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How to Become a Criminalist
Are you looking to get started in a new career? Chances are, you are like so many other Americans who find that they either can not make ends meet in their current career or are just bored. Well, good news! You can go back to school and earn a degree doing something you love. If you enjoy watching shows such as CSI: Miami or Forensic Files, you may have seen a criminalist hard at work and found yourself wondering how to become a criminalist. A criminalist is a forensic scientist who examines evidence found at a crime scene. In this article, you will learn everything you need to know how to become a criminalist. You will also learn about the criminalist job description, educational requirements and salary. From there, you will be able to make a properly informed decision as to whether this is the right career choice for you.
Criminalist Job Description
A criminalist will go to a crime scene and collect evidence to take back to the lab for examination. This evidence can range from fibers and weapons to hair and body tissues. Examination is performed using high tech machinery and equipment such as chromatographs or spectrographs. As a criminalist, you can choose to specialize in a field, such as handwriting analysis, fingerprinting or firearm examination. At times, you may also be required to appear in court as an expert witness and take the stand to testify based on the evidence you present. You can expect to usually work a 40 hour work week, however, you may also have to work longer, irregular hours. You may have to travel to get to the crime scene, but most of your time will be spent in a laboratory examining your findings and drafting reports. You will also be working with health and safety hazards upon occasion so it is very important that you are properly equipped, however, you will receive training about how to be safe.
How To Become a Criminalist
The first step how to become a criminalist, you will need to receive an education from a college or university in a field such as forensic science, chemistry, physics, biology or physical anthropology. You will need to at least earn a bachelor’s degree, however, earning a master’s degree or a doctorate degree can provide you with far more job opportunities, such as becoming a lab director. With a doctorate degree, you will even be able to teach forensic science in a college or university. If you should choose to earn a higher degree, you will need to take more extensive courses in subjects, such as pharmacology and statistics or quantitative analysis as well as trigonometry and geometry.
If you were curious as to how to become a criminalist, you now know everything necessary to take the firsts steps towards getting started in this career. Contact a school or university of your choice and speak with a guidance counselor about getting enrolled in classes. Once you earn a degree, you will be able to get started in the work force as a criminalist.
