How to Determine the Salary for CSI Professionals
As with all careers, CSI professionals are paid according to a number of factors. Education, experience, specialty and hours will all be taken into consideration when determining the salary for a CSI career. Those who are traditionally paid the most have a desire for continued education and work hard to climb the CSI career ladder. Following are helpful tips for determining the salary for CSI careers.
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Instructions
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Type of Agency
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Consider the types of agencies that employ CSI professionals. A CSI career with the FBI will pay more than one with a small police department.
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Remember that many government agencies go through monetary shortages from time to time, which might influence the pay rate for CSI professionals.
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Consider that many law enforcement agencies also experience personnel shortages, which could mean overtime for qualified CSIs. In New York, for example, many CSI professionals earn an excess of $140,000 per year in overtime.
Education
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Realize that a CSI professional will be paid up to $30.00 more per hour if they have a master's degree or Ph.D. Educated CSI professionals have larger earning potential.
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Gaining special certifications, such as toxicology certification through the National Registry in Clinical Chemistry, can greatly influence CSI career salaries.
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Seeking memberships to CSI associations that offer continued education courses, such as the American Board of Criminalists, will also have a positive impact on a CSI career salary.
Specialty
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Understand that some CSI specialties are in higher demand than others. For example, document examiners are difficult to find, so they may be paid more than forensic engineers.
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Realize also that CSI professionals who have gained the title of Lab Director will earn approximately 30 percent more than regular CSIs.
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Tips & Warnings
Choose a CSI specialty that is in high demand, such as forensic entomology (the study of evidence related to body decay, time of death and insect larvae). This will give you a bargaining chip for a higher salary.
Join as many forensic associations as possible and take any recommended certification to increase the demand for your services.
