Evidence technician vs forensic ballistics expert

The differences between evidence technicians and forensic ballistics experts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an evidence technician and a forensic ballistics expert. Additionally, a forensic ballistics expert has an average salary of $64,737, which is higher than the $44,213 average annual salary of an evidence technician.

The top three skills for an evidence technician include law enforcement agencies, criminal justice and data entry. The most important skills for a forensic ballistics expert are litigation, cyber security, and encase.

Evidence technician vs forensic ballistics expert overview

	Evidence Technician	Forensic Ballistics Expert
Yearly salary	$44,213	$64,737
Hourly rate	$21.26	$31.12
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	5,316	8,905
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Evidence technician vs forensic ballistics expert salary

Evidence technicians and forensic ballistics experts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Evidence Technician	Forensic Ballistics Expert
Average salary	$44,213	$64,737
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $61,000	Between $36,000 And $116,000
Highest paying City	West Valley City, UT	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	Federal Bureau of Investigation	-
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between evidence technician and forensic ballistics expert education

There are a few differences between an evidence technician and a forensic ballistics expert in terms of educational background:

	Evidence Technician	Forensic Ballistics Expert
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	Stanford University	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Evidence technician vs forensic ballistics expert demographics

Here are the differences between evidence technicians' and forensic ballistics experts' demographics:

	Evidence Technician	Forensic Ballistics Expert
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0%	Male, 75.8% Female, 24.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.1% 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 evidence technician and forensic ballistics expert duties and responsibilities

Evidence technician example responsibilities.

Monitor the CCTV cameras, parking lot, and front entrance.
Use of LIMS to assign unique tracking case numbers to submit specimens.
Liaisoned and coordinate efforts with DIA, FBI, SAIC Intel, and military personnel.
Act as main liaison with the software development team for new LIMS features, as well as a mobile mass-disaster LIMS.
Increase customer satisfaction by validating a more sensitive extraction method which produce more informative results.
Perform liquid/liquid and liquid solid chemical extractions, following standard operating procedures.

Forensic ballistics expert example responsibilities.

Manage use and maintenance of company vehicle, surveying equip., cameras, and firearms.
Provide computer forensics, litigation and regulatory support, including expert testimony.
Perform in-depth forensic analysis of Macintosh computer hard drives and prepare expert report for use in ongoing litigation.
Perform function tests on submit firearms and collect standards for microscopic comparisons.

Evidence technician vs forensic ballistics expert skills

Common evidence technician skills

Law Enforcement Agencies, 15%
Criminal Justice, 15%
Data Entry, 10%
Crime Lab, 8%
NCIC, 6%
Evidence Collection, 4%

Common forensic ballistics expert skills

Litigation, 42%
Cyber Security, 23%
Encase, 15%
E-Discovery, 13%
Security Practices, 7%

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Evidence Technician
Evidence Technician vs Forensic Ballistics Expert

Updated January 8, 2025

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