Career
Forensic science technicians
Collect and analyze evidence from crime scenes.
$72,060
Median pay
+13.3%
Job growth, 2025–35
2,800
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Collect evidence from crime scenes, storing it in conditions that preserve its integrity.
- Keep records and prepare reports detailing findings, investigative methods, and laboratory techniques.
- Use photographic or video equipment to document evidence or crime scenes.
- Testify in court about investigative or analytical methods or findings.
- Use chemicals or other substances to examine latent fingerprint evidence and compare developed prints to those of known persons in databases.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on ideas & analysis, then objects & tools?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Collect evidence from crime scenes, storing it in conditions that preserve its integrity.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Speaking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $72,060 a year and 2,800 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- BiologySee the degree →
- Criminal JusticeSee the degree →
- ChemistrySee the degree →
- AnthropologySee the degree →
- Biology/Biological Sciences, GeneralCIP 26.0101
- Chemistry, GeneralCIP 40.0501
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Police Identification and Records Officers
- Digital Forensics Analysts
- Detectives and Criminal Investigators$93,790 · +0.2%
- Coroners
- Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.