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 would never want to discourage someone from this field because I love it. But it's a very popular field right now so I would also advise anyone to have a career plan B.
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All the interesting, different, bizarre stories that make up the crimes that have happened that we have to investigate.
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See above. I have a bachelor's degree in biology, plus over a thousand hours of continuing education in forensic topics (accumulated over 20 years).
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How much chemistry you need depends on what type of work you do. As long as you're not actually working in toxicology or DNA, you shouldn't need to be a great chemist as long as you can reliably work with chemicals and combine them properly (like following a recipe). And as long as you are a reliable and honest employee then the job is secure, once you get it, but I will be honest--there's a lot of competition in this field right now so getting into a position might be difficult. You should definitely have a back-up plan.
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McDonald's Manager
Were you proud or embarrassed to tell people you worked at McDonald's?
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Does being a professional poet pay the bills?
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What kind of “primping” is required for competitions?
Yes, absolutely.
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Interesting question, but I doubt I can be of much help. A body can do one of two things after death--decompose or desiccate. So it might turn into sludge or it might become a mummy. It might depend on temperature or pH levels (more relevant if the car was buried) to determine which way it would go. Being sealed would definitely slow the process to a crawl. I had a body in an attic once that was partially wrapped in plastic, and after three years the wrapped areas still had plenty of flesh and the unwrapped parts were down to bone.
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Call all the crime labs in your area and ask what their requirements are. You can also check websites such as those for the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and International Association for Identification which will post vacancies and job descriptions.
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