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i actually do understand. if you search online, you would see csi's would have a degree in forensic science or some kind natural science, or criminal justice.
as i stated earlier, i'm interested in law enforcement so i would have to be an officer before csi.
No, you don't understand. I don't need to google anything. I have been a police officer for 28 years, I have a master's degree, I have taught at a four year university, I am a state certified master criminal investigator and a certified evidence technician. You do not need a degree of any kind to be an investigator or an evidence technician unless the department specifically requires one. You do need a degree to be a forensic scientist. I will bow out of this conversation and leave you to your own devices. Good luck.
No, you don't understand. I don't need to google anything. I have been a police officer for 28 years, I have a master's degree, I have taught at a four year university, I am a state certified master criminal investigator and a certified evidence technician. You do not need a degree of any kind to be an investigator or an evidence technician unless the department specifically requires one. You do need a degree to be a forensic scientist. I will bow out of this conversation and leave you to your own devices. Good luck.
thank you for informing me.
i actually want to be in houston tx after graduation and their department requires you to have a degree.
I would not advise any of my students to major in forensic science because law enforcement typically does not hire forensic science majors, they send their veteran police officers back to school to get training if necessary.
Yes, they do. They will hire someone with a degree in underwater basket weaving. Some police departments require an associate's degree or at least 60 credit hours. A select few will require a bachelor's degree. Usually, those credits can be in anything. Many police departments will give incentive pay for any degree too. The largest police department where I live will give you an extra point on your test for an associate's (in anything) and two points for a bachelor's (in anything). If you're applying for a competitive spot in a police department, that one point can make the difference between being selected or not.
So he is talking about a very low GPA and you are suggesting he still get into one of these HIGHLY competitive positions? I think even someone with a 3.0 would have a very hard time getting into these graduate studies.
No, I don't think so. I know more really bad students than I can count who are in the process of entering those fields (been accepted to school). A lot of them barely speak English. I'm sure many of the schools are selective, but I know that there are plenty out there that aren't because I know too many poor students with low scores all around who've been accepted.
No, I don't think so. I know more really bad students than I can count who are in the process of entering those fields (been accepted to school). A lot of them barely speak English. I'm sure many of the schools are selective, but I know that there are plenty out there that aren't because I know too many poor students with low scores all around who've been accepted.
When he says really low, I imagine < 2.5.
I don't think you can get into those schools with that.
i actually do understand. if you search online, you would see csi's would have a degree in forensic science or some kind natural science, or criminal justice.
as i stated earlier, i'm interested in law enforcement so i would have to be an officer before csi.
At the end of the day what do YOU want to do? If you want to be a police officer a lot of departments don't require college, although now a days I see a lot that require 60+/- credit hours of college in any subject but again that depends on the department. Having a degree may help set your apart and if you have a Bachelors it will help you advance within the department. Keep in mind you are still more marketable with a degree then without. Just avoid for profit and online schools like Rasmussen, ITT, etc.
Last edited by mattywo85; 06-21-2013 at 05:49 PM..
I forgot something. I don't know how many states have this, but in my state, there are different levels of peace officer certification. Having a degree can cut off the number of years of work experience required to get to the next level. Many police departments will give incentive pay for higher levels of certification. That means you can possibly get certification and education incentive pay at the same time. It really adds up.
At the end of the day what do YOU want to do? If you want to be a police officer a lot of departments don't require college, although now a days I see a lot that require 60+/- credit hours of college in any subject but again that depends on the department. Having a degree may help set your apart and if you have a Bachelors it will help you advance within the department. Keep in mind you are still more marketable with a degree then without. Just avoid for profit and online schools like Rasmussen, ITT, etc.
i want to be a CSI, but in order to do that i will have to be an officer. but if civilians were being hired, that would be great.
i do find law enforcement interesting as well as forensics. this fall im taking intro to criminal justice, so i think that will be more help to see if im certain that i will go the police academy route to move up to csi.
i still like the idea of double majoring in criminal justice and forensic science.
I forgot something. I don't know how many states have this, but in my state, there are different levels of peace officer certification. Having a degree can cut off the number of years of work experience required to get to the next level. Many police departments will give incentive pay for higher levels of certification. That means you can possibly get certification and education incentive pay at the same time. It really adds up.
yeah, my school has peace officer training and you get 12 hours credit. i just don't know if i want to continue my education here even though i've been here for 4 years. i don't think the school i want to transfer to have a peace officer training. if i do transfer, i can always apply to houston police department's police academy after graduation when i relocate there.
Most forensic scientists or technicians have a BS in chemistry, biochemistry, or biology (molecular concentration). A specific forensicss degree is not required nor even preferred. They have to train you for 6 months or so on how to follow their precise protocols and paperwork anyways or that would be ground for lawyers to attack the evidence.
The market for forensic techs stinks. There are only a few employers, usually state govts, and right now they are not doing well financially. Also thanks to shows like CSI there is huge competition for those jobs even though they are not even remotely as interesting as the TV shows suggest. That is another reason why forensics degrees are not recommended. It is simple to train a chemist to be an evidence tech but not vice-versa so you are very limited. Most forensics departments don't prefer forensics degrees anyways. The pay is mediocre about $35-45k to start in most places.
The job is mostly very routine testing following the established protocols exactly and filling out hordes of paperwork with absolutely no mistakes as lawyers love to attack the BS paperwork in court rather than the science. If there is so much as an incorrectly formatted date the case can be thrown out and so can you. It is actually insanely boring from what I understand. It is running an assembly line of DNA tests or GC-MS for drug residues.
I applied to be a forensic scientist back when I graduated. I didn't get much response. I had to slep into downtown Chicago take two tests (I got A ratings in both DNA and Chemistry) and then got put on a list should an opening occur. President Bush gave a grant to reduce the DNA backlog but Illinois misappropriated the funds and didn't hire anyone and there was a scandal when a rapist went free because the DNA wasn't processed in time for the trial. The list expired after a year and I didn't bother to ever retake them again. It was a big waste of time.
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