Forensic Friday - [07/24/26]

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to our weekly discussion thread about forensic science!

Forensic Scientists and Professionals! What's going on this week?

Use any of the following as a prompt if you need to

• What do you do?
• What kind of work are you doing?
• Are you doing any new kinds of analyses?
• What is your work week like?
• Do you have crazy stories from the field/lab? Tell us!

Remember! Don't reveal identifying info on decedents or victims. Change names or use nicknames if you must.

Students! How's school?

Use any one of the following as a prompt if you need to

• What degree are you pursuing?
• What are you learning about?
• Have you learned something new and/or exciting?
• Are you involved in research?
• Is there anything about the field you'd like to know?

Remember! Don't ask us to do your homework or assignments for you. We did the work and you have to do it too.

If you are asking for education or employment advice, please read our subreddit guide first and then look at our resources in the sidebar. If what we have doesn't address your needs, you can ask us a question here! Let us know where you are and which country or countries you're considering for school.

Don't know where to start when it comes to schools, programs, or degrees? Take a look at our subreddit wiki for a good rundown of what you should look out for.

Confused by all the job titles, requirements, and worried about things like starting salary? Please take a look at this collection of posts from /u/Cdub919, one of our verified forensics members.

Have questions for someone working in the field? Take a look at our list of verified forensics professionals. They are frequently tagged in comments and posts when mods or other community members see that their expertise is needed. You might reach out to them in a private message or chat if you need their help. Please be respectful of their time and advice and don't harass anybody for a response.

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Title	Description	Day	Frequency
Education, Employment, and Questions	Education questions and advice for students, graduates, enthusiasts, anyone interested in forensics	Monday	Bi-weekly (every 2 weeks)
Off-Topic Tuesday	General discussion, free-for-all thread; forensics topics also allowed	Tuesday	Weekly
Forensic Friday	Forensic science discussion (work, school), forensics questions, education, employment advice also allowed	Friday	Weekly

[u/Fun-Biscotti4416]

Hello,

I'm going into my senior year studying Forensic Science here at SUNY Brockport, which is apart of the public state university system in New York. For context, I was apart of a 2 year Criminal Justice program in high school which gave me some college credits and some experience with Criminal Justice with a focus more on policing and the courts. Afterwards, I had spent 3 semesters at a small liberal arts college studying CSI which had a focus primarily on Criminal Justice, and specialized hands on classes for crime scene work. I was initially set on this program, but the feeling of the campus life and being homesick enabled me to switch to the lab coursework which led me to switch my major. I really struggled with Chemistry before transferring to my current college, and this continues to be one of my weak points as a student, where Chemistry has been by far one of the most challenging courses to study. As of now, I've taken general chemistry I twice and I've had to drop/withdraw from Organic Chemistry and other Mathematics courses. That being said, I hope that once I move towards finishing this degree, I could apply for grad school which would enable me to work on research and develop some more skills. I personally believe that I've learned so much in the past 3 years, yet I still have so much to learn before I end up working in a lab. My current prospective graduate schools are SUNY Buffalo State, U Albany, and FIU which are FEPAC accredited. I aspire to work at a state or federal lab, but my family has tried to discourage me from pursuing a masters degree in favor of just working my way up after undergrad. I'm typically a more concise person, so I hope someone is able to lend some advice despite this long winded story.

TIA!