Crime scene technician vs ballistic technician

The differences between crime scene technicians and ballistic technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a crime scene technician and a ballistic technician. Additionally, a ballistic technician has an average salary of $54,313, which is higher than the $51,741 average annual salary of a crime scene technician.

The top three skills for a crime scene technician include biohazard, demolition and physical evidence. The most important skills for a ballistic technician are ammunition, ATF, and .

Crime scene technician vs ballistic technician overview

	Crime Scene Technician	Ballistic Technician
Yearly salary	$51,741	$54,313
Hourly rate	$24.88	$26.11
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	5,535	5,513
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Associate Degree, 50%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Crime scene technician vs ballistic technician salary

Crime scene technicians and ballistic technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Crime Scene Technician	Ballistic Technician
Average salary	$51,741	$54,313
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $80,000	Between $28,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between crime scene technician and ballistic technician education

There are a few differences between a crime scene technician and a ballistic technician in terms of educational background:

	Crime Scene Technician	Ballistic Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Associate Degree, 50%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	California State University - Long Beach

Crime scene technician vs ballistic technician demographics

Here are the differences between crime scene technicians' and ballistic technicians' demographics:

	Crime Scene Technician	Ballistic Technician
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4%	Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 10.5% White, 56.6% 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 Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between crime scene technician and ballistic technician duties and responsibilities

Crime scene technician example responsibilities.

Process crime scenes for fingerprints, DNA (various types), trace evidence, bloodstain pattern analysis, bullet trajectory.
Collaborate with federal agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ATF, KBI and IRS.
Check SID numbers in RAS system.
Perform enrollment procedures in helping TWs acquire their TWIC card.
Require to run NCIC on all persons requesting their weapons return.
Produce clear and classify fingerprints for immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship.

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.

Crime scene technician vs ballistic technician skills

Common crime scene technician skills

Biohazard, 33%
Demolition, 30%
Physical Evidence, 13%
Crime Scene Investigation, 6%
Latent Prints, 3%
Crime Lab, 2%

Common ballistic technician skills

Ammunition, 58%
ATF, 42%

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Crime Scene Technician
Crime Scene Technician vs Ballistic Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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