FORENSIC SCIENCE and subjects

[cyberlolz]

yeahh maybe bilogy would help. and physics.

any way
i would complete a 4 year bachelors degree and start working as a forensic scientist WHILE doing honours .
After finishing honours i can continue my forensic science job with the addition of Crime scene investigations(because i've had extra quaifications due to honours).
When im done the 2 years i return and do the grad./post graduate Cert for digital forensics showing 2 years documented work. Then . i would do masters if i want ,does that sound correct?
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and just to know some more could you tell me your VCE studies?
Thank You

[Monomer]

Originally Posted by cyberlolz

any way
i would complete a 4 year bachelors degree and start working as a forensic scientist WHILE doing honours .
After finishing honours i can continue my forensic science job with the addition of Crime scene investigations(because i've had extra quaifications due to honours).
When im done the 2 years i return and do the grad./post graduate Cert for digital forensics showing 2 years documented work. Then . i would do masters if i want ,does that sound correct?

You would complete a 3 year bachelor degree and in the 4th year you do honours, most likely in a forensic lab. You'll have a research project to complete for honours and although you will be doing forensic science work you won't actually get paid. When you've finished the honours year then you get paid employment as a forensic scientist and after 2 years you go back to uni for the grad cert, and when you've finished that you can just work or you can go on to do the masters.

Originally Posted by cyberlolz

and just to know some more could you tell me your VCE studies?

The subjects I studied in year 12 were chemistry, physics, biology, maths and english. I didn't need advanced maths for uni, just statistics which I think was covered in applied maths, and I didn't need physics either. Chemistry and biology certainly came in handy, but I wish I'd picked other subjects that interested me.

[cyberlolz]

those are good subjects hahaha.

what you corrected me about on top..
So. i do 2 years AFTER bachelors Degree without getting actual pay. And DURING that time i do honours.
AFTER Honours i do CSI with Forensic science to increase my salary.
Then, i will of course do digital forensics as a grad. cert. but Still continuing with my forensic science +CSI job/"lab and scene investigations".
And moving on after grad. cert. i am still working whilst doing my masters.
Is all that correct because i want to make it clear to my self.

thank you
p.s i hav more questions once it gets to eleceting VCE subjects very soon . Thanks for your help monomer you've really made things easy for me

[Monomer]

Honours comes before the 2 years of work. Maybe it would help to think of it as a 4 year degree with honours as the final year.

If you're in year 10 now, then it would look like this:
2009: Year 11
2010: Year 12
2011: First year uni
2012: Second year uni
2013: Third year uni
2014: Honours (research project in lab, no pay)
2015: Paid employment in forensics lab
2016: Paid employment in forensics lab
2017: Grad cert in Digital Forensics (plus paid employment*)
2018: Grad cert in Digital Forensics (plus paid employment*)
2019: Masters (if you want, plus paid employment)

* The grad cert is designed for people who are already working, and as a result classes are held on Friday afternoons and Saturdays. It will take a couple of years to complete the grad cert because it won't be full-time study, but the advantage is that you can keep working and gaining experience, as well as continuing to earn money.

[cyberlolz]

That is so clear. Say i do bachelor of forensic science - and remember due to the course layout i have to choose majoring in chemistry or biology.
If i say i want to major in chemistry i do the course with more of chemistry in it right? When i finish the bachelors degree and honours then take 2 years in the work force as u said. Am i known as a forensic scientist +CSI or a forensic chemist +CSI

i just rechecked Course search

What you sed about majoring in chemistry or biology . There major Sequences.
doesnt that mean that they have to b done after the main course
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just to make things very clear, i kno im annoying but i have to get things right.
ONCE i become a forensic scientist IF i hav HONOURS with a bachelors degree - does this mean i can also do Crime scene. Or do some work places expect more than honours

[Monomer]

Originally Posted by cyberlolz

That is so clear. Say i do bachelor of forensic science - and remember due to the course layout i have to choose majoring in chemistry or biology.
If i say i want to major in chemistry i do the course with more of chemistry in it right? When i finish the bachelors degree and honours then take 2 years in the work force as u said. Am i known as a forensic scientist +CSI or a forensic chemist +CSI

Yes, you pick all the chemistry electives. I think you'll be known as a forensic scientist though. A forensic chemist generally has a degree in chemistry, so if you're interested in being a forensic chemist opt for a chemistry degree.

You'll be known as a CSI only if you actually work out in the field on crime scenes. If you only work in the lab then you're a forensic scientist.

