How to Become a Crime Scene Investigator
Updated October 12, 2026
Most crime scene investigators get into the field with a bachelor’s degree in forensic science, chemistry, or biology, though some work their way in through law enforcement experience. From there, training and any certification requirements vary by employer and jurisdiction. As of May 2025, the BLS puts median pay for the closest occupational category, forensic science technicians, at $72,060.
Crime scene investigators (CSIs) are some of the most crucial criminal justice professionals in the crime-solving process.
Solving crimes takes more than witness testimony and confessions. Physical evidence is what tells investigators what actually happened and who was responsible, and that’s never been truer than now, as DNA technology keeps getting more precise.
If this sounds like a profession that interests you, here’s what the path actually looks like.
Crime Scene Investigator Job Description
Crime scene investigation means looking for, identifying, collecting, documenting, and studying physical evidence, including bodily fluids, from a crime scene, a victim, or anywhere else tied to a crime.
Personal safety matters as much as the science. You’ll encounter feces, urine, semen, blood, and other potentially disease-carrying fluids on the job, so you need to know how to handle them safely without risking disease transmission or destroying the evidence itself.
You might work for a local police department, a crime lab, or another criminal justice agency. Beyond the lab, you may also be called into the courtroom as an expert witness.
Self-motivation and careful, independent work are non-negotiable. One wrong move can compromise evidence that the entire case may depend on for an accurate account of what happened. A Palm Beach Post feature on a retiring crime-lab chief shows what that work looks like in practice: using CSI techniques, she helped solve rapes, homicides, and cold cases that had gone nowhere.
Evidence work is often split by stage. CSIs typically collect and document evidence at the scene and keep it moving through the chain of custody, while forensic scientists and DNA analysts in a lab handle the detailed analysis later on. The two roles overlap at some agencies and stay separate at others.
Job Titles for CSIs
Crime scene investigators go by a lot of names. As you search for jobs, you’ll run across some of the following. They’re not all interchangeable, and job postings use these terms inconsistently, so read the actual duties listed before assuming two titles mean the same job:
- Crime laboratory analyst, crime scene analyst, crime scene evidence technician, crime scene investigator, crime scene specialist, crime scene technician
- Criminalist or criminalistics officer
- Evidence technician
- Field identification specialist
- Forensic evidence technician, forensic investigator, forensic science examiner, forensic scientist, forensic services technician, forensic specialist, forensic technician
- Identification officer or identification technician
- Latent fingerprint examiner
- Police crime scene specialist or police evidence technician
- Scenes of crime officer
Duties vary by title and agency, but in an average workweek you might:
- Identify potential physical evidence at a crime scene, including fingerprints and genetic material, and collect it
- Make casts and impressions of evidence, such as tire tracks and shoe prints
- Document what’s collected through written reports, photographs, videos, and spreadsheets
- Process fingerprints and enter them into criminal databases
- Recreate crime scenes through diagrams and reports
- Testify in court
- Attend autopsies
Your schedule depends on the role. If your job means responding to scenes as the need arises, expect day, evening, or overnight shifts, plus overtime. CSIs based full-time in crime labs often work more standard business hours, with on-call duties for urgent cases.
Smaller jurisdictions may combine a CSI’s duties with an evidence clerk’s. In that case, you’d also manage evidence after it’s been collected.
CSI Salary and Career Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tracks CSI-type work under the broader Forensic Science Technicians category, the closest occupational match available, and projects 13% employment growth for that category from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations, with about 2,800 openings projected each year.
The BLS reports a median annual wage of $72,060 for forensic science technicians as of May 2025. The top 10% in that category earned more than $117,250 annually that same year. These figures describe forensic science technicians as a whole rather than crime scene investigators specifically, since the BLS doesn’t track CSIs as a separate occupation.
May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for forensic science technicians. Long-term (2025-35) job growth projections also from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures reflect national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed October 2026.
Crime Scene Investigator Requirements
The BLS says forensic science technicians, the closest category to CSI work, typically need a bachelor’s degree to enter the occupation, though an associate’s degree can be enough for some positions. A bachelor’s is also becoming the norm for the broader occupation, but exact requirements for any specific CSI opening come down to the hiring agency.
