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.
Just as a guess, it seems to me that molecular biology and sociology are pretty far apart, career-wise. With molecular biology I would expect you to go into DNA or some other kind of specialized analysis--which would be fabulous, but I doubt that you would also be doing crime scenes. My question is, would you like to work mostly in a lab or mostly at crime scenes? If mostly in a lab, then I think you are on the right track. The best way to know is to contact places you would like to work and ask them what their requirements are. Go for a tour if you can. This is also a great way to network and meet people. But most importantly, every agency will have different preferences based on their functions and positions. Best of luck!!
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As much or as little as it does in any other profession. At least half if not most forensic techs are female, so it's not that uncommon to have attractive ones. Many moons ago I used to be one, so I know that sometimes it's helpful to have people open doors for you, and sometimes it's a royal pain in the neck.
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I've worked in forensics since 1994. The best part of the job is making a fingerprint 'hit' that tells us who the bad guy is, or working a crime scene and finding or concluding something that helps explain what happened there. The worst part is being stressed by detectives or attorneys who want all the answers right now and don't understand what they're asking for, or testifying in court and having no idea what's going to be thrown at you.
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it is always helpful to know what will give a false positive result. Hemastix will also react with a few other substances, such as vomit for one. That's why it's called a prelimary test and not a confirmatory test. Good job!
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I've had two jobs in forensics and didn't have connections to get either. I didn't get a number of jobs because they were already planning to hire someone's brother-in-law, but I eventually got a position. The procedure is whatever the agency requires and they will all be different, so you need to check out the websites of any agency you would like to apply to. They will usually have a clearly defined process for application.
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Yes, take all the science classes you can and try to visit local labs to see what the job is really like.
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I talked about what the coroner's office was like above. There's great job security if, as in any other field, you do a good job, you're fair and reasonable, you are empathetic to victims and suspects and other co-workers, and you're reliable and steady. People have to be able to depend on you.
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