FORENSIC SCIENCE and subjects

[Monomer]

Actually I found a masters degree in digital forensics at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. The course is offered off campus so you don't need to go to WA if you don't want to.
Study Areas

There is also a Master of e-Forensics and Enterprise Security at Melbourne University which students who complete the graduate certificate in digital forensics move on to.
Master of e-Forensics and Enterprise Security - MCCP

Both courses seem okay, but perhaps it would be better just to stay at Melbourne Uni to complete the graduate certificate and masters. You would have already established a relationship with the lecturers and tutors and you'll possibly get more support. The class times are Friday afternoons and Saturdays so it would allow you to work part-time during the week (since you're looking at 6.5 years of study you'd probably be wanting to work by then).

So it would go like this:
Bachelor of Forensic Science majoring in forensic chemistry (Deakin Uni)
Honours in Forensic Science (Deakin Uni)
Graduate Certificate in Digital Forensics (Melbourne Uni)
Master of e-Forensics and Enterprise Sercurity (Melbourne Uni)

If you really don't like the class times for the masters course then enrol in the Edith Cowan Uni course. If you feel like a change of lifestyle by then you could always move to WA.
Bachelor of Forensic Science majoring in forensic chemistry (Deakin Uni)
Honours in Forensic Science (Deakin Uni)
Graduate Certificate in Digital Forensics (Melbourne Uni)
Master of Digital Forensics (Edith Cowan Uni)

[cyberlolz]

yeah i think i'll stick to melbourne uni cuz i'd be more used to it so let me repeat it
ill do
-bachelor of forensic science which is 3 years
-then dont i have to spend 1 year extra to major in forensic chemistry or do i choose it from the start?
-then i would complete an honours for 1 year (what are honours for?)
Going on i would:
-complete a graduate certificate in melbourne uni for digitalforensic.... (can u please recheck the pre requisites for this because i think i need some skills with the internet and engineering please loook at the core structures and entry requirements do i necessarily need them or will i hav them already by this stage? if i do need to do some extras what are they? Graduate Certificate in Digital Forensics - MCCP)
-A masters in e-forensics at melb uni (can u please check if by that time i would be qualified to study this or will i already have qualified to- entry require ments Master of e-Forensics and Enterprise Security - MCCP .
thank you

[Monomer]

Your major in forensic chemistry is part of the 3 year bachelor course. Then it's honours for a year. The honours degree is for the top students in the course and it will increase your chances for employment. It will also open the door to a masters course and a PhD, which those without honours will not get in to (particularly the PhD).

For the Graduate Certificate you don't need any engineering skills but it would help if you knew your way around computers. Perhaps choose some computing subjects as your electives when they are offered during the bachelor course. Entry requirement for the course is "An undergraduate degree or equivalent qualification plus at least two years relevant and documented professional work experience". Most grad certs that I've looked at don't have work experience as an entry requirement, but since this one does it looks like you'll need to work in forensic science for a couple of years after you graduate before you can do this course.

Entry requirement for the Master of e-Forensics is "Successful completion (with an overall average of at least 70%) of the Graduate Certificate in Digital Forensics plus a completed undergraduate degree plus two years documented relevant work or other experience." You'll have the completed undergraduate degree plus two years of work experience, but you'll need to make sure you do well enough with the graduate certificate.

So it's:
Bachelor of Forensic Science, majoring in forensic chemistry (3 years)
Honours (1 year)
Work experience (2 years)
Graduate Certificate in Digital Forensics (1 year)
Master of e-Forensics (looks like 1 year)

Another entry requirement for the masters course is "A relevant four-year degree plus at least two years documented relevant work or other experience". You'll have a 4 year degree with honours so it's possible that you could skip the graduate certificate and go straight to the masters (after the 2 years work experience). You might want to do the graduate certificate though so you get a better grounding in digital forensics/e-Forensics.

[cyberlolz]

So,I would complete the
Bachelors Degree in forensic science majoring in chemistry

Then i would start applying for "work experience?" at NIFS but would i apply for this after the 4 years degree with honurs? or the 3 year degree without honours. Or at the start of the degree?

