What do you know about forensic sciences?

Question

im thinking about MAYBE taking classes in forensic sciences

anything helpful i should know?

is it hard?

gross?

what subjects should i be good in ?

Answer 1

I've been a forensic scientist (chemist) for over 10 years.  "Forensic science" is a huge category with many disparate jobs, but maybe I can give you a few general guidelines that cover most jobs in the field.

If you want to work in the crime lab (drug chemist, trace analyst, firearms examiner, documents examiner, DNA analyst) you need a bachelor's degree in a physical science--chemistry, biology, or physics.  Some universities offer the combined forensic science degree and that is widely accepted, too.  You would do an internship in a crime lab one summer and when you're hired into a crime lab you'd get more job-specific training.

If you want to be a crime scene investigator there are two paths.  Many departments use police officers as CSIs, so you would join the department, go through the academy, and do your time on patrol before applying to the crime scene unit when they have a vacancy.  Your department would send you to training in things like evidence collection and photography as part of your normal professional development.

Some departments use civilians as CSIs.  In this case the requirements can vary widely.  They generally like people to have a medical/scientific background and some knowledge of photography.

If you want to be a medical examiner, you have a lot of education ahead of you.  Take the pre-med track in college, go through medical school, do your residency, and then do a one or two year forensic pathology fellowship at a medical examiner's office to get specialized training which includes learning how to perform the autopsy and testify about your work in court.  After all this, you must take the board certification exam before you can be hired as an ME/forensic pathologist.  Becoming an ME takes at least 13 years of school, so it's obviously a lot of work.

Answer 2

Well I am a forensic science major and  I can tell you that in fact it is very difficult. You have to be good in the sciences, as there is A LOT of Chemistry, Biology, and some Physics. Also calculus helps with the math aspect of forensics. So far I have not done anything practical so it has not been gross but I think it might be. However in the end I think it will be very rewarding, so I think you should try it out and give it a chance.

Answer 3

Forensics is a wonderful science, and takes a clever mind to be good at. Since it's a class, you'll probably cover things like pathology, criminalistics, analysis of DNA, and toxicology. If you'd like a class that's always interesting, I'd take it.

I specialize in anthropology, and study forensic pathology in the United States and Europe. Pathology is basically figuring out how someone died, through autopsy and analysis.

Check this link, too  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forensics

good luck!