Life, Physical, and Social Science · Holland code IRC

Forensic Science Technicians

Collect, identify, classify, and analyze physical evidence related to criminal investigations. Perform tests on weapons or substances, such as fiber, hair, and tissue to determine significance to investigation. May testify as expert witnesses on evidence or crime laboratory techniques. May serve as specialists in area of expertise, such as ballistics, fingerprinting, handwriting, or biochemistry.

Also called: Crime Scene Technician (Crime Scene Tech), Criminalist, CSI (Crime Scene Investigator), Forensic Scientist, Crime Lab Analyst (Crime Laboratory Analyst), Crime Scene Analyst (CSA), Evidence Technician (Evidence Tech), Forensic Science Examiner.

O*NET 19-4092.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $72,060; Middle half earn $57,830 to $94,520. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Post-Secondary Certificate; 36% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +13% · Much faster than average; 20,700 jobs in 2024, projected 23,300. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Forensic science technicians".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.
Measure and sketch crime scenes to document evidence.
Visit morgues, examine scenes of crimes, or contact other sources to obtain evidence or information to be used in investigations.
Train new technicians or other personnel on forensic science techniques.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Writing4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Active Learning3.4 / 5

Knowledge areas

Law and Government4.5 / 5
Public Safety and Security4.2 / 5
Education and Training3.7 / 5
English Language3.6 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.4 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.3 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic70
Investigative82
Artistic13
Social8
Enterprising10
Conventional66

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

digital forensics expert · DE IT-Forensik-Experte/IT-Forensik-Expertin · FR spécialiste de l’investigation numérique
prosecutor · DE Staatsanwalt/Staatsanwältin · FR procureur/procureure
coroner · DE Gerichtsmediziner/Gerichtsmedizinerin · FR médecin légiste
criminologist · DE Kriminologe/Kriminologin · FR criminologue
thanatology researcher · DE Thanatologe/Thanatologin · FR chercheur en thanatologie/chercheuse en thanatologie
polygraph examiner · DE Polygrafiesachverständiger/Polygrafiesachverständige · FR spécialiste du détecteur de mensonges

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Solicitors and lawyers (2412)216,100 employed
Clinical psychologists (2225)23,900 employed
Other psychologists (2226)39,000 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.24. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (19-4092).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test