What are the different jobs a person can do in Forensic Science?

Forensic scientists work for the government--local, state, federal. So, one pre-condition is that if you have a criminal record and if you test positive for drug use, you're not going to be able to get the job.

Within forensic science there are 4 main positions: medical examiner, crime laboratory analyst, crime scene examiner, forensic engineer. A medical examiner is the highest paid, but has hours that are difficult to control and requires a medical degree--typically the route is a major in chemistry or biology in college, a 4 year medical degree, and then a residency with a focus on forensics (total about 11 years after graduating from high school). A crime lab analyst has more regular hours and works in doors (in the lab), typically doing repetitive analyses. A crime scene examiner works whenever and wherever the crime occurs--it requires a degree in the natural sciences with emphasis in law enforcement or criminal justice. Crime scene examiners use the physical evidence of a given crime to draw conclusions about a given situation, event, or piece of evidence using the scientific method. A forensic engineer work on traffic accidents, fire investigations, and wrongful injury cases--fewer dead bodies than the crime scene examiner and more stable hours--this requires an engineering degree.

Psychologist, social scientists and statisticians sometimes work to an investigation or trial on a part-time basis. Psychological profilers are becoming more common place--typically they have a psychological degree and perhaps a criminal justice masters degree.

There are also specialties within these general categories, e.g., forensic pathology/biology specialists focusing on the relation of disease to death; forensic toxicologists focus on the role of chemicals, poisons, and/or drugs; forensic anthropologists use techniques of physical anthropology in order to identify the remains of the deceased as human and, if human, by name; forensic documents examiners analyze and interpret the evidence, from paper type to fingerprints, that presents itself through documents.

We recently saw this blog post about jobs in forensic science, they range from chemical technician to forensic odontologist, check it out:

http://www.bestforensicscienceschools.com/2011/33-unique-career-paths-in-forensic-science/