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Forensic Science Career Research Paper

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Are you a fan of television shows of Bones or CSI? Do you have a passion for problem solving and a love for the natural sciences and the scientific method? Do you have a passion for finding a way to apply that knowledge towards fighting and solving crimes? If this describes you, then a career in forensic science will probably be the perfect choice for you. Forensic science career should be discovered and considered in terms of job duties, education requirements, skills and qualities, salary and working environment.
First of all, Richard (2014) defined “Forensic science is the application of science to the criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police agencies in a criminal justice system.” (p.4). Forensic scientists help solve crimes …show more content…

The field of forensics science requires scientists to work with many different types of people under circumstances that are often complicated and challenging. Because of this, it is important that forensic scientists must have “communication, oral comprehension, and active listening skills” . In other words, they need to have the ability to listen and understand information presented through spoken words and sentences so that other people can understand. They also need to give full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. In addition, prospective forensic scientists must have “critical-thinking and problem-solving skills” because they need to use their best judgment when matching physical evidence, such as fingerprints and DNA to suspects and use scientific tests to help law enforcement officials solve …show more content…

The forensic scientists present the findings to detectives and lawyers as well as provide expert testimonies during trial. Furthermore, they usually get the good feeling that comes from having contributed to justice being served. They can find fulfillment in knowing that their work is the deciding factor in determining guilt or innocence. Forensic science field has improved the criminal justice system; however, the drawbacks should be seen in lights of a few substantial benefits. In the article “Context effects in forensic science: a review and application of the science of science to crime laboratory practice in the United States”, MJ Saks, DM Risinger, R Rosenthal and WC Thompson (2003) state that forensic scientists might become influenced or “biased” by context effects when they work on the cases because they always receive a case with the complete story from the police. Additionally, they might hear other results from their colleagues in other sections, and they draw conclusions from the evidence with their colleague’s conclusions in mind. Another challenge that can be directly attributed to forensics career is that attending court as expert witness is often a nerve-wracking experience. Because the results will help the judges come to the right decisions – the right person will be punished for a crime that was committed and the wrong person or innocent will not be blamed by mistake. Therefore, forensic

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