forensic

Hello! I am currently a junior forensic science and chemistry double major and applied for the ATF forensic science internship. I plan on specializing in explosives as that is what my capstone research is on. I just wanted to ask if anyone has done the internship before, and if you have did you like it? Also I know I should hear by the end of the month, but any idea what time that I should hear around? I think I'm just nervous because I really want this, and I like to know as much as possible. But if you have done it lmk! I would love to get as much info as possible! Thanks!

I’m starting an internship with a coroner’s office in January. I was wondering if anyone had advice for what it’s like and more specifically, what clothes/shoes to wear. The office is business casual and morgue is scrubs but what about shoes or clothes and shoes for attending death scenes or being in the field? Thank you!

So I'm a graduating student in Canada, and got accepted into a school pretty close to home that I would like to go to. I plan on doing a bachelors Biochemistry and then getting a Masters/PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology. I would like to do forensics work when I'm older, would these qualifications be enough? Or would I have to take a bachelors centred around forensics? I would've definitely done one if I could, but all the schools that offer forensic sciences are out of our price range and are a long ways away. What could help me secure a job as a forensicist?

Hey lovely people! Do you LOVE (or even moderately LIKE) YOUR JOB?

One of my goals as an educator this year is to provide opportunities for my students to interact with “real scientists” related to what we are learning about in class. I am looking to put together a panel of forensic scientists for my 7th graders who are currently learning about forensic science/DNA in science class and the justice system/exonerations/social justice etc. while reading Just Mercy in English class. The panel would be no longer than 45-60 minutes and would involve you sharing why/how you got into the field (and anything else about your story that you’d care to share!), any insights into your work today, and plenty of time for Q & A since middle schoolers are quite curious :) There would be no lift from you other than your presence on a video call (slides would be useful but not required). If you are interested, take a moment to fill out this google form and I will be in touch! Thanks so much!

I'm starting my first crime scene job in 4 days and have little to no info on what to expect aside from what I learned in school. I've seen and handled bodies before (family members own a funeral home), but want to know if there are any things that made your job as a CST/CSI easier that I wouldn't think of at the start. Suggestions for shoes and clothing would be helpful, too, I'll be in a desert-type area of the SW USA.

Thanks!! :)

i’m a senior in hs going to college for forensics and was wondering what jobs allow help for homicide investigations and what steps should i do in order to get these jobs

Hi,

I hope this is the right place to ask my rather stupid question.

Has there ever been a study, or experiment rather, where somebody reconstructed the face of a person whose photograph we have? I only found one picture in the wikipedia article on facial reconstruction, but I'm curious to know if maybe somebody tested the works of multiple reconstructioners working on the same skull against each other or a photo or maybe even realistic painting of that person.

I received an official offer for a crime scene tech position and I start in 2 weeks! The thing that has me most concerned is smelling decomps. I can handle the sights, but the smell is what worries me, especially because I know it lingers.

I felt like it was fate yesterday, because a giant vulture dropped the rotting corpse of an opossum in my backyard 😭. My boyfriend offered to pick it up and throw it away for me but I said no, I need the experience (lmao). It smelled…pretty nasty, but not too unbearable. There were maggots and flies still on it, and it was partially skeletonized from the vultures picking at it. I know that human decomps probably smell way more overwhelming, but I was wondering how comparable they are to another animal rotting? I would at least like to have some idea of the smell before I have to go to a real decomp scene.

Welcome to our weekly discussion thread about forensic science!

Forensic Scientists and Professionals! What's going on this week?

Use any of the following as a prompt if you need to

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Remember! Don't reveal identifying info on decedents or victims. Change names or use nicknames if you must.

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Use any one of the following as a prompt if you need to

• What degree are you pursuing?
• What are you learning about?
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Remember! Don't ask us to do your homework or assignments for you. We did the work and you have to do it too.

If you are asking for education or employment advice, please read our subreddit guide first and then look at our resources in the sidebar. If what we have doesn't address your needs, you can ask us a question here! Let us know where you are and which country or countries you're considering for school.

