How To Become A Crime Scene Analyst: What It Is and Career Path

What is a crime scene analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Ben Feldmeyer

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a crime scene analyst. For example, did you know that they make an average of $29.15 an hour? That's $60,637 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 11% and produce 2,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a crime scene analyst?

Ben Feldmeyer

Professor and Ph.D. Graduate Program Director, University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College

Many of our students have enjoyed this work because they are able to apply what they learned in the classroom and our program to real world problems. They feel like they are making a difference with local agencies and are helping to reduce crime and victimization issues. These are often jobs where the classroom meets the real world, and our students have a unique skillset to help solve pressing criminal justice problems.

ScoreCrime Scene AnalystUS Average

Salary

4.7

Avg. Salary $60,637

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.9

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.99%

Asian 11.38%

Black or African American 6.80%

Hispanic or Latino 12.39%

Unknown 5.73%

White 62.70%

Gender

female 47.92%

male 52.08%

Age - 35

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 35

Stress level

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a crime scene analyst

Explore crime scene analyst education requirements

Most common crime scene analyst degrees

Bachelor's

82.4 %

Associate

8.8 %

High School Diploma

2.9 %

Start to develop specific crime scene analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Physical Evidence	78.19%
Law Enforcement Agencies	11.16%
Crime Scene Investigation	10.64%

Complete relevant crime scene analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New crime scene analysts learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a crime scene analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real crime scene analyst resumes.

Research crime scene analyst duties and responsibilities

Participate on inter-agency task forces to strategically apprehend and convict key members of criminal groups in the Chicagoland area.
Collect evidence using various collection and detection methods including photography, ALS and chemical processing.

Prepare your crime scene analyst resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your crime scene analyst resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a crime scene analyst resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable crime scene analyst resume templates

Build a professional crime scene analyst resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your crime scene analyst resume.