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.
19,120 people do this job in the US. $72,060 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 27%
- 2%
- 71%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 11%. Today's estimate: 15%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 24 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keep records and prepare reports detailing findings, investigative methods, and laboratory techniques.Done daily by most who do it. | 14% | 1.7 h50 min to 5 h | 76%Half by now | |
| Use chemicals or other substances to examine latent fingerprint evidence and compare developed prints to those of known persons in databases.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 13% | 3.3 h50 min to 1 work day | Stays with people | |
| Collect evidence from crime scenes, storing it in conditions that preserve its integrity.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Analyze data from computers or other digital media sources for evidence related to criminal activity.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 6.7 h2.5 h to 2.5 work days | 9%Half by Jul 2027 | |
| Use photographic or video equipment to document evidence or crime scenes.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 7% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Collect impressions of dust from surfaces to obtain and identify fingerprints.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 7% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Visit morgues, examine scenes of crimes, or contact other sources to obtain evidence or information to be used in investigations.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 2.5 h50 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Operate and maintain laboratory equipment and apparatus.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 1.3 h25 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Reconstruct crime scenes to determine relationships among pieces of evidence.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 6.7 h2.5 h to 2.5 work days | Stays with people | |
| Train new technicians or other personnel on forensic science techniques.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 3% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Interpret laboratory findings or test results to identify and classify substances, materials, or other evidence collected at crime scenes.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h50 min to 5 h | 76%Half by now | |
| Identify and quantify drugs or poisons found in biological fluids or tissues, in foods, or at crime scenes.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 2% | 5 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Police Identification and Records Officers26% now, 41% by 2028
- Digital Forensics Analysts24% now, 95% by 2028
- Detectives and Criminal Investigators35% now, 67% by 2028
- Coroners33% now, 45% by 2028
- Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians13% now, 13% by 2028
- Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists17% now, 36% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).