You've probably seen a crime scene technician on a TV show or movie milling about in the background of a crime scene. But unlike their seemingly passive roles in media, crime scene technicians have significant responsibilities in law enforcement. They are in charge of collecting evidence on a crime scene, analyzing collected data, and providing detailed reports on their findings to officers and detectives.
In more detail, the tasks of a crime scene technician include processing fingerprints, analyzing physical evidence such as DNA, taking photographs of the crime scene, creating crime scene sketches, and ensuring all collected evidence is safely transferred to the crime lab.
Many crime scene technicians have a bachelor's degree in criminal justice or a similar field, but it is possible to attain this role with a high school diploma or GED. More than that, a crime scene technician must have excellent analytical skills, a keen eye for detail, and a strong grasp of forensics and critical thinking. Above all, they must have a strong stomach to analyze any type of crime scene in a professional manner--but this skill often comes with experience on the job.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a crime scene technician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.98 an hour? That's $51,968 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 14% and produce 2,400 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many crime scene technicians have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed detail oriented, math and science skills and problem-solving skills.
If you're interested in becoming a crime scene technician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 52.3% of crime scene technicians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.4% of crime scene technicians have master's degrees. Even though most crime scene technicians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a crime scene technician. When we researched the most common majors for a crime scene technician, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on crime scene technician resumes include high school diploma degrees or master's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a crime scene technician. In fact, many crime scene technician jobs require experience in a role such as police officer. Meanwhile, many crime scene technicians also have previous career experience in roles such as correction officer or patrol officer.