs will be stiff, despite the 18,000 projected openings over the coming decade.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Work Environment for Forensic Science Technicians
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: How to Become a Forensic Science Technician
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Job Outlook for Forensic Science Technicians
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011, Forensic Science Technicians
- Big Future by the College Board: Major: Forensic Science
- Piedmont College: Forensic Science Courses
- O*Net OnLine: Summary Report for Forensic Science Technicians
Mary Dowd holds a doctorate in educational leadership and a master’s in counseling and student affairs from Minnesota State Mankato. Helping students succeed has been her passion while serving in many areas of student affairs and adjunct teaching. Currently she is a dean of students at a large, public university. Dr. Dpwd’s writing experience includes published research, training materials and hundreds of practical online articles.