What do you do in the Forensic Science field?

Question

What exactly is forensic science and what do you do as a forensic scientist? Does it deal with working at crime scenes?

Answer 1

Depends on the sub-speciality. For example, my interest for 20 years is in forensic anthropology (my dad was a forensic crime lab chief, so naturally this became an interesting subject to study, especially how to identify trauma that resulted in death when there's but bones left for clues), it's a sub-field of the forensic sciences.

Forensics is a team study, that has many sub-fields that specializes in one area. Often it's used for crime work, but it's also used in biology and paleo/anthropology (any investigative field of study -- biomedicine, especially).

There's more work opportunities for lab technicians (those who replicate DNA and do testing for toxicology), as they can work in hospitals (especially pathology) and clinic sectors.

If you're thinking of entering the field, even as a surrogate, the best route is in the lab area (cyto/pathology/toxicology). From there you can build your credentials and cross over into the criminal forensics field. Most crime scene "CSI" types are promoted from within law enforcement (like my father), otherwise you build your CV via conventional means.

Answer 2

Look it up at a University who offers this program.

You learn how to face a dead corpse, and then examin

underneath the eating earth worms if they are having

a healthy lunch........haaaaaaaaaaaa

Answer 3

You do my sister does it and actually says its kinda fun.

Answer 4

You deal with looking for evidence of abuse in dead bodies, how they were abused, etc.

Answer 5

I'm only in high school but I took a class called Forensic Science. They study crime scenes. It's kind of cool but gruesome. You can tell how a person died by looking at certain parts of the body. You can tell if it is a male or female by the skeleton. You can tell how long ago the body died from the bugs surrounding it or how the body feels. You can tell the way a fire was started by markings. You can tell if a person was stabbed, shot, or cut by blood splatters. Its really interesting. I decided not to go down that route after that class I don't have the stomach for dead bodies. No thank you. Hopefully I could help you.

Answer 6

Melissa-

Forensic science covers many, many subject areas that would take many pages to list.  Following is a sampling of major areas::

Crime Scene Investigation

Toxicology

Fingerprints

Ballistics

Pathology

Entomology

DNA

Documents

Criminal Law and Evidence

In one area, that of Crime Scene Investigation, it includes:

Crime Scene Investigation

Use of Computers in Science of Solving Crime

Training In Crime Scene and Evidence Photography

Crime & Clues: The Art and Science of Criminal Investigation

Bloodstain Pattern Analysis

It also includes many areas in Toxicology, Fingerprints, Ballistics, Pathology, Entomology, DNA, and Criminal Law and Evidence.

Answer 7

Forensic Science is science that the legal system relies on to proves things etc.