LIsa Black
Cape Coral, FL
Female, 49
I spent the five happiest years of my life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office I analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now I'm a certified latent print examiner and CSI for a police department in Florida. I also write a series of forensic suspense novels, turning the day job into fiction. My books have been translated into six languages.
Like any other line of work, it all depends upon the mistake made, what effects it had, and how culpable you are. If it's a typo, just fix it and maybe make a note in the file. If you get someone killed, your boss will probably have to fire you. If it was an honest mistake, then you might get a note in your file. If you steal or invent evidence, you'll be fired and probably not work again.
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Please email me all questions at once at Lisa-black@hotmail.com.
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Worrying that I might have missed a piece of evidence at a crime scene or in a lab process.
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I'm not sure what you mean by 'off the job training.'
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Zookeeper and Animal Trainer
Which cuddly-seeming animals are actually dangerous to be around?
Hairstylist and Makeup Artist
What's the grossest hair ailment you ever saw?
Bartender
Which customers are the worst tippers?
How much chemistry you need depends on what type of work you do. As long as you're not actually working in toxicology or DNA, you shouldn't need to be a great chemist as long as you can reliably work with chemicals and combine them properly (like following a recipe). And as long as you are a reliable and honest employee then the job is secure, once you get it, but I will be honest--there's a lot of competition in this field right now so getting into a position might be difficult. You should definitely have a back-up plan.
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Okay, I emailed you.
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Because not everyone's fingerprints are in a database. You only have fingerprints taken when you are arrested or apply for a job or some other license for which it is required. Not all of those necessarily end up in a database accessible to the agency that has the unidentified person. And DNA such as hair only helps when you have a profile to compare it to--if the unidentified person is a convicted felon so their DNA might have been entered when they went to prison, or if there are family members available to give a sample (in which case you would have to already have an idea of who the person might be). It's not really like TV. We don't have databases of every single person and every single substance known to man.
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