Crime Lab Technician Careers: Salary Info & Job Description

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What are the pros and cons of a crime lab technician career? Get real job descriptions, career prospects and salary info to find out if becoming a crime lab technician is right for you.
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Becoming a Crime Lab Technician: Pros and Cons

Crime lab technicians, also called forensic science technicians, examine evidence found at crime scenes. Learn more about the pros and cons of being a crime lab technician below.

Becoming a Crime Lab Technician: PROS
Salary for crime lab technicians is above the national average (median salary of $55,360 in 2014)*
Opportunity to help police officers*
A growing awareness of forensic science might spur more job openings*
In the lab, work conditions are generally comfortable*

Becoming a Crime Lab Technician: CONS
Extensive on-the-job training needed*
Overtime is common*
Since crime doesn't stop, crime lab technicians often have to be on call and report into work at odd hours*
Many job openings are dependent upon law enforcement budgets*

Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Essential Career Information

Job Description

As evidence from a crime scene arrives at the laboratory, crime lab technicians begin to prepare the scientific analysis. You'll first classify and identify the type of evidence you receive. You might be looking at ballistics tests, blood spatter patterns or fingerprints. In some cases, you'll consult with an experienced professional or an expert in a specialized area to get an opinion about the evidence. In order to get a clearer picture as to what happened at a crime scene, you may reconstruct certain aspects of what happened in order to recreate it for further proof. Once your work is done, you'll write up detailed reports and give them to your superiors.

Salary Info

In 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that crime lab technicians earned $26.61 an hour, which equals to a median income of $55,360 per year for full-time work. The top ten percentile of wage estimates for crime lab technicians was $91,400, while the lowest ten percentile was less than $33,000.

Occupational Requirements

Education and Training

To work in a crime laboratory, a technician generally needs a bachelor's degree. Forensic science is an appropriate major to pursue, and you can also find employment with a chemistry or biology degree. When you're looking for a suitable educational program, you'll want to check with the American Academy of Forensic Sciences for a list of schools with forensic science degree programs.

After you've obtained the necessary education, all crime lab technicians go through a training process. You'll normally start off as an apprentice to an experienced technician. The training process for different techniques used in forensic science can take different training lengths. Analyzing firearms, for example, can take up to three years to learn, while examining DNA can take 6-12 months.

What Do Employers Want?

A professional demeanor is very important to crime lab technician employers. The nature of this work is sensitive. Possessing good moral character and an eye for details allows crime lab technicians to be successful at finding out the truth. Employers made other requests when looking for crime lab technicians below in some job postings from April 2012.

  • A county in California was looking for a crime lab technician with two years of crime scene experience and one year of forensic lab experience to manage the lab.
  • In Virginia, an opening for a crime lab technician required someone with a bachelor's in biology or chemistry, computer skills and the strong math skills needed to prepare reagents, solvents, standards and controls.
  • In Connecticut, an insurance company required an applicant with a bachelor's degree in science or engineering and five years of experience to serve as an expert in one or more areas; possibilities included fire investigations, analytical chemistry, accident reconstruction and computer modeling.

Standing Out as a Crime Lab Technician

Prior to becoming a crime lab technician, you could enter into a police academy. If you acquire training as a police officer, you'll set yourself apart from other crime lab technicians who haven't. This additional level of experience can help you understand how evidence is collected and used. You also can become familiar with the nature of crime scenes. By learning more about the duties a police officer performs, you'll be better equipped when it comes to examining evidence. Finally, it is important that you keep aware of technological and scientific advances in the field of forensic science to remain competitive with your peers.

Alternative Career Paths

If you're interested in working in law enforcement, but you don't want to work in a lab, consider being a patrol officer. You'll be given a specific area to ensure that all laws are being followed. You might be called to a specific place to investigate a disturbance. If necessary, you'll make any arrests or issue warnings. The duty of a patrol officer is to make sure the public is protected. The average salary of patrol officers annually was the same as a crime lab technician's salary - about $56,000 in May 2011 - according to the BLS.

