Vet student considering switching to forensic science — FDLE qualified me for 8 Crime Lab Analyst disciplines. Which would you choose?
Hi everyone! I’m looking for some career advice, especially from anyone who works in a crime lab or has experience with any of these disciplines.
A little background: I have a B.S. in Integrative Animal Biology and an M.S. in Veterinary Forensic Medicine. My master’s included courses such as Veterinary Forensic Toxicology, Animal Crime Scene Processing, Veterinary Forensic Pathology I & II, Forensic Entomology, Veterinary Forensic Medicine, and Scientific and Legal Principles of Forensic Evidence. I also have a pretty extensive biology/chemistry background with labs, including general chemistry, organic chemistry, genetics, microbiology, cell biology, physiology, etc.
I later started veterinary school, but I’m currently on a leave of absence and have been trying to figure out what direction I want to take professionally.
For the past several months, I’ve been applying for veterinary assistant positions because I wanted more hands-on clinical experience. It has been surprisingly difficult to find something despite my education, and the pay for many of these positions is also pretty low. That made me start looking at careers where I could actually use my forensic science master’s and science background.
I applied to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) crime laboratory candidate pool and submitted my transcripts. They reviewed everything and told me that I officially qualify for Crime Laboratory Analyst positions in:
Biology/DNA & DNA Database
Crime Scene Investigation
Document Examination
Firearms
Impression Evidence
Latents
Toxicology
Trace Materials
I attached screenshots of the email.
I’m in the Orlando area, so I’m particularly interested in the disciplines available at the Orlando lab. Right now, Biology/DNA, Toxicology, and Trace Materials probably interest me the most.
For anyone who works in one of these disciplines: Which would you recommend and why?
I’m especially curious about what the day-to-day work is actually like, workload/case volume, work-life balance, opportunities for advancement, how repetitive the work becomes, court testimony, stress level, and how difficult it is to eventually move between disciplines.
I’d also love to hear from anyone who made a major career pivot into forensic science. I spent years assuming veterinary medicine would be my career, so considering something completely different is exciting but also a pretty big change.
Thanks for any insight!