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 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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If you could find out what kind of analyses they do, then be sure to point out your experience with that equipment, that would probably be helpful. They might have a summary online, or detailed in the job description, or if you know anyone who might work with them either at the lab or as a law enforcement officer you could ask them. Know what they mean by chain of custody. Good luck!!
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I work 4 10 hour days, but previously I've worked 8-5 Mon-Fri and on rotating 12 hour shifts from 6 am to 6 pm. It all depends on what's needed. I love investigation but didn't want to be a cop. A typical day depends entirely on where you work and what you do. If you do only crime scenes, you might have to go out to a car accident, a suicide and an industrial accident. If you're a DNA analyst, you'll spend all day in the lab with test tubes. If you're a fingerprint examiner like me, you might spend 8 hours in front of a computer looking at fingerprints. At a smaller department like mine you might do all three things in one day. Or any of the above might spend all day sitting at the courthouse waiting to testify. So there really is no such thing as a typical day.
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I don't solve cases. Detectives solve cases. I suppose I actually 'solve' them when I get a fingerprint hit for a burglary where there would have been no other way to ever identify the burglar. That happens maybe 5-10 times a year. Otherwise forensic science is usually confirming or eliminating factors that are already suspected, and often provides information (say, what caliber of gun was used or where the burglar got into the house) that doesn't point to the identity of the criminal but adds details to the overall event.
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Track and Field Coach
Do you let your athletes play another sport in the off-season?
Chef
Is it true that the "specials" are usually the stuff that's been sitting around awhile?
Private Detective
Has anyone ever caught you surveilling them, and what happened?
Yes, if you could find a microscopic hair analyst with a library of dog breed hairs, they could narrow the breed down. And if you got a DNA sample from the actual dog then DNA analysis could tie it to that specific dog.
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Yes, rain can be extremely damaging, if the evidence is something that can be washed away, like blood, fibers, fingerprints, small bits of anything, even bullet casings. Something permanent like a bullet hole, not so much. It depends on what the evidence is and how hard it rains. A (fresh!) tarp can help unless it's something wet, like blood spatter, that a tarp would smear.
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See above.
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