Broadly, you’ll see two common paths into the role: officers who start in patrol and later move into investigations, and civilian specialists hired directly into forensic or evidence-focused positions. Agency structures and title conventions vary a fair amount beyond that. Increasingly, the work is being filled by civilians as CSI techniques get more advanced than dusting for prints.
A general route into the field looks something like this:
- Earn a science degree: Forensic science, chemistry, and biology are common choices, and some agencies accept a criminology degree too. Exact requirements, including whether an associate degree is enough, vary by employer.
- Get hired: According to the International Crime Scene Investigators Association, the best way in is having an education in the field, unless you’re already working an entry-level CSI position.
- Complete employer-specific training: New CSIs typically receive training in their agency’s evidence collection procedures, aimed at protecting the chain of custody and the integrity of what’s collected. Some employers require you to demonstrate competency before working solo. Check with the specific agency for what that actually involves.
- Consider certification: Depending on the employer, you may be expected to pursue certification, such as the Certified Crime Scene Investigator credential from the International Association for Identification. Whether it’s mandatory and what it takes to qualify varies by agency.
Bachelor’s Degrees in Crime Scene Investigation
Though some job postings still list a high school diploma as the minimum, many agencies are moving toward bachelor’s degree requirements for crime scene work, following the broader trend among forensic science technicians. Complicating things, there aren’t that many bachelor’s programs built specifically for CSIs. Until recently, the field was dominated by police officers, not civilian scientists.
Forensic science degrees are strong preparation thanks to a curriculum built on chemistry and biology. Even without a dedicated program, an undergraduate degree in biology, chemistry, or human biology can provide relevant preparation, though individual agencies make the final call on what they’ll accept.
College admissions requirements vary by institution, but commonly include a high school diploma or GED, a GPA minimum, and some combination of standardized test scores, reference letters, and a personal essay. Once enrolled, you’ll typically declare your major after a handful of general education prerequisites. Bachelor’s degrees generally run four years, or around 120 credits, and some programs require a final research paper or capstone project.
Whatever degree you choose, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences recommends additional coursework in math, statistics, and writing, since the job involves a lot of report-writing. Lab-based classes in chemistry, biology, and physics help build the note-taking and observation skills the work demands.
Master’s Degrees in Crime Scene Investigation
Some police departments and criminal justice agencies require a master’s degree in criminal justice or forensic science for certain CSI roles. Check the specific requirements for any opening you’re considering, since this varies widely by agency. Look for a program with coursework in DNA analysis, forensic serology, and forensic chemistry if you go this route.
Graduate admissions requirements vary by program, but you’ll generally want a bachelor’s degree in a natural science with a strong GPA, especially in science and math courses. Some programs require GRE scores, though that requirement has become less common in recent years. You’ll typically need letters of recommendation and a statement of purpose.
A forensic science graduate curriculum may include classes like:
- Forensic Microscopy: Get hands-on with trace evidence by examining hair, fiber, and other materials using a range of microscopic techniques.
- Forensic Serology: Learn how to identify, collect, and examine bodily fluids safely.
- Expert Testimony: Practice ethically translating scientific evidence from a case into explanations a jury or judge can actually follow.
- Instrumentation in Forensic Chemistry: Explore the chemical techniques used to analyze evidence, including chemical separation and spectrophotometry.
Program length varies, but a master’s in forensic science often runs around two years, or roughly 40 to 45 credits.
Crime Scene Investigator Training
When you start at a criminal justice agency or forensic lab, expect training in that agency’s specific lab procedures. Keep this in mind: the sample you pull from a crime scene may be the only one you’ll ever get—contaminate it or mishandle it, and you can compromise its reliability for the rest of the investigation. That’s why lab procedure and specimen storage are such a core part of your training.
Training typically covers:
- Collecting biological evidence, trace evidence, and fingerprints
- Making casts and impressions of tire tracks and shoes
- Collecting evidence of tool use or evidence left by a firearm, such as shell casings
- Photographing evidence with proper setup and lighting
- Following the law and ethical guidelines during evidence collection
Certifications for Crime Scene Investigators
There’s no single nationwide license or certification requirement for crime scene investigators. Requirements depend on your jurisdiction and employer. If you work as a CSI while also being a sworn officer, you may be subject to your state’s peace-officer or POST certification requirements on top of anything CSI-specific. Civilian CSI positions are usually governed by the hiring agency instead of a state licensing board.
Even where certification isn’t required, credentials from a recognized body can strengthen your resume and help with promotions. A few worth knowing, some tied to CSI work directly and others covering adjacent forensic specialties:
- International Association for Identification: The IAI is the certifying body most directly tied to crime scene work, offering credentials that include Certified Crime Scene Investigator and Certified Crime Scene Reconstructionist, along with certifications in areas like fingerprint examination and bloodstain pattern analysis, a specialty covered in our guide on how to become a blood spatter analyst. Each credential carries its own education, training, and exam requirements, so check IAI’s site directly before assuming you qualify.
- American Board of Criminalistics: The ABC certifies laboratory criminalistics disciplines, like trace evidence, drug analysis, and molecular biology. That’s a different specialty from scene-based investigation work, but you may run into ABC credentials if your career moves toward lab analysis.
- American Board of Forensic Document Examination: Recognized by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the ABFDE certifies forensic document examiners, a separate specialty focused on verifying the authorship or authenticity of documents.
Resources for Crime Scene Investigators
While you’ve been thinking about collecting evidence, we’ve been gathering resources. Here are five sites to help you network, understand the field, and research job opportunities:
- American Academy of Forensic Sciences: A membership organization for forensic science professionals and students, AAFS publishes the Journal of Forensic Sciences and hosts an annual meeting where academic papers are presented. Its standards board maintains guidelines for using DNA in the courtroom, examining firearm evidence, and a dozen other skills.
- American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors: Formed by the director of the FBI Laboratory in 1973, ASCLD runs an online leadership academy that ends in a capstone at its annual symposium. It also runs a curated job board listing crime lab director and technician positions.
- “Forensic”: Part of an advertising push by a lab equipment company, Forensic magazine still runs eye-catching articles, frequently updated with posts like “Glitter as the ‘Best’ Trace Evidence.”
- International Association for Identification: The IAI recognizes 11 separate forensic disciplines, including biometrics, facial identification, footwear and tire track examination, and crime scene investigation. It hosts an annual conference for professional and student members and publishes the Journal of Forensic Identification.
- International Crime Scene Investigators Association: ICSIA is a smaller membership organization running an annual conference with workshops and presentations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a degree to become a crime scene investigator?
Often, yes, though it depends on the employer. The BLS says forensic science technicians, the closest occupational category to CSI work, typically need a bachelor’s degree, though an associate’s degree is enough for some positions. Forensic science, chemistry, and biology are the most common majors.
How long does it take to become a CSI?
A bachelor’s degree typically takes four years. Beyond that, timelines vary a lot: expect some amount of employer-specific training before you work independently, and add roughly two more years if your target agency requires a master’s in forensic science.
Is a crime scene investigator the same thing as a forensic scientist?
Not exactly. CSIs collect and document evidence, often at the scene itself. Forensic scientists more often analyze that evidence in a lab. Many people do both over a career, but the titles describe different parts of the same process.
Do crime scene investigators carry guns or make arrests?
It depends on the path and the agency. CSIs who are sworn officers may carry weapons and have arrest authority consistent with their state’s certification and their department’s policies, though that can vary by assignment. Civilian CSIs generally don’t carry a weapon or make arrests, since their role is evidence-focused rather than enforcement-focused.
Key Takeaways
- Multiple paths in – Civilian specialists and sworn officers who move into investigations are the two most common routes, but agency structures vary beyond that.
- Education requirements vary by agency – Many departments are moving toward bachelor’s degree requirements, following the broader trend for forensic science technicians, but exact requirements come down to the specific employer.
- Civilian and sworn paths carry different rules – Sworn CSIs may be subject to state peace-officer certification requirements. Civilian CSI requirements are set by the hiring agency, not a state board.
- Pay data comes from a broader category – BLS tracks forensic science technicians, the closest match to CSI work, at a $72,060 median (May 2025), with the top 10% over $117,250, and projects 13% growth through 2035 for that occupation.
Curious what the job looks like day to day, straight from someone who’s done it? Read our interview with a working criminalist for a firsthand look at the career.