LIsa Black
Cape Coral, FL
Female, 49
I spent the five happiest years of my life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office I analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now I'm a certified latent print examiner and CSI for a police department in Florida. I also write a series of forensic suspense novels, turning the day job into fiction. My books have been translated into six languages.
See above.
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I'm sorry to hear about your father. The hyoid would normally be observed during the course of an autopsy, but I have had pathologists tell me that people can be strangled without breaking the hyoid, and the hyoid can be broken due to other reasons,so it doesn't conclusively prove anything one way or the other.
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Like any other line of work, it all depends upon the mistake made, what effects it had, and how culpable you are. If it's a typo, just fix it and maybe make a note in the file. If you get someone killed, your boss will probably have to fire you. If it was an honest mistake, then you might get a note in your file. If you steal or invent evidence, you'll be fired and probably not work again.
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You can't go wrong with as many science classes as you can get, and especially anything that's specifically forensics. Programs that have hands-on labs for processing evidence and crime scenes would be great. Titles and job requirements aren't uniform, so the only way to know is to call the crime labs in your area or whereever you might be interested in working and ask them. At the coroner's office we had to have at least a bachelor's in a natural science (this was before they had forensic science majors). At the police department where I am now, they only require a high school diploma but you get more points in the interviewing process for having a four year degree, so we all have one. You can also go on the websites for professional organizations such as the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and check out their job vacancy postings and see what the various positions require. Good luck.
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Help Desk Technician
Does it get aggravating answering people's dumb questions all day long?
Emergency Room Manager
What is the most bizarre thing you've seen in your ER?
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What's the craziest thing you've seen at a bar mitzvah?
An excellent site is my friend Dr. Lyle's "The Writer's Forensic Blog" - https://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com/
You also might attend any public events at your local police department, such as a citizen's academy. There you might meet members of the crime lab and see if any might be amenable to you emailing them questions now and then. Feel free to email me as well via my website: www.lisa-black.comBest of luck!
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You have to have good attention to detail, can work under stress and unpredictable circumstances, be patient and cautious.
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Sorry but I am not trained in facial recognition and I am notoriously bad with faces. My husband teases me about it all the time.I'm sorry I couldn't help!
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