If you like working in a laboratory, but you're not interested in working with law enforcement, you might want to look into being a chemist. The majority of chemists work in applied and basic research. Applied research emphasizes the creation or improvement of processes and products. Basic research is done more for the sake of learning about structure, composition and properties of matter. The BLS in May 2011 found that chemists earned roughly $75,000 a year.

Popular Schools

  • Online Programs Available
    1. Liberty University

    Program Options

    Doctorate
      • Doctor of Criminal Justice: General
      • Doctor of Criminal Justice: Homeland Security
      • Doctor of Criminal Justice: Leadership
    Certificate
      • CTG: Criminal Justice
  • Online Programs Available
    2. Saint Leo University

    Program Options

    Doctorate
      • Doctor of Criminal Justice: Education
      • Doctor of Criminal Justice: Homeland Security
    Master's
      • MS: Criminal Justice - Forensic Science
      • MS: Criminal Justice
      • MS: Criminal Justice - Corrections
      • MS: Criminal Justice - Criminal Investigation
      • MS: Criminal Justice - Critical Incident Management
      • MBA: Cybersecurity Management
    Associate's
      • AA: Criminal Justice
  • Online Programs Available
    3. Bryant & Stratton College

    Program Options

    Associate's
      • Criminal Justice Studies - AAS
      • AS - Criminal Justice
      • AS - Paralegal Studies
    Certificate
      • Criminal Justice and Security Services Diploma
      • Criminal Justice and Security Svcs. - Diploma
  • Online Programs Available
    4. Grand Canyon University

    Program Options

    Master's
      • M.S in Forensic Science
      • Master of Science in Cyber Security
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    Bachelor's
      • B.S. in Information Technology with an Emphasis in Cybersecurity
      • B.S. in Cybersecurity
      • B.S. in Applied Cybersecurity Management
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  • Campus and Online Programs
    5. Full Sail University

    Program Options

    Bachelor's
      • Cybersecurity Bachelors - Campus
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  • Online Programs Available
    6. Purdue Global

    Program Options

    Master's
      • Master: Criminal Justice
      • Master of Science in Cybersecurity Management
      • MSIT - Cybersecurity
      • MSCYBSEC - Web 3.0 Blockchain Technologies and Applications
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    Bachelor's
      • BS in Criminal Justice - Socially Responsible Leadership
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    Associate's
      • Associate of Applied Science in Criminal Justice
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      • Associate: Fire Science
  • Towson, MD

    Towson University

  • East Lansing, MI

    Michigan State University

  • Online Programs Available
    9. Penn Foster High School

    Program Options

    High School Diploma
      • HS Diploma

Featured Schools

Liberty University

  • Doctor of Criminal Justice: General
  • Doctor of Criminal Justice: Homeland Security
  • CTG: Criminal Justice

What is your highest level of education?

Saint Leo University

  • Doctor of Criminal Justice: Education
  • MS: Criminal Justice - Forensic Science
  • AA: Criminal Justice

What is your highest level of education completed?

Bryant & Stratton College

  • Criminal Justice Studies - AAS
  • AS - Criminal Justice
  • Criminal Justice and Security Services Diploma
  • Criminal Justice and Security Svcs. - Diploma

What is your high school graduation status?

Grand Canyon University

  • M.S in Forensic Science
  • Master of Science in Cyber Security
  • B.S. in Information Technology with an Emphasis in Cybersecurity
  • B.S. in Cybersecurity

What is your highest level of education?

Full Sail University

  • Cybersecurity Bachelors - Campus
  • Cybersecurity Bachelors - Online

What is your highest level of education?

Purdue Global

  • Master: Criminal Justice
  • BS in Criminal Justice - Socially Responsible Leadership
  • Associate of Applied Science in Criminal Justice

Which subject are you interested in?