# Forensic Science Technicians

SOC 19-4092. Page: https://educationguide.com/careers/forensic-science-technicians

Collect, identify, classify, and analyze physical evidence related to criminal investigations. Perform tests on weapons or substances, such as fiber, hair, and tissue to determine significance to investigation. May testify as expert witnesses on evidence or crime laboratory techniques. May serve as specialists in area of expertise, such as ballistics, fingerprinting, handwriting, or biochemistry.

## Pay and outlook
- U.S. median wage $72,060 (middle half $57,830–$94,520; BLS May 2025)
- Jobs 2025-35: 13.3%; ~2.8k openings a year; typical entry: Bachelor's degree

## Fields of degree of young workers (ages 25-34, bachelor's+)

## Median wage by state
- AL: $59,560
- AR: $44,670
- AZ: $63,250
- CA: $102,100
- CO: $84,010
- CT: $85,910
- FL: $64,140
- GA: $63,600
- IA: $67,060
- ID: $71,160
- IL: $124,790
- IN: $66,520
- KY: $61,470
- MA: $79,320
- MD: $82,140
- ME: $70,870
- MN: $76,960
- MO: $62,750
- MS: $52,850
- MT: $82,200
- NC: $59,240
- ND: $71,090
- NE: $65,920
- NJ: $63,220
- NM: $65,570
- NV: $81,090
- NY: $81,670
- OK: $65,940
- OR: $80,950
- PA: $61,580
- SC: $51,830
- SD: $51,690
- TN: $70,500
- TX: $59,870
- UT: $66,780
- VA: $68,900
- VT: $74,110
- WA: $81,310
- WI: $72,280
- WV: $63,330
- WY: $52,100

Method: https://educationguide.com/how-we-score#careers

Free to reuse with attribution: cite "EducationGuide.com" with a link to the page URL. Most figures are U.S. government data (public domain); loan default rates and athletics come from the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By 1.0, attribution required) and founding years from Wikidata (CC0). O*NET data: CC BY 4.0, O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA).