By: Brittney Hanson

Education/Training  To be a crime scene investigator you would need to have a four year degree coursework in chemistry, criminology, physics, biology, and microbiology.  Colleges cost from about $3,000 in state to about $16,000 out of state.

Job Skills, Talents, and Experience Skills need :  Being able to use scientific methods  Communicating and understanding  Using logic and reasoning  Being observant  Having a strong stomach. To gain experience you could start out with a low or non-paid internship in a crime lab.

Earning  Beginning salary for a crime scene investigator would be around $3,000 in a big city.  The maximum salary would be around $106,000 annually.  Factors that would effect your salary would be were you lived, your experience, and your education.

Benefits/Health Care/Vacation  Benefits would be gaining new friends and enjoying working with them.  A safety issue for and investigator is you could get shot or even killed.  Vacation time per month is about fifteen hours and eleven paid holidays.

Employment Outlook  To get a well paying investigation job you should get the job in a big city.  The crime scene investigator job is expected to grow from now till 2016.

Advancement Opportunities  Extra schooling and training would be to take a crime scene investigation ethics, criminal law, and procedure classes.  An advancement opportunity would be advancing to a higher position or to the leader of the group.

Typical Day  In one day an investigator would be looking for evidence.  They work forty hours a week and are often called to work when they aren’t scheduled to.  The best part of this job would be finding the criminal.  The most challenging part would be collecting all of the evidence.

Aptitude  I am suited for this job because I have a strong stomach, I can work with other people, I’m observant, and I can follow instructions.  Real life experiences that helped me with these traits were working in a group with people I didn’t know, looking carefully at everyday materials, and reading instructions carefully.

Credits     crime-scene-investigator.asp crime-scene-investigator.asp  s-becoming-crime-scene-investigator.html s-becoming-crime-scene-investigator.html