Forensic Science Basics

Many people think that when they watch CSI that it is a true representation of who a forensic scientist is and what they do for a living. While these shows are a testament to how far forensics has come, they are not always completely on the mark where the truth is concerned. It’s not that these shows are not well intentioned, it’s just that they need to have drama and they only have an hour to tell the whole story.

CSI on Television vs. Real Forensic Science

When you watch CSI you see Gil Grissom and his team come in and immediately begin to detect the truth. Within a few minutes they have a suspect list and at the end of an hour, including commercials, the CSI team of Las Vegas has fingerprinted the scene, done DNA tests, and done specialized serum tests and found out not only who the victim is but who killed them.

Being a forensic scientist is not this simple and straight forward. Many cases take weeks, months, and even years to solve and some go unsolved, even with the help of forensic science.

When you watch these dramatized television shows about forensic science they are able to use forensic science to do just about anything, including taking a fingerprint from a rock or get DNA results in an hour’s time. The fact of the matter is that you may not be able to get DNA results, fingerprints, or anything else from a rock or any other surface for that matter.

Also, there is an expectation that a forensic scientist can immediately get DNA results, but this is not true either. Just because you work in a lab does not mean you’ll have the ability to test and compare DNA, you may have to wait weeks or even months for the tests due to backlog.

Television shows show that the work of a forensic scientist is always exciting. This is not true! This doesn’t mean that you won’t love your job, but chances are if you go into forensic science that you won’t be on every exciting crime scene.

Chances are you will have some strings of monotonous work where you are just doing a bunch of the same tests for different cases or samples. Being a forensic scientist is always interesting, but that doesn’t mean that your job will always be exciting like you will see them on television

When you see the cars and the homes that the people who work in forensic science on television you may think that you will be able to come out of school and make a ton of money, but this may not necessarily true. This isn’t to say that you cannot make a lot of money, you will likely just have to gain some experience before you can demand a high salary.

Much of what people think forensic science is based on what they see on television. Many people refer to the public’s expectation about forensic science as the “CSI effect” meaning they expect things to be quick, simple, and easy. Forensic science can be a rewarding career but it is anything but quick, simple, and easy.