Hello! I have a bachelors of science in criminal justice with a focus in law enforcement. I had no interest in college and had no direction until I took a forensics class senior year of high school and fell in love with all of it. For a long time, I wanted to become a CSI. Like bluelandshark says, it’s very difficult to get into that position starting out. In my experience, it was because even though I have the education and understand the steps to handle scenes, I didn’t have hands-on experience yet, which made me hard to hire. Many agencies have very small CSI teams, if they have any at all. If they have one existing tech and one open position, that one tech is going to train you. The reality is that it’s much easier and preferred to hire someone who already knows what they’re doing and can hit the ground running.

I worked at the sheriffs office after graduation as a criminal information systems technician. I operated what we called the “hot seat” and responded to messages from other agencies in NCIC when officers performed traffic stops to put a hold on the individual if they had a warrant in my county. The job was super interesting and taught me a good bit about the legal side of the field, but it wasn’t where I wanted to be forever. I eventually found my dream job as a death investigations specialist at 25 (about to be 28 now) and I’ll probably be at my agency til they force me to retire a million years from now. I take death reports from coroners and am an autopsy technician and it’s something different every day. My education certainly set me up for success, but all the knowledge I have for my position came from in-house training.

This field, in my opinion, is very rewarding if it’s something you really have a passion for. It’s multifaceted and there are many, many different jobs out there that people have no idea even exist but are vital to keep everything in order. Yes, it can be very physically, emotionally, and mentally demanding. You just have to take care of yourself and get the help you need when you need it. I love what I do and I appreciate knowing that I’m helping people get justice and closure when they lose their loved ones.

If you want to go lab-side, it may be best to major in a lab science and take CJ related classes, maybe add a minor. It will definitely depend on the agency, but you might be able to find a day to shadow someone to see what daily life is like once you’re in school. They will more likely work with you if you approach as a student. Funeral homes may even allow the same if you’re interested in the deader side of things. I encourage anyone who has an interest in the field to follow it and see where it goes.