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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I spend about 90% of my time sitting in front of a computer looking at fingerprints. The rest of the time I go to crime scenes to photograph and process for fingerprints and collect items of evidence. When I was at the coroner's office I probably spent 40% of the time examining victim's clothing, 10% on gunshot residue testing, 30% on hairs and fibers, and 20% everything else.
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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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I'm not sure what you mean by 'off the job training.'
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I loved mystery shows and books when I was a kid. I always wanted to be a detective, but didn't want to be a cop. And I always liked science.
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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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Usually the biggest worry is getting sick or faint around dead bodies. But actually they rarely do.
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