The Average Salary of a Ballistics Analyst

Ballistics analysts produce reports that can be used as evidence in court.

Ballistics analysts are forensic science technicians who specialize in the analysis of guns. They examine any firearms, bullets, bullet casings and cartridges that may have been left at a crime scene. They also look for cordite traces that may attest to the presence of a weapon and analyze bullet holes to determine trajectories and number of weapons. Ballistics analysts will analyze material evidence from the crime scene in a laboratory to determine facts which may lead to the apprehension and prosecution of culprits.

Average Salary

For the purposes of its national survey of employment trends carried out in May 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics classified ballistics analysts alongside their fellow forensic science technicians, who may specialize in other areas of forensic science, such as DNA analysis or fingerprint detection. It concluded that the mean yearly salary for the profession was $55,040, which is equivalent to an hourly pay rate of $26.46. Those in the top 10 percent of earners received over $82,990, while their counterparts in the bottom 10 percent earned less than $32,900.

Salary by Industry

The vast majority of forensic science laboratory technicians, including ballistics analysts, are employed by either local or state government, typically as part of police forces. The bureau listed the mean annual salary for the profession within local government as $54,660, while at state level the mean was $53,610. The small number of individuals employed by the federal executive branch earned a mean of $96,290, while positions in medical and diagnostic laboratories paid a mean of $58,310.

Salary by Location

The bureau listed Illinois and Virginia as the states in which a forensic technician such as a ballistics analyst was likely to earn the highest wages, with respective means of $72,990 and $69,860. California and Connecticut had similar pay rates -- $67,720 and $67,570, respectively -- as did Maryland and Oregon, with respective means of $58,850 and $57,080. Texas was among the locations with the lowest wage levels, at just $45,510 a year.

Prospects

At 20 percent over the decade from 2008 to 2018, employment growth for forensic science technicians will, according to the bureau's estimate, exceed the rate for the country as a whole, across all occupations -- put at between 7 percent and 13 percent for the same period. As forensic techniques are applied to more and more criminal investigations, qualified practitioners will be in demand. This should see wages for the occupation remain very competitive.

References

• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Science Technicians: December 2009
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wages -- Forensic Science Technicians May 2010