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General Description

This is an ideal career for analytical and logical thinkers. Forensic scientists apply their specialist knowledge of techniques and procedures to assist in investigations.

Career Advice - Forensic Scientist Career

The ultimate purpose of forensic examination is to present reliable results and conclusions to a court of law. This involves examining all sorts of material and samples, with the aim of discovering potential evidence.  In a criminal investigation your role is to connect a suspect with a crime scene, victim or weapon. There are situations where you might be required to examine material not related to a crime, such as for civil disputes or coronial enquiries. This occupation is extremely scientific, involving detailed, laborious work, and is not nearly as simple as popular television shows have made the viewers believe.

As a forensic scientist, you will specialise within one of the main areas, those being one of the following: 

• Digital forensics
• Toxicology
• Document examination
• Audio & Video analysis
• Drug analysis
• Blood alcohol Examination
• Chemical Trace evidence
• Clandestine laboratory investigations
• Fire & explosion investigation
• Ballistics
• Forensic biology & DNA Science
• Forensic Botany
• Crime scene investigation
• Fingerprint identification
• Vehicle examination, Shoe & Tyre impressions
• Bloodstain pattern Interpretation 

Your work will provide impartial, factual evidence to be used in courts of law to assist in either the defence or prosecution of criminal, coronial and civil investigations. You use note taking, chemical tests, instrumental techniques, enhancement techniques, microscopy, photography and digital processes to examine a wide variety of material to gain an understanding of the physical evidence left at a crime scene or submitted to the laboratory.

What you do every day?

Depending on your specialisation – computer science, biology, or chemistry – you may do a number of things as a forensic scientist. Your daily work may involve analysing materials such as blood, hair, biological material, and fluids, clothing, fibres, soils, botanical materials, drugs, gunshot residue, ignitable liquids, plastic, other chemicals, paint, glass, fingerprints, vehicles, tool marks and impressions, documents and digital information.  You may identify illicit drugs, firearms and ammunition, drugs and poisons, whether in human tissue and fluids or collected from the scene of the crime.

You utilise specialist techniques like scanning electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, gas and high performance liquid chromatography, infrared spectroscopy and DNA profiling. As a forensic scientist, you will also be responsible for collecting trace evidence and recording findings, managing the work of assistants, presenting the results, and presenting your conclusions in the court of law. Each day you will be consulting with team members, collaborating with your colleagues regarding your work to get the most comprehensive results, coordinating with outside agencies, liaising with police, writing detailed reports, and researching and developing new forensic techniques.  

Your daily work will always depend on the case at hand. But whether you are examining tyre impressions or heroin traces, your work will always centre on crime scene investigations, which you must approach with confidentiality and a level of emotional detachment. 

Personality that best fits this occupation

Overall, forensic scientists must have an interest in scientific problem solving and the justice system. You should be good at science and technology, but this won’t be enough without a talent for research, an inquisitive and analytical mind and an eye for detail. You must demonstrate confidentiality, precision, control, intelligence, and ethical behaviour.

Strong verbal and written communication skills are necessary. You will use these to write and present your reports after completing casework and research. You will need to be able to work within a team environment as well as being able to show initiative and work independently. The ability to work with an unbiased approach is essential to presenting independent evidence in court in an impartial manner.

Forensic scientists must also be strong-minded, with an ability to block out emotional reactions to your work. If you’re disturbed by crime scenes, then investigating exactly what happened to a victim and by whom is not the job for you.

Best thing about this career

Being a forensic scientist is a rewarding occupation. There will be times when you spend a long time working on a case, examining, analysing and problem solving. The moment when all of your hard work pays off, and you reach a factual and unbiased conclusion that will be of value in a legal investigation, you are rewarded with a strong sense of job satisfaction.

Your results are capable of serving justice, which is of great benefit and importance to the community. You always feel that you are having a positive influence and your work makes a difference. Forensics is an area of scientific growth, so if you are interested in scientific investigations, in a continually changing environment then the employment opportunities are very rewarding.

Worst thing about this career

You will feel a lot of pressure to produce accurate results in a very short time frame. In cases with minimal traces, you will feel the pressure to produce results of any kind. It can be disturbing work, examining the victims of crime and the exhibits collected from crime scenes.

Some of the work can be quite disturbing  and your personal well being may need to be monitored, especially in cases of continued exposure, to ensure that you maintain a balanced approach to the material you are confronted with. Deadlines occur with court cases , which can add additional stress to an already stressful situation.