LIsa Black
Cape Coral, FL
Female, 49
I spent the five happiest years of my life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office I analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now I'm a certified latent print examiner and CSI for a police department in Florida. I also write a series of forensic suspense novels, turning the day job into fiction. My books have been translated into six languages.
I had a bachelor's degree in biology when I applied to the coroner's office in 1998. They required a degree in one of the natural sciences, and there were no forensic science degrees back then. Only you can decide what you want to go to graduate school for, but as for career requirements you might look at the American Academy of Forensic Science and the International Association for Identification and look at their job vacancy postings to see what they require. As for other degrees with a bio major, there are many private labs for DNA, drug testing, paternity testing, water and food standards analysis, etc. as well as hospital labs that might require. Again, look at job vacancy postings in all these areas--they should be easily found online and they should state the educational requirements. It will also let you see in what areas more jobs are available.
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As far as I know, it doesn't. As long as YOU weren't convicted of a felony.
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I have no idea. If a piece of glass is shot or hit with something, most of the glass should move in the direction of the force with some flying back toward the source. But I would think the entire piece is vibrating with a slammed door, so I really have no idea.
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Possibly. Probably unlikely, but possibly. We would use Small Particle Reagent on a wet car as soon as it was removed from the lake.
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Bouncer
How often would you find yourself in real danger?
Flight Attendant
How do you handle belligerent passengers?
TV Meteorologist
Do most meteorologists believe global warming exists?
Repeat, see above.
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How many shots and do they exit the body?
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How long it takes to get DNA results depends entirely on where you are sending them and how backed up they are. Our state lab used to take at least 6 months, but things have improved and now it is only a few months. However if we have a homicide that really needs quicker answers, sometimes they can do that. If the police department or state attorney's office are willing to pay (probably at least a grand. sometimes per sample) the samples can be sent to a private lab that can get results in as little as three days. It's expensive, but it also has to be a lab that is accredited and that the agencies trust. You can't assume anything from a long wait other than that the lab is backed up. They might have an overwhelming amount of cases, they might not have enough manpower, or they might not be efficiently run. It's impossible to guess.
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