Don't know where to start when it comes to schools, programs, or degrees? Take a look at our subreddit wiki for a good rundown of what you should look out for.

Confused by all the job titles, requirements, and worried about things like starting salary? Please take a look at this collection of posts from /u/Cdub919, one of our verified forensics members.

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I'm trying to research what kinds of scars a character might have, but I'm not sure how to phrase this to get results that apply. What would you call the wounds an attacker would sustain from their victim attempting to fight them off? When I search "defensive wounds", I only really get results pertaining to those that the victim would sustain, but "offensive wounds" seems to be more about attackers directly injuring themselves while attacking (ie. lacerations to the hands from their knife slipping, contusions to the knuckles from punching, etc.) Many thanks to anyone who can point me in the right direction!

not a lot of places are hiring, and this seems like a well paying job with not much experience.

would the hours conflict with my classes? also i haven't gotten my drivers license yet, would that be an issue? would i be able to balance a social life?

If anybody could help that'd be great.

I thought I saw a head in the trash can, i checked the next day and it wasn’t there lol. I saw something in my peripheral which appeared to be a head but I thought it was just me overthinking it ,so I didn’t check.

Hey! So, I am thinking of introducing a Forensic psychology club in my school. Hence I want some activities that I can conduct with the members. I found several interesting ones online; however, I would be grateful if you all would help me with more. Just for additional information, this club is for high school students. Thanks!

Welcome to our weekly general discussion thread!

Feel free to chat with your fellow forensically-minded redditors about anything! Introduce yourself, show us pictures of your cat, complain about your kids, lament about exams/work, tell us what you're eating today... whatever you want!

Here are a few resources that might answer your questions:

A subreddit wiki with links and resources to education and employment matters, archived discussions on more intermediate topics in education and employment, what kind of major you need, what degree programs are good, etc.

• The subreddit Guide - Consider this an FAQ about our community and our field. Look here for basic education and employment questions/answers you might have. Didn't find what you were looking for? Please post in our weekly scheduled posts or to the subreddit. Note: please do use a desktop browser to view all features.
• List of verified forensics professionals
• Subreddit collections (please view on desktop browsers) on the following topics:
  • Education and Employment
  • Mental Health and Preparation for Working in Forensics
  • What It's Like Working in Forensics
  • Employment: Job Titles, Job Requirements, and Starting Salary in Forensic Science

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Does anyone have any tips on how to stop smelling decomp? Even after I’ve showered and changed, I’ve noticed that it tends to linger in my nostrils. Even hours later, I’ll cough and there it is again! Is there something that I can do or do y’all just ignore it until it eventually goes away?

Welcome to our weekly thread for:

• Education advice/questions about university majors, degrees, programs of study, etc.
• Employment advice on things like education requirements, interviews, application materials, etc.
• Interviews for a school/work project or paper. We advise you engage with the community and update us on the progress and any publication(s).
• Questions about what we do, what it's like, or if this is the right job for you

Please let us know where you are and which country or countries you're considering for school so we can tailor our advice for your situation.

Here are a few resources that might answer your questions:

• A subreddit wiki with links and resources to education and employment matters, archived discussions on more intermediate topics in education and employment, what kind of major you need, what degree programs are good, etc.
• The subreddit Guide - Consider this an FAQ about our community and our field. Look here for basic education and employment questions/answers you might have. Didn't find what you were looking for? Please post in our weekly scheduled posts or to the subreddit. Note: please do use a desktop browser to view all features.
• List of verified forensics professionals
• Subreddit collections (please view on desktop browsers) on the following topics:
  • Education and Employment
  • Mental Health and Preparation for Working in Forensics
  • What It's Like Working in Forensics
  • Employment: Job Titles, Job Requirements, and Starting Salary in Forensic Science

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I meant a suicide that gets ruled as murder*

I’ve looked everywhere but I can’t find an answer if you can help would be so helpful thank you….

