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Ballistic technician vs forensic science examiner

The differences between ballistic technicians and forensic science examiners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a ballistic technician and a forensic science examiner. Additionally, a forensic science examiner has an average salary of $55,410, which is higher than the $54,313 average annual salary of a ballistic technician.

Ballistic technician vs forensic science examiner overview

Ballistic TechnicianForensic Science Examiner
Yearly salary$54,313$55,410
Hourly rate$26.11$26.64
Growth rate11%11%
Number of jobs5,5137,275
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age3838
Years of experience44

Ballistic technician vs forensic science examiner salary

Ballistic technicians and forensic science examiners have different pay scales, as shown below.

Ballistic TechnicianForensic Science Examiner
Average salary$54,313$55,410
Salary rangeBetween $28,000 And $104,000Between $26,000 And $116,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between ballistic technician and forensic science examiner education

There are a few differences between a ballistic technician and a forensic science examiner in terms of educational background:

Ballistic TechnicianForensic Science Examiner
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorBusinessCriminal Justice
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long BeachUniversity of Pennsylvania

Ballistic technician vs forensic science examiner demographics

Here are the differences between ballistic technicians' and forensic science examiners' demographics:

Ballistic TechnicianForensic Science Examiner
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 95.7% Female, 4.3%Male, 30.4% Female, 69.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 11.4% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 11.4% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between ballistic technician and forensic science examiner duties and responsibilities

Ballistic technician example responsibilities.

  • Assist in managing technical and regulatory site visits to the laboratory and interface with QA and RA on all vendor/regulatory audits.
  • Conduct ballistic tests for customers, domestic and foreign, seeking NIJ certification or research.
  • Evaluate current lab practices and independent initialization of startup procedures for new lab practices and lab organization for ISO accreditation.
  • Install blast sleeves, positive and negative EB switches w/ retaining nuts and top sub head assembly.
  • Check SID numbers in RAS system.

Forensic science examiner example responsibilities.

  • Examine firearms for the presence of blood and touch DNA.
  • Examine evidence hard drives and other media devices with FTK following chain-of-custody procedures for manual processing procedures.
  • Direct employees in the unit to switch among functions depending on the work counts within the IAFIS.

Ballistic technician vs forensic science examiner skills

Common ballistic technician skills
  • Ammunition, 58%
  • ATF, 42%
Common forensic science examiner skills

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