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Forensic Science Technicians
Collect, identify, classify, and analyze physical evidence related to criminal investigations. Perform tests on weapons or substances, such as fiber, hair, and tissue to determine significance to investigation. May testify as expert witnesses on evidence or crime laboratory techniques. May serve as specialists in area of expertise, such as ballistics, fingerprinting, handwriting, or biochemistry.
Also Known As:
CSI (Crime Scene Investigator)
Crime Lab Analyst (Crime Laboratory Analyst)
Crime Scene Analyst (CSA)
Crime Scene Technician (Crime Scene Tech)
Criminalist
Evidence Technician (Evidence Tech)
Forensic Science Examiner
Forensic Scientist
Forensic Specialist
Latent Print Examiner
Wages
Annual wages for Forensic Science Technicians in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
23,300
13% Change From 2024
Explore Forensic Science Technicians video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Analyze data from computers or other digital media sources for evidence related to criminal activity.
- Examine physical evidence, such as hair, biological fluids, fiber, wood, or soil residues to obtain information about its source and composition.
- Measure and sketch crime scenes to document evidence.
- Reconstruct crime scenes to determine relationships among pieces of evidence.
- Visit morgues, examine scenes of crimes, or contact other sources to obtain evidence or information to be used in investigations.
- Train new technicians or other personnel on forensic science techniques.
- Keep records and prepare reports detailing findings, investigative methods, and laboratory techniques.
- Use photographic or video equipment to document evidence or crime scenes.
- Use chemicals or other substances to examine latent fingerprint evidence and compare developed prints to those of known persons in databases.
- Measure and sketch crime scenes to document evidence.
- Prepare solutions, reagents, or sample formulations needed for laboratory work.
- Review forensic analysts' reports for technical merit.
- Examine and analyze blood stain patterns at crime scenes.
- Identify and quantify drugs or poisons found in biological fluids or tissues, in foods, or at crime scenes.
- Interpret laboratory findings or test results to identify and classify substances, materials, or other evidence collected at crime scenes.
- Collect impressions of dust from surfaces to obtain and identify fingerprints.
- Confer with ballistics, fingerprinting, handwriting, documents, electronics, medical, chemical, or metallurgical experts concerning evidence and its interpretation.
- Examine physical evidence, such as hair, biological fluids, fiber, wood, or soil residues to obtain information about its source and composition.
- Confer with ballistics, fingerprinting, handwriting, documents, electronics, medical, chemical, or metallurgical experts concerning evidence and its interpretation.
- Examine firearms to determine mechanical condition and legal status, performing restoration work on damaged firearms to obtain information, such as serial numbers.
- Keep records and prepare reports detailing findings, investigative methods, and laboratory techniques.
- Measure and sketch crime scenes to document evidence.
- Analyze gunshot residue and bullet paths to determine how shootings occurred.
- Identify and quantify drugs or poisons found in biological fluids or tissues, in foods, or at crime scenes.
- Operate and maintain laboratory equipment and apparatus.
- Examine footwear, tire tracks, or other types of impressions.
- Reconstruct crime scenes to determine relationships among pieces of evidence.
- Compare objects, such as tools, with impression marks to determine whether a specific object is responsible for a specific mark.
- Collect evidence from crime scenes, storing it in conditions that preserve its integrity.
- Operate and maintain laboratory equipment and apparatus.
- Review forensic analysts' reports for technical merit.
- Testify in court about investigative or analytical methods or findings.
- Determine types of bullets and specific weapons used in shootings.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")