Salary of a Forensic Pathologist Working for the Government
Television has popularized the art and science of forensics or crime scene investigation. It is not only police officers and detectives who help solve crimes; they require the help of crime scene technicians and forensic pathologists to determine when and how a person died.
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What are Forensic Pathologists?
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Forensic pathologists are specialists in the field better known as medical examiners or coroners. They use their medical expertise to perform autopsies to investigate a cause of death. Forensic pathologists conduct tests to determine not only when a person died and how, but also to obtain any clues of who might have been responsible in cases of foul play. Forensic pathologists are licensed medical doctors, but cannot practice medicine with live patients.
Average Government Salaries
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Forensic pathologists' salaries vary by which government employs them. In 2010, the mean salary of a forensic pathologist employed by local governments was $54,660 per year, or $26.28 hourly. If employed by a state government, the average salary was $53,610 annually, or $25.77 per hour. Average income rose significantly if employed by the federal government, with a mean income of $96,290 a year or $46.29 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Location Matters
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Regional differences such as the cost of living, health of the local economy and crime rates affect how much a forensic pathologist earns. For example, forensic pathologists in Florida earned an average $47,270 per year in 2010, while those in Maryland took home a mean $58,850 annually. In California, the average salary for forensic pathologists was $67,720
per year.
National Mean Comparison
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In 2010, the mean or average salary of forensic pathