Crime scene technician vs forensic document examiner

The differences between crime scene technicians and forensic document 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 crime scene technician and a forensic document examiner. Additionally, a forensic document examiner has an average salary of $56,007, 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 forensic document examiner are customer service, , and .

Crime scene technician vs forensic document examiner overview

	Crime Scene Technician	Forensic Document Examiner
Yearly salary	$51,741	$56,007
Hourly rate	$24.88	$26.93
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	5,535	5,304
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Crime scene technician vs forensic document examiner salary

Crime scene technicians and forensic document examiners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Crime Scene Technician	Forensic Document Examiner
Average salary	$51,741	$56,007
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $80,000	Between $28,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between crime scene technician and forensic document examiner education

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

	Crime Scene Technician	Forensic Document Examiner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	Stanford University	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Crime scene technician vs forensic document examiner demographics

Here are the differences between crime scene technicians' and forensic document examiners' demographics:

	Crime Scene Technician	Forensic Document Examiner
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4%	Male, 47.1% Female, 52.9%
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 forensic document examiner 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.

Forensic document examiner example responsibilities.

Examine evidence hard drives and other media devices with FTK following chain-of-custody procedures for manual processing procedures.
Bob provide computer expertise for DOD criminal, fraud, and counterintelligence investigations and analyzing all computer evidence.

Crime scene technician vs forensic document examiner skills

Common crime scene technician skills

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

Common forensic document examiner skills

Customer Service, 100%

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Crime Scene Technician
Crime Scene Technician vs Forensic Document Examiner

Updated January 8, 2025

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