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Latent fingerprint examiner vs ballistic technician

The differences between latent fingerprint examiners and ballistic technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a latent fingerprint examiner and a ballistic technician. Additionally, a ballistic technician has an average salary of $54,313, which is higher than the $46,980 average annual salary of a latent fingerprint examiner.

The top three skills for a latent fingerprint examiner include law enforcement agencies, afis and identification system. The most important skills for a ballistic technician are ammunition, ATF, and .

Latent fingerprint examiner vs ballistic technician overview

Latent Fingerprint ExaminerBallistic Technician
Yearly salary$46,980$54,313
Hourly rate$22.59$26.11
Growth rate11%11%
Number of jobs2,2325,513
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Associate Degree, 50%
Average age3838
Years of experience44

Latent fingerprint examiner vs ballistic technician salary

Latent fingerprint examiners and ballistic technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Latent Fingerprint ExaminerBallistic Technician
Average salary$46,980$54,313
Salary rangeBetween $23,000 And $92,000Between $28,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between latent fingerprint examiner and ballistic technician education

There are a few differences between a latent fingerprint examiner and a ballistic technician in terms of educational background:

Latent Fingerprint ExaminerBallistic Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Associate Degree, 50%
Most common majorCriminal JusticeBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityCalifornia State University - Long Beach

Latent fingerprint examiner vs ballistic technician demographics

Here are the differences between latent fingerprint examiners' and ballistic technicians' demographics:

Latent Fingerprint ExaminerBallistic Technician
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 37.3% Female, 62.7%Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.8% Asian, 10.0% White, 58.2% 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 Percentage8%8%

Differences between latent fingerprint examiner and ballistic technician duties and responsibilities

Latent fingerprint examiner example responsibilities.

  • Bob provide computer expertise for DOD criminal, fraud, and counterintelligence investigations and analyzing all computer evidence.
  • Process weapons and improvise explosive devices (IEDs) for fingerprints and DNA for a laboratory in Afghanistan.
  • Conduct manual latent to latent and latent to known comparisons in order to determine maker of IED evidence and establish patterns.
  • Water and mold restoration including demolition, moisture and humidity readings.
  • Review and screen results for face and iris searches in the DoD ABIS.
  • Conduct testing of an upgrade ABIS system by documenting and reporting issues with developers.
  • Show more

Ballistic technician example responsibilities.

  • Assist in managing technical and regulatory site visits to the laboratory and interface with QA and RA on all vendor/regulatory audits.
  • Conduct ballistic tests for customers, domestic and foreign, seeking NIJ certification or research.
  • Evaluate current lab practices and independent initialization of startup procedures for new lab practices and lab organization for ISO accreditation.
  • Install blast sleeves, positive and negative EB switches w/ retaining nuts and top sub head assembly.
  • Check SID numbers in RAS system.

Latent fingerprint examiner vs ballistic technician skills

Common latent fingerprint examiner skills
  • Law Enforcement Agencies, 18%
  • Afis, 13%
  • Identification System, 8%
  • Fingerprint Cards, 8%
  • Latent Prints, 7%
  • Criminal Justice, 6%
Common ballistic technician skills
  • Ammunition, 58%
  • ATF, 42%

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