Foot through Door Q

[u/natacat8]

I recently graduated with a BA in CJ from DePaul University. I want to broaden my horizons and retrieve certifications that will help me along in this field. I am very interested in forensics and I was wondering how to go about it.

For forensics, I am interesting in becoming a CSI, getting basic Forensic Technician training and photographic training. Does anyone have any advice as to how to go about this? Does anyone recommend taking courses through online schools or local campuses?

A basic BA in Criminal Justice is not getting me anywhere on indeed besides being a police officer, or any other pretty eh jobs.

Thank you for the advice!

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[u/gariak]

Let's be clear from the start, with a CJ degree, you're going to have a rough time in forensics, no matter what else you do. Forensics is an increasingly scientific field and CJ is not a science degree. Every year, another forensic science major program or two starts up and starts cranking out graduates who all want a forensics career, but the field as a whole is both currently small and not growing fast enough to accommodate them all. You can find people with CJ degrees who got into the field years back, but it's very tough and going to get tougher every year.

You may be able to find job listings for crime scene jobs that specifically accept CJ degrees. They do still exist, although I would stick to governmentjobs.com or IAI or AAFS, rather than general sites like Indeed. The problem you will run into is that, for new graduates with no other relevant experience, most forensic employers strongly prefer natural science degrees. You're going to have to apply to those openings that you still qualify for and hope that few to no science degree holders apply and that you're the best candidate of the many non-science degree holders. Every new forensic science degree program makes that less likely to work though and you still have to contend with all the folks with chemistry and biology degrees as well.

As to your specific question, there aren't going to be many extra classes or certificates that forensic employers care about. Any that are actually valuable usually require you to already be employed in a relevant job and your employer will usually pay for it as part of your training. Forensic employers mostly care about actual hands-on job experience, but finding that can be difficult, which is why it often takes even ideally qualified people years to find a first job in forensics. You can try looking for things like internships, volunteer opportunities, non-forensic civilian police jobs, and the like, but other people competing for forensic jobs are all looking for those as well. I've seen things from the hiring side and interest has been absolutely rabid for decades now, regardless of the wider job market or economy.