I am a pathology resident considering different subspecialties. I like the nature of forensic path but was wondering the geographic flexibility of the field.

I was told that job postings are regularly on NAME (https://www.thename.org/employment-opportunities). But looking at their list, there are a lot of major US cities not on there. If for example I am interested in living in Washington DC/NOVA, will that not be an option for forensics? Are there job postings not on the NAME website? Thanks.

Hello!

I recently graduated with a degree in Forensic Science and a minor in Anthropology. I have also completed an internship. However, I've been really struggling to find listings for places to apply or to find positions for which I have enough experience. It's starting to get a little disheartening with all of the effort I have been putting in just to get turned away each time. I know that this is a very competitive field and that is what I signed up for, but wow is it a hit to my self-esteem. Please comment if anyone has any advice on how to make myself stand out or any other places to look for listings. I appreciate it very much and thank you in advance.

Hello everyone and thank you for taking the time to read this. I recently got accepted to IU Indianapolis to major in forensic and investigative sciences. What got my attention about this programs is that it is FEPAC accredited and heard good things about it. My main question is if anyone has had experience through this program and if they recommend it? How are the classes, professors, job outlook etc. and if the program and major itself is worth the four years? This would really be a base for me as I hope to someday work towards a PhD. I also applied for forensic majors at Loyola, Penn state, and Syracuse.

Thank you in advance for responding and I would really appreciate your opinion on this program.

Hello there!! I myself am a true crime enthusiast and my step daughter has shown an interest in CSI/forensics. She is ten and for her research project in her science class they have to do a research paper and a project showing the scientific method (she is in a gifted school with accelerated curriculum). She wants to do hers on crime scene investigation and testing for different types of poisons. I am having a hard time thinking of examples she can use and bring in that would actually be allowed to be brought into a classroom for her demonstration. So far all I have really come up with is Tylenol poisoning, lead, and antifreeze. Can anybody help give some suggestions? It would be much appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

For people who are in the field, I have always wanted to be someone who can figure out what happens at crime scenes or find out what made the people kill. I'm not sure what to go into job wise to do this. does anyone know?

working with dead, sometimes mangled or mutilated bodies every day.. how do you do it? i mean, the trauma of seeing people in decomposition, with severe injuries, kids who are terribly abused, etc.

I've seen in many episodes of Forensic Files where they are able to determine the shape and size of a knife/weapon that had been stabbed into somebody. I'm very curious how this works? With size, I assume they measure the wound somehow, but how about shape? I assume they wouldn't make a mold of the wound, haha. Do they scan it?

I’ve been watching the ATL YSL case and I’m curious if GSR collected within a timely fashion deteriorates over time. The state alleged a shot was fired inside a car to shoot a victim in another car. The headliner was collected from the vehicle where the alleged shot was fired I think within a week (in mid March). The headliner wasn’t tested until late June though and the test came back negative for GSR (threshold 1 particle). Is it possible that sealed evidence deteriorated so much to bring a negative result with such a low threshold?

I’m sure this is dependent upon a few things…I’m asking best case scenario- nothing done to clean headliner, not touched etc is the sealed evidence expected to stay completely intact for 3+ months?

You don't have to pay me! I'm a BS Biology, major in Mol Bio and Biotechnology and I am a research enthusiast who just wants to spend her free time writing academic reports/journal reviews, mostly about climate science, genetics, and marine forensics.

For my experience, I did microbiology laboratory and now I'm writing a thesis on fish behavior.

If anyone needs help to write their data or report their results, I'm willing to be your intern. Thank you!

I'm writing a story about a serial killer who has evaded capture.

General question. Let's say a serial killer has never had a run in with the police/no prior arrests and they leave DNA at a murder scene. Is it difficult to match the killer's DNA sample if it doesn't match/isn't logged in the police crime database?

For example, I'm assuming the police don't have DNA samples on every law abiding person. So if a random law abiding citizen suddenly starts killing people, is their nothing to match their DNA to?