Doubt written by Valerie: How do I know if I want to become a forensic scientist?
First off, I live in Cali. I am in my first year of high school. I am in this program called AVID which focuses us on knowing what career path we want to follow and getting into college. I want to become a forensic scientist, but I have 3 more years left and I don’t want to change because I really love science and I want to something that involves putting criminals away. Is there any way that my parents can sign a waiver or something so I can shadow a forensic scientist? Is there something similar to an internship that a freshman can do? I need to know to know if this is something I really want to do.
It’s really just about How do I know if I want to become a forensic scientist? possibly ought to resolve dilemmas theirselves. With any luck , this helps in many ways; and also make yourself significantly better. Dreaming just about How do I know if I want to become a forensic scientist? will probably be a fix in the near future.
Best answer:
Answer by Jackx429
Okay try taking a law enforcement class and watch stuff like NCIS. You also need to know if you can handle stress, time pressure, and seeing things like limbs and whatnot. Also you need to be efficient and accurate. I think there may be an internship but I can’t turn you anywhere better than google
Answer by drdr
“Forensics” encompasses many professional and occupational positions. “Criminalist” is a title commonly used in California, and they are normally not peace officers, and are more likely to be crime scene technicians. If you are interested in forensics (as opposed to crime scene processing as done by technicians), hard sciences like biology, chemistry, and physics are required (and a graduate degree may be required); and there are forensic programs available, wherein these sciences are applied to evidence. There are also crime scene technician courses available in some Community Colleges. I did enough crime scene processing in NIS (now known as NCIS) to know that it is tedious and boring.
The FBI “forensic” experts are limited to their laboratory. Regular agents receive training for assignment to the Evidence Response Team, and they are responsible for collection of evidence, not analysis or evaluation. Other police agencies have various methods of employing crime scene people (sworn or non-sworn).
A forensic scientist must be educated (a graduate degree may be required) in chemistry, physics, or other “hard” sciences. A high school student would not be likely to find an internship, but it can’t hurt to ask. Check with local LE agencies.
Forensic education programs:
http://www.aafs.org/default.asp?section_id=resources&page_id=accredited_programs
Other:
Am Acad of Forensic Sciences forensic links: http://www.aafs.org/default.asp?section_id=resources&page_id=forensic_links
John Jay Col of CJ, Forensic Psych:
http://web.gc.cuny.edu/Psychology/
Zeno forensic site: http://www.forensic.to/forensic.html
Am Soc of Questioned Document Examiners: http://www.asqde.org/
Is ‘CSI’ for Real?
by Paul D. Rosevear
From: http://reference.aol.com/onlinecampus/ca… 06/13/06
There’s no doubt about it: Between the contagiously spreading viewership of ‘CSI,’ similar spin-offs ruling the remote and exploding enrollments in forensics programs at many colleges and universities, the current crop of on-screen case-crackers are certainly proving inspiring. The field of forensics is certainly entertaining a multitude of people approximately 50 million each week.
But is the line between entertainment and education getting blurred? Read on to explore the difference between forensics and “faux-rensics.” …
Data analysis often takes weeks and months. “It’s the speed and the specificity more than anything,” says Dr. Stephen Theberge, assistant professor of chemistry at Merrimack College (North Andover, Mass.). Theberge teaches a forensic analysis course and offers a forensics concentration for chemistry majors.
“You don’t just stick something into a machine and immediately find out it’s got Maybelline lipstick on it. … Characters on forensic TV shows often possess the skills of many different kinds of specialists — it’s much more exciting to see the countless aspects of the field crammed into one supercharged investigator. “The investigator position on TV is an amalgam of a police officer/detective and lab scientist. In reality, this position doesn’t exist.” …
While the forensics you see on television may be enhanced to keep things action-packed, there is plenty of real-life action happening every single day. … A recent graduate of the master’s program in forensic science at Nebraska Wesleyan University (Lincoln, Neb.), was called out to Iraq as part of a team … assembled to exhume and analyze human remains from mass graves. The evidence culled will most likely be used in Saddam Hussein’s trial.
Another commenter:
Shoyourite (Yahoo)
“another one suckered by the television! haha!
you wanna know what the “crime scene investigators” used to do where i worked sweetheart?
first! they got paid like crap. LESS than the crappy $ 18/hr that i was making as a deputy. they were on call. when a crime would occur that required the “lab” (theyre a mobile lab, i dont care what hollyood says) then these folks (who were always grumpier than hell) would come out with a little tacklebox that was their kit and do their thing.
taking pictures. running a piece of tape across an ENTIRE ROOM FLOOR looking for hairs and crap. spraying stuff so footprints illuminate. dusting for fingerprints (and dusting for prints is a messy pain in the *** lemme tell you.) bagging stuff all over the damn place! real meticulous dirty work.
i never watched CSI but i can just about guarantee you it is nothing like what a real crime scene investigator does. theyre glorified janitors. they dont even carry guns!”
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I am a forensic scientist and want to know how?