Evidence technician vs forensic computer examiner

The differences between evidence technicians and forensic computer examiners 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 computer examiner. Additionally, a forensic computer examiner has an average salary of $66,393, 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 computer examiner are digital forensics, extraction, and FTK.

Evidence technician vs forensic computer examiner overview

	Evidence Technician	Forensic Computer Examiner
Yearly salary	$44,213	$66,393
Hourly rate	$21.26	$31.92
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	5,316	16,108
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	4	4

Evidence technician vs forensic computer examiner salary

Evidence technicians and forensic computer examiners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Evidence Technician	Forensic Computer Examiner
Average salary	$44,213	$66,393
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $61,000	Between $46,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	West Valley City, UT	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Federal Bureau of Investigation	Booz Allen Hamilton
Best paying industry	Government	Insurance

Differences between evidence technician and forensic computer examiner education

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

	Evidence Technician	Forensic Computer Examiner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	Stanford University	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Evidence technician vs forensic computer examiner demographics

Here are the differences between evidence technicians' and forensic computer examiners' demographics:

	Evidence Technician	Forensic Computer Examiner
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0%	Male, 72.8% Female, 27.2%
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, 9.9% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 10.4% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between evidence technician and forensic computer examiner 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 computer examiner example responsibilities.

Provide polygraph screening to members of the intelligence community (CIA, NRO, NGA, DOD, etc).
Access password protect and secure files.
Collect DNA samples for lab testing.
Prevent imminent disconnection of DoD network to U.S.
Use of LIMS during all aspects of laboratory analysis.
Use chemical reagents to stand out mutilate serial numbers on firearms.

Evidence technician vs forensic computer examiner 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 computer examiner skills

Digital Forensics, 12%
Extraction, 10%
FTK, 9%
Computer Forensics, 7%
DOD, 7%
Forensic Analysis, 7%

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Evidence Technician
Evidence Technician vs Forensic Computer Examiner

Updated January 8, 2025

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