Is being a CSI a dangerous career?

Question

I aspire to become a CSI, but my mother is afraid of the risks.

Answer 1

I don't think so, I also wannabe a CSI myself but I'm afraid it's too late (I'm 23) but u know, every job has its own risks although not all endangered our lives =D

Go for it, it's really cool!!!

Answer 2

The TV show's way over play the drama in being a Crime Scene Analyst the job is nothing like the shows trust me I have been studying to do something in law enforcement for 2 years and when I Talked with my teachers and professors about the show a few got very upset about how the show's make the careers  appear

Answer 3

the greatest risk seems to be eye strain. you're not allowed to switch lights on at the crime scene and you're only allowed mood lighting in the office and labs.

Answer 4

I don't think so, as you arrive on the scene AFTER the crime has been committed.

Answer 5

It's not dangerous as far as crime, but you have to be careful of chemicals.  Realize that it's not as glam as you see on TV.  You will be shifting through the contents of stomach bile.  Sitting in a lab running test after test.  You will work 12 hour shifts, and sometimes longer.  Make sure you realize what all is involved before committing.

Answer 6

I have two friends who are what you would call "CSIs" and my father was also the equivalent for the federal government. It is nothing like what you see on television. You never handle the investigation the way they do on tv. The tests they perform in 10 minutes take days in real life, and the technicians never confront criminals unless its in the court room. CSIs are almost always "behind the scenes." They collect evidence, run tests, and then take those leads to Detetcives/Special Agents who go about finding other leads, or places/artifacts that could be tested. When enough evidence exists the Detective or Special Agent(s) serve the arrest warrant and handle interrogation of the prisoner. The only time the CSI is likely to even see them is if they testify in the trial. There is little danger as far as getting shot at, having to arrest someone, etc.

While that discusses the risks, there is something else you should be aware of. The television shows that have popularized these careers have tended to blend several together. A coroner or medical examiner is not a physical anthropologist, who usually doesn't do in house DNA results, and certainly doesn't happen to specialize in ballistics, tire prints, finger prints, etc etc. etc.  For instance my one Friend specializes in physical anthropology (he works with defleshed skeletons only as well as dental records), while another is a ballistics expert. My father specialized in arson and explosives. The point is in the real world you have to specialize (to a degree) not just "master it all."

Anyway, I don't want to steer to far from your original question. The answer is its not all that unsafe in the way your mother is probably thinking, and it is actually a very rewarding career.

Answer 7

i guess the risks that yr mum are worried about is you finding incriminating evidence to put the criminal in jail, and consquently she's concerned the criminal will be after you? you doing yr part for the world, that's the risk you shud take. and honestly, it's hardly likely they know who found the evidence

Answer 8

Yes and No.

I'm a CSI, I do field work and I work in the lab as a latent fingerprint analyst.

Dangerous:

#1 We run the risk of coming into contact with many contagious diseases. I know it seems silly, but one of my coworkers has to get an HIV test every 6 months for like the rest of his life, cos he accidentally cut his hand on a knife (didn't know it was in the bag of garbage). We are vaccinated against what we can, but there are things that we can't be covered for.

#2 Mentally taxing. This job is mentally tough. The lab work isn't (although it can get really boring, most of it is drug baggies and burglary lifts, which after a while really lose their excitement!), but the field work is. Dead bodies on TV don't smell, they don't have families, they aren't a life truely cut short. They aren't a baby thrown into a wall, or an elderly woman raped and stabbed to death. The reality of the job is that you are a clean-up crew of sorts.

You generally don't get a mental health benefit (unless your health insurance covers it), and in most cases you don't even earn over time pay (you earn compensatory time off) for it. You legally can't talk to people about the details of a case, so you really can't get it off your chest. it's like you go out to war and are expected to come home every night to have dinner with the family as if nothing happened today, even though you just had to pick up evidence in a domestic violence case that resulted in someone getting their throat slashed.

A lot of people don't make it in field work. A lot of people who do field work retire early, and some further turn to suicide because they can't cope with the horrific things they've seen.

#3 Chemicals. You work with a lot of carcinogenic chemicals. I am honestly waiting for the day the laser dyes give me cancer.

#4 Physically demanding. If you can't walk a mile carrying heavy photography equipment, consider a different job. Lots of crime happens in places where you can't drive up to it. Sometimes you are lucky and some one has an ATV or Gator, but don't for a second think your agency has a Humvee, ATV, 4-wheeler, dirt bike, bicycle, or anything other than the mobile unit that you take to a scene. On TV agencies have unlimited funds, in reality, we beg for training money, and equipment is only updated when the old stuff dies.

How is it not dangerous?

#1 Most CSI's are civilians. We don't carry guns, we don't interview suspects, most of us never see the suspect until we get to court, or if the person is on TV. We work in labs, which are very secure. Even in the field we aren't in danger really of being shot or anything, cos most of the time the crime is long done with, and the criminals long gone. Even agencies that aren't civilian lab staff yet, will be in the near future.

It's a great career, but don't for one second think it's as glamorous as it is on TV. The reality is this: you are under paid, over worked, under appreciated, and constantly holding on by your last shread of sanity. If you work for a state agency, people will constantly tell you how overpaid you are, when you know that you can barely make rent, cos there are people who work at Wal-mart making more than you.

I've had to throw away shoes cos there were brains on them (and no, they aren't a write off, and the agency didn't buy me a new pair, I had to). I've cried all the way home from a crime scene because I felt so bad about what happened. I've thrown up cos of the smell.

Don't get me wrong though. It's a great job. There are just down sides, lots of downsides, and they are things people don't talk about. For all the down sides though there is the one gigantic upside: you get criminals off the street, offer closure for families and can always know that your job is important (whether or not society recognizes that fact). This is the kind of job you do because of the good it does, not the money you make, or the fun you'll have, but because you really are making your community a safer place.

If you can see if you can get internships at medical examiners offices or with a crime lab so you can see the reality of the work.

Answer 9

IF THAT'S  WHAT YOU WANT GO AHEAD BESIDES YOU ARE GOING TO BE A PROFESSIONAL AND WOULD KNOW WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE IN RISK.