[AKamm143]

I am new to this site, I am seventeen years old girl and I'm extremely interested in getting a chemistry degree. I'm not sure what college I want to attend yet but I'm looking.

Anyway, I want to be a criminalist. I'm not sure if anyone else knows anything about this profession but from what I've read it is rather competitive. All the sites say I need a bachelors degree in biology, chemistry or physical science. Chemistry is the most interesting and I'm exceeding in my Honors Chemistry class at my High School.

I was just curious about what other jobs would be available to me if I had a degree in chemistry, and if anyone knows about becoming a criminalist.

I have family members who got chemistry degrees and they all say it was extremely hard but doable. I'm willing to put in whatever work/extra work is required of me.

My math skills are upper-average, but I have exceeded in every science based class I have taken. I have also been told you can get a forensic focused degree which might help in getting jobs.

I would love some advice from chemistry students of all kinds with any tips or words of wisdom to a girl about to take the plunge.

[mkurek]

I would definitely take a forensics focused degree if thats what you're looking for. Make sure you go to a college that has a good program for what you want to do, don't try to pick a college you like and then try to make a program fit your interests.

Besides that I would say that some minors you could consider with a forensics science degree (pretty sure I've heard it called that, but not 100% positive) would be biochemistry, chemistry, criminal justice. Every little bit helps, don't be afraid to double major. It puts you a few steps ahead of your fellow classmates who are taking the same major as you. I myself am majoring in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, with a minor in both chemistry and business. Possibly looking to grab a computer science engineering minor with it. Employers like a versatile employee with many skills, not just someone who can accomplish the one task they've been trained to do.

[Compaq]

Forensics do all kind of stuff. You have the biological tests, such as testing DNA, saliva, or other fluids. Then you have the microscopic tests, such as using electron microscopes, light microscopes, etc., to look at the surface of things (e.g. does hair match, or clothes fabrics), or structural analysis as done with x-ray diffraction. You also have element determinations: finding out that elements are present in samples. This is inorganic analysis, and you may encounter instruments such as versions of the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), atom absorption techniques, atomic emission techniques, and many more. Then I guess you have organic analysis by using all sorts of chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer and loads of different techniques. I am merely an inorganic chemists, and so may have given a bad impression of what forensics is about. Still, you will not avoid chemical analysis.

Follow what you want; study chemistry. It is a rewarding field, and not that hard. Physics comes harder to me than chemistry does, but I would be able to do it. It is all about making time to do the things you need to do. When I was 17 I was told that chemical analysis today (then) was instrument-based. That sort of disheartened me. You must not feel the same! Instruments may seem automatic, but the user is really important. You must still understand basic chemistry to optimize the method and interpret the results.

[JGK]

also the lab worlds of CSI, NCIS are totally ficticious and have no relation to actual day to day forensic work.

[mkurek]

also the lab worlds of CSI, NCIS are totally ficticious and have no relation to actual day to day forensic work.

Thanks TV for distorting the public's perception of actual science.

[rjb]

AKamm,

Sadly, the popularity of CSI has made life for the would be forensic scientist rather difficult. As you rightly point out, jobs in this area are hard to come by and the competition is fierce. Despite this, I would nevertheless state that forensic science it is an extremely worthwhile career and a rather interesting one - so stick with it if that's what you're looking for - but please make sure you truly understand what forensic science is really about and what forensic scientists actually do on a day to day basis.

I think I probably ought to point out that I am a 'Limey', so my views may be coloured by the UK context, but back in my day, there were no such things as forensic science degrees. Most forensic scientists would have a BSc/MSc in Chemistry, or perhaps in molecular biology depending on their area of work. Until recently, most forensic providers in the UK were rightly sceptical of the new forensic science degrees that began popping up and were concerned that they were a bit lightweight, but this seems to have changed. Forensic Science degrees are taken a lot more seriously nowadays and those accredited by the FSSoc would meet the entry requirements for most forensic science positions.

From what you say in your e-mail this change doesn't appear to have taken place in the US where sites expect a "degree in Biology, Chemistry or physical sciences", so I think your choice of a Chemistry Undergraduate course would seem sensible and offers you a greater flexibility in discipline (i.e. you should have the knowledge base to work in most areas) and offers you the best options should you change your mind.

You might like to clarify what is meant by physical sciences - Certainly in the UK, forensic science falls under the physical sciences 'umbrella', so a forensic science degree may well be acceptable and may in some cases be preferable.

If you have any specific questions on forensic science, or forensic science degrees, feel free to ask...

R