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.
Yes.
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Wow, best of luck!! I would suggest you Google the heck out of the facility and find out everything you can about what they do—if it’s a state lab, what kind of evidence they accept from the state agencies. They probably test for illegal drugs, but are they testing the actual drugs seized, or bodily fluids from arrested people, or blood/urine/gastric samples from medical examiners or coroners offices—or all three. If you can’t find the information then that’s a good and reasonable question to ask. They’re sure to ask you what kind of instrumentation you’ve worked with, in class or in an internship, etc.—GC Mass Spec, IR, etc., how much experience and what kind of samples you tested. PS If it’s not posted you might want to ask about hours and/or overtime. They might be 9-5 M-F or they might be 24/7, depending on the size and location.
Best of luck!!
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Usually I'm annoyed most often by people asking for things to be done immediately while ignoring a) that we are working on more cases than just theirs, b) that some processes take time, and/or c) that what their asking for isn't going to prove anything for them anyway.
As for fellow scientists, the worst offenses are a) finding typos in my reports and b) taking the last piece of cheesecake out of the communal fridge.
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Usually simple black powder will show gloveprints as well as fingerprints. The bubbly sort of pattern they make will be visible.
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Sr. Software Engineer
Is it basically impossible for a skilled programmer to be out of work these days?
Ice Sculptor
What was the raciest sculpture you ever made?
Casino Dealer
Do you find casinos to be depressing places to work?
Like any job it has its tedious moments, but yes I like it.
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That depends entirely on the circumstances. If a sample of anything--blood, saliva, semen--is properly dried and kept in relatively dry conditions at a steady low temperature, or even frozen, it can last for decades. If the temperature and humidity vary greatly, then the sample could break down. If it's stored in plastic or airtight when wet it could rot and decompose.
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What is your favorite part of this job?All the interesting, different, bizarre stories that make up the crimes that have happened that we have to investigate.
What is you least favorite part of the job?Being 'on call' and knowing you can be interrupted at any moment of the day and have to go to a crime scene, even if it's the middle of the night or a holiday. I've also had to change vacations because I have to testify in a trial. I hate that.
Being around the dead is something you either get used to really quickly or you don't. The dead will not bother you, but the living can drive you crazy! And stress depends where you work. I have a great office and a relatively low-crime area, so unless we have a lot all happen at once, which is not too often, it's really not that stressful. If I lived in a more hectic place with too many demands and not enough time or resources, it might be a different story.
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