Crime Laboratory Analyst

Reasonably good pay and you generally work indoors with relatively stable work hours and relatively clean samples but the cases are often quite repetitive and routine. The microanalysis section probably provides the most variety but currently it is being phased out or scaled down in most crime laboratories.

It will come back but look for slim pickings during the current "bottom-line" management fad. The crime laboratory usually requires a bachelor's degree in a natural science for any of the specialties. The best degree overall is chemistry. If you are interested in DNA testing, then biology with genetics and biochemistry is required.

If you are interested in trace evidence examination, good electives for the chemistry degree include optical mineralogy, microbiology, botany and textile courses. You should, of course, take the crime detection & investigation course as one of your electives. Occasionally evidence is encountered that requires other specialties, such as entomology, anthropology, zoology and botany.

These areas may be adequate to obtain employment but do not expect to work exclusively in the specialty as not even a large laboratory receives enough evidence in those areas to fill an individual's time. One combination that would probably get you a job in a crime lab would be a major that contained sufficient background to do both forensic archeology and DNA on the samples recovered.

A-Z in Forensics

---

Allele: Any of several alternative forms of a gene located at the same point on a particular pair of chromosomes. For example, the genes determining bood types A and B are alleles.

Elevation view sketch proves very useful in documenting in crime scenes as hanging and vehicular accidents.

top^