Originally Posted by cyberlolz

i just rechecked Course search

What you sed about majoring in chemistry or biology . There major Sequences.
doesnt that mean that they have to b done after the main course

If you look at the course brochure I linked to earlier you'll see that the major sequences are part of the 3 year course:

http://www.deakin.edu.au/scitech/cou...s/forensic.pdf

Originally Posted by cyberlolz

ONCE i become a forensic scientist IF i hav HONOURS with a bachelors degree - does this mean i can also do Crime scene. Or do some work places expect more than honours

I don't really know when you can actually get out and work on a crime scene. It might just depend on what job you get and what they expect of you. Maybe it's something you can get involved in straight away, or maybe it will be something you have to prove yourself worthy of by working really hard in the lab first. Maybe they'll have enough CSIs and they just need people for the lab.

You'll be able to get a job as a forensic scientist quite easily with an honours degree, but when you start going higher (masters, PhD) you will have difficulty finding jobs. There are fewer jobs requiring that level of expertise and then you're competing against a number of other people.

[cyberlolz]

i know that forensic science has a very low emplyment rate becuase its a government job and its not a very big thing and until get to a computer forensic my employment opportunities would be smaller.

-Is there a chance i won't get employd as a forensic scientist?
-What is good about this government job and what is bad?
-What happens if i dont get a job?
-Should i study an extra degeree as a back up?
thank you

[Monomer]

Originally Posted by cyberlolz

-Is there a chance i won't get employd as a forensic scientist?

Yes. It seems that forensic science has become popular over the recent years thank to the TV shows, and there would be more graduates than jobs. But you can increase your chances of employment by doing honours.

Originally Posted by cyberlolz

-What is good about this government job and what is bad?

Are you asking what are the pros and cons of the forensic science job or just working for the government?

Originally Posted by cyberlolz

-What happens if i dont get a job?

If you don't get a job straight out of uni then you can:

• Get teaching qualifications (1 year grad diploma) if you're not opposed to teaching. Lots of people use this as a backup.
• Do some other course, like a grad cert that you can do straight out of uni without having to work first. Find something that's related to forensic science (chemistry, criminology, psychology...) or something that's interesting to you.
• Get any job you can. Work in a supermarket if that's all you can get because at least you're working and gaining some experience and skills as well as money.
• Do work experience.

When I finished my degree I could not get a job because I didn't have much experience working in a lab and I didn't have an honours degree. So for three years I did whatever I could (I was a flute teacher, a receptionist, a checkout chick in a supermarket, I helped out at my sister's school marking tests and helping kids with their work, I completed a certificate III in Accounting, I did some computer courses at TAFE). Finally after 3 years I decided I really wanted to use my science degree so I organised to do work experience in a research laboratory. I worked really hard and proved my worth, and they ended up offering me a job.

So my point is that if you can't get a job after you graduate and you still *really* want to be a forensic scientist then do work experience. Get in there and prove that you're a fantastic, hard-working, reliable person. If that company can't offer you a job at least you've got some valuabe experience to add to your resume, and some references. Then arrange some more work experience somewhere else and keep going until someone gives you a job. All this experience will count towards the 2 years you need to do the grad cert.

Actually, I just check the grad cert again and it seems that they've changed the entry requirements because now you just need an undergraduate degree. So right after you finish uni (3 year bachelor course + honours) you can do the grad cert. You still need 2 years work experience to do the masters so if you can't find a job after you've done the grad cert then see above.

Originally Posted by cyberlolz

-Should i study an extra degeree as a back up?
thank you

I don't think you need an extra degree as a backup, but choose your electives carefully so that they can open up a new path you could take if you needed to. For example: a friend of mine who did the science degree with me chose psychology electives during the course. After we graduated she decided she didn't want to work in a lab and went on to do a grad cert in Human Resourses, and now works as a Human Resource Manager.

[cyberlolz]

ohh okay.


By the way i was asking for pros and cons for both the job and government.

So if i , during my bachelors degree choose to major in chemistry as the electives. What would this open me up to in the future?

[Monomer]

Originally Posted by cyberlolz

By the way i was asking for pros and cons for both the job and government.

The pros and cons for the forensic science job are really subjective. You'll have to look at what's involved and decide what the pros and cons are for you.

Working for the government is supposed to give you more job security, but I don't really know if that's true. I don't really know what the pros and cons are with regards to a government job. I can't seem to find any info on that, but if you know people who work for the government (maybe friends of your parents) ask them what it's like.

Originally Posted by cyberlolz

So if i , during my bachelors degree choose to major in chemistry as the electives. What would this open me up to in the future?

I know someone who did a forensic science degree with a major in chemistry and he now works for a pharmaceutical company as an analytical chemist. So you could work in a research laboratory, you could work for a food company, a university; basically you can work in any lab that requires a chemist. It will certainly increase your options, but also look at what other electives you can choose to see what other opportunities could be available. (You get to choose other electives in addition to the forensic chemistry major.)