How To Become A Criminalist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a criminalist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Jacob Nordman

Does the idea of solving a mystery by analyzing gunshot residue, latent fingerprints, fiber samples and strands of hair sound interesting to you? As a criminalist, you just might be the one to crack the case with your skill in analyzing the crime scene and forensics.

Criminalists, also known as forensic science technicians, use scientific techniques to identify and analyze physical evidence from a crime scene. They work in crime labs and interpret evidence that can help reconstruct a crime. Criminalists also get to provide expert testimony where they present an analyses of their findings in court.

You'll likely find working as a criminalist to be very rewarding, because you'll often hold the key piece of evidence that identifies a suspect or solves a case. If you're looking to become a criminalist, you'll need to get a Bachelor's degree in forensic science, biology, biochemistry, chemistry or other natural or physical sciences. Criminalists who are sworn officers must complete 3 to 6 months of basic law enforcement training.

What general advice would you give to a criminalist?

Jacob Nordman

Assistant Professor, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Salary potential in my field of neuroscience almost always involves publications, awards, and technical acumen. Therefore, as I mentioned, it is important to start early looking for opportunities that can strengthen these areas. Another important aspect of getting high-profile, and thus high-paying, positions, is being able to tell a story with your research and career. Employers want to see that you have thought deeply and strategically about your career and where it’s going. This will allow them to believe you are a safe bet and worthy of their investment.

ScoreCriminalistUS Average

Salary

5.3

Avg. Salary $68,152

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.9

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.06%

Asian 10.37%

Black or African American 9.62%

Hispanic or Latino 17.00%

Unknown 6.19%

White 55.76%

Gender

female 64.10%

male 35.90%

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 criminalist

Explore criminalist education requirements

Most common criminalist degrees

Bachelor's

71.6 %

Master's

19.4 %

Associate

3.9 %

Start to develop specific criminalist skills

Skills	Percentages
Physical Evidence	18.09%
Laboratory Reports	7.06%
Body Fluids	7.02%
Quantitative Analysis	5.48%
Perform DNA	4.63%

Complete relevant criminalist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New criminalists 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 criminalist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real criminalist resumes.

Research criminalist duties and responsibilities

Perform bone processing and DNA extraction from human remains.
Perform restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and PCR analysis.
Perform preventive maintenance on GC instruments and maintain preventive maintenance records in binders and LIMS.
Analyze controlled and non-control drugs using FTIR, GC/MS, GC/FID, and HPLC methods.

Prepare your criminalist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your criminalist 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 criminalist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable criminalist resume templates

Build a professional criminalist 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 criminalist resume.