[Monomer]

The "work experience" would be actual experience in the work force. So when you've completed the degree with honours get whatever job you can. Some employers will support their employees to do further study so when you have interviews you can let them know your intentions and maybe you'll be lucky enough to keep your job while you study.

[cyberlolz]

Oh....no...
so i can't do the work experience in the work force while studying at uni ...?

i'd hav to complete the 4 years with honours and then do 2 years part time or full time(?) as a QUALIFIED forensic scientist or is this just an experience for me?- haha what if no one will employ me?

after completing 6 years then i can do the graduate cert. for 1 year?
and still have to study with no job and go on to the masters and THEN start working as a qualified "Computer"forensic scientist.
will there be any way to shorten the years-- like working while studying for the graduate certificate ? so it'll be faster to reach the masters and get a higher level qualified job.

[freeztar]

Originally Posted by cyberlolz

Oh....no...
so i can't do the work experience in the work force while studying at uni ...?

i'd hav to complete the 4 years with honours and then do 2 years part time or full time(?) as a QUALIFIED forensic scientist or is this just an experience for me?- haha what if no one will employ me?

It's no ha ha, it's very real. It took me three years to get a job in my field after school (though my situation was admittedly a bit complicated). I *highly* recommend doing as many internships as you can. Employers like to see some sort of real-world experience outside of academia. This will come in your junior and senior years most likely, though I've known some professors who will allow an internship at junior level (very rare).

[cyberlolz]

im only in year 10/11. i realyy need help ur sayn i hav to get work exp. with forensic scientists b4 doing it after the degree?

[Monomer]

Originally Posted by cyberlolz

Oh....no...
so i can't do the work experience in the work force while studying at uni ...?

i'd hav to complete the 4 years with honours and then do 2 years part time or full time(?) as a QUALIFIED forensic scientist or is this just an experience for me?- haha what if no one will employ me?

after completing 6 years then i can do the graduate cert. for 1 year?
and still have to study with no job and go on to the masters and THEN start working as a qualified "Computer"forensic scientist.
will there be any way to shorten the years-- like working while studying for the graduate certificate ? so it'll be faster to reach the masters and get a higher level qualified job.

You can certainly do work experience while at uni. Actually, you should be doing work experience already at high school. As with freeztar I also highly recommend you take as many opportunities to get as much experience as you can. Employers don't just want someone with qualifications they also want someone with relevant experience.

When you graduate get whatever work you can - full-time or part-time. It also took me three years to get a job in a laboratory after I graduated because I just didn't have the experience. I eventually organised some work experience and that company ended up hiring me because I proved my worth.

In my previous post I wrote: "Some employers will support their employees to do further study so when you have interviews you can let them know your intentions and maybe you'll be lucky enough to keep your job while you study." You won't be accepted to do the graduate certificate until you've worked for a couple of years, but if you've been getting some work experience during your undergraduate years then that may count and you might not have to wait as long to do the grad cert. It would be ideal if you got a job working in computer forensics after honours because they will likely support your desire for further study.

It's going to take you a while to become a qualified computer forensic scientist, but that's just how it is. You've got a lot to learn and much experience to gain before people will recognise you as a "professional". Some of my friends completed a 3 year science degree, then did honours, then a PhD so they spent 7 years studying before they were recognised as "scientists". But now they have great jobs and get paid a lot, whereas I just did the 3 year science degree and now I'm just a lab technician in a ridicuously boring job which pays only resonably well.

But think about it. If it takes you 8 years to become a qualified computer forensic scientist you'll be approximately 27 years old and you'll have roughly 35 years to work as a qualified computer forensic scientist. You have to get past the short-term sacrifices and think about the long-term benefits.

[Monomer]

Originally Posted by cyberlolz

im only in year 10/11. i realyy need help ur sayn i hav to get work exp. with forensic scientists b4 doing it after the degree?

Yes. Before you can enrol in the grad cert you need to have two years experience working in forensic science. But like I said earlier, if you can get some experience while at uni then you might not have to wait for two years. If you get roughly one year's experience while at uni then you'll just have to wait a year before you can do the grad cert.