Criminalist vs forensic document examiner

The differences between criminalists 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 criminalist and a forensic document examiner. Additionally, a criminalist has an average salary of $68,152, which is higher than the $56,007 average annual salary of a forensic document examiner.

The top three skills for a criminalist include physical evidence, laboratory reports and body fluids. The most important skills for a forensic document examiner are customer service, , and .

Criminalist vs forensic document examiner overview

	Criminalist	Forensic Document Examiner
Yearly salary	$68,152	$56,007
Hourly rate	$32.77	$26.93
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	14,872	5,304
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Criminalist vs forensic document examiner salary

Criminalists and forensic document examiners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Criminalist	Forensic Document Examiner
Average salary	$68,152	$56,007
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $127,000	Between $28,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	San Mateo, CA	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	City of Los Angeles	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between criminalist and forensic document examiner education

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

	Criminalist	Forensic Document Examiner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Chemistry	Criminal Justice
Most common college	California State University - Bakersfield	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Criminalist vs forensic document examiner demographics

Here are the differences between criminalists' and forensic document examiners' demographics:

	Criminalist	Forensic Document Examiner
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 35.9% Female, 64.1%	Male, 47.1% Female, 52.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 10.4% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	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 criminalist and forensic document examiner duties and responsibilities

Criminalist example 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.
Analyze samples for the presence or absence of control substances using GC-MS, FTIR, microscopy and other chemical tests.
Develop a computerize firearms inspection worksheet that provide a print inspection report and create a firearms database.

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.

Criminalist vs forensic document examiner skills

Common criminalist skills

Physical Evidence, 18%
Laboratory Reports, 7%
Body Fluids, 7%
Quantitative Analysis, 5%
Perform DNA, 5%
Proficiency Testing, 4%

Common forensic document examiner skills

Customer Service, 100%

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Criminalist vs Forensic Document Examiner

Updated January 8, 2025

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