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You have seen them on your favorite CSI or NCISTV shows. They are the criminalists known as the forensic pathology technicians. They are the individuals who work under the medical examiner. What does a forensic pathology technician do? What educational background is needed to become one?

In this article, I will explain the job description of a forensic pathology technician and the educational training needed for a candidate to be successful in this trade.

If you would like to pursue a career in forensic pathology but do not like to study for many years in medical school, then obtaining a job as a forensic pathology technician might be for you. In this job field, you work side by side with the forensic pathologist and assist him with all of his job duties. You have the opportunity to perform parts of an autopsy, take x-rays and collect samples from the deceased for further analyses in trace evidence, fingerprints, toxicology, serology, microbiology, and histology. You extract foreign objects such as bullets from the deceased, take pictures of the body, remove specimens, and document the chain of evidence. You may be called upon to explain autopsy procedures and do a report of findings with the victim’s family members, law enforcement personnel, and mortuary workers.

To be successful as a forensic pathology technician, your on-the-job experience will weigh moreso than your education. Most forensics laboratory employers require a minimum of a high school diploma or GED. Having college-level educational experience in any of the laboratory sciences can also be of benefit to you. Furthermore, you might have the advantage over other applicants if you have at least two years of experience in a medical or forensic pathology laboratory. The idea here is to gain working knowledge of general and medical laboratory procedures, medical equipment and tools, and an insight on lab-safety and infection-control procedures.

The efforts of a forensic pathology technician can help bring criminal investigators one step closer to solving a crime, bringing a perpetrator to justice, and bringing closure to the families of the deceased.

You have seen them on your favorite Bones or CSI TV show. They are the crime scene investigators who study bones derived from a crime scene. They are the forensic anthropologists. Have you ever wondered what a forensic anthropologist does and what the educational requirements are to become one?

If you have a knack for the biological sciences, anthropology, archaeology, and history, then the field of forensic anthropology may be the career choice for you. It will be part of your job to help medical examiners or coroners with the gathering and identifying of human remains. You must know how to determine biological profiles such as age, sex, race, height, etc. of skeletal remains. You must determine the cause of trauma to the skeleton. You may have to visit the burial site, help dig it up, and scrutinize soft tissue or skeletal remains with the intent of identifying the dead person and helping to ascertain the approximate time and cause of death.

It takes a great deal of education to prepare to become a forensic anthropologist. You need a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, biology, anatomy, physiology, or anthropology, and a graduate-level degree in anthropology or human biology. Then you need a PhD and a minimum of three years of experience in forensic anthropology before applying to the board to become board certified.

It is possible to work in this particular field with fewer educational requirements. However, many employers in forensics labs will give more weight to your application if you have a doctorate degree. Once you get a job as a forensic anthropologist, you will work at big universities as a consultant to medical examiners and courts.

Experts such as forensic anthropologists use their varied educational background to help solve a crime. Their efforts help bring an offender to justice and bring closure to the families of the victims.