Joan Said:

Interesting fields of study in forensics or pathology?

We Answered:

Forensic science is primarily concerned with the application of scientific principles for the investigation of crime. Using the very latest in technology, forensic scientists convert the clues collected from a crime scene into evidence admissible in a court of law. It is the use or application of science in courts or legal proceedings. This is a challenging and interesting field for those who have are inquisitive and loves adventure.

Forensic Science is essentially a crime laboratory-based profession, the course qualifies students to apply their knowledge of science to the investigation of crime. But the expertise of a forensic professional is also used in civil cases for issues like proving the validity of a signature on a will, to a claim of the products liability, to find out whether an industry is complying with environmental rules.

Forensic scientists analyze all physical evidence found on a victim on the scene of a crime and compare it to evidence found on a suspect and provide expert testimony in a court of law. The evidences might include traces of blood, saliva, other body fluids, hair, fingerprints, footwear and tyre impressions, explosives, specimens of tissue for poisons, blood and urine for alcohol etc. Their expertise lies in the determination of facts using these evidences. They have to prepare a report of their investigation and appear in the court to give evidence. They work closely with the police to provide scientific evidence that is admissible in the court.

Forensic science is not a discipline or branch of science, but is a catch-all for many distinct disciplines. It is broadly grouped into three: Medical, laboratory and field science.

Forensic /career/options/forensic/datamedicine is a broad medical subject which includes forensic pathology, psychiatry, psychology, forensic medicine and odontology (dentistry). Laboratory sciences include chemistry, biology, toxicology, ballistics, fingerprints, questioned documents and marks and impressions. Field sciences include crime scene investigation which incorporates areas such as fire and explosion scenes and clandestine drug laboratories.

Eligibility: To take up a masters course in forensic science you need to be a graduate preferably with a first division in Physics, chemistry, zoology, botany, biochemistry, microbiology, B.pharm, BDS or applied science.
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Job Prospects and Career options : They can find employment with law enforcement agencies, police, legal system and in the investigative services of the government and also private agencies. They can also work as teachers in institutes that conduct courses in this subject. Click here to know more

Remuneration : Remuneration for various state forensics departments would be as per government pay scales. The state department salaries begin around Rs. 4000

Myrtle Said:

what are some places/prgrams to volunteer that involve legal issues..such as court offices..police..etc ?

We Answered:

Get on Google and start searching for your local abuse shelters and women's shelters. Usually, most careers have local associations. Google that and see if you can't find a local or national forensic nurse association. Those would be the people to ask. They will be able to tell you the best places to volunteer.

Barry Said:

Help with my Economics Project?

We Answered:

For the salary information: This will take two websites to figure out. Additionally, you would have to make a logical assumption, and an inference.

1. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm#earni…
2. http://www.theforensicnurse.com/Forensic…

In the first website, you will see that the salaries are broken down by place of employment, not by specific occupations. However, you can safely make an assumption where would a forensic nurse work:

(I would say that a forensic nurse would work in the two options below with the asterisks ** )
Remember: "Forensics nurses participate in the scientific investigation and treatment of abuse victims, violence, criminal activity, and traumatic accident." BLS.gov These people would not work in practical professional field so much. These are more into reaserch. I would suggest that reaserch takes place mostly at hospitals, and for reaserch institututes and other such like entities.

** Employment services $68,160
** General medical and surgical hospitals 63,880
Offices of physicians 59,210 (these mosltly handle practical matters)
Home health care services 58,740 (these visit the old people)
Nursing care facilities 57,060 (these can be nursing homes and such)

Based on this perspective I would say between 63k and 68k yearly salary on average.

Also in the second website it says "A forensic nursing salary starts at around $26 per hour and can reach as high as $100". These rates are typically higher than a standard nursing wage, due to the advanced training and education that is involved in becoming a forensic nurse, as well as the compensation for being on-call."

We don't know the exact distribution of this range, if it's a bell curve shape or if it's skewed. However, we can estimate the two ranges.

(50 weeks per year X 40 hours per week X hourly wage)

at $20 = (50 X 40 X $26 = $52,000)
at $100 = (50 X 40 X $100 = $200,000)

If you average this numbers you would get $126,000 per year. However, it's highly suggested that this number is the result of fat tails in the salary curve for this profession. This means that maybe only 1 in a million people earn so much.

To sum up, I would go with 63k and 68k yearly salary on average.

With regards to inexpensive housing in Miami, look in the areas of Miami Shores, Little Haiti. Those are the lowest prices you can find. That area is from N 70 st upto N 135st and from 35 AVE W upto 30 E. The average I've seen in that area for a 2 bed/ 2 bath is around 100k more or less. Please remember, this price is my own estimate, it's not a statistical based average, where as the salaries part. Your best bet is to go to this website: http://www.hud.gov/ . And there look around the area I told you to find the lowest average statistical price. Good luck with your project.