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 don't see why not. I'm sure a coroner's or medical examiner's would love to have a pathologist trained in excavating buried bodies and crime scenes. However if you want to work as a pathologist but also do archaology work for other agencies or take leaves to work on archaeological digs, you'd have to work for an agency that would be okay with you working as a pathologist part time.
If you're working with the bodies then you'd probably be a medicolegal death investigator. You might want to check out their organization: http://www.abmdi.org/And this page: http://www.abmdi.org/faqBest of luck!
Every agency--police departments, M.E. offices, state police--has their own rules and requirements. The best thing to do is check the websites or contact the agencies where you'd like to work and ask them.
Oh yes, I'm extremely smart. Just kidding! No, you don't have to be some kind of friggin' genius like you see on TV. You just have to be reasonably intelligent, reasonably sensible, reasonably observant, and have a good amount of attention to detail, respect for rules, and patience. It also helps to be pleasant and able to get along with people. Even though most of our victims are dead, the families, witnesses, cops and detectives are very much alive and under a lot of stress.
Antiques Dealer
How easy is it to forge a rare piece, and are fakes a big problem in the antiquing world?
"The Onion" Contributors
What's your favorite Onion headline of all time?
Hotel Front Desk Agent
Have you ever had a suicide occur in one of your rooms?
I'm sorry, I haven't had any experience with that.
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.
No. A .357 can shoot .38 bullets (not vice versa, or the gun will blow up) but 9mm can't shoot 38 bullets because they're shaped a little differently. It's confusing because what we call .38 caliber are actually .357, and 9mm is actually .380--in size, but a 9mm gun cannot shoot .380 bullets. You would have to read the forensic report carefully and maybe ask for clarification. I've never worked in ballistics, so perhaps there's a chance that the report is saying that the projectile had a .380 diameter, not that it was a .380 bullet, in which case it could have come from a 9mm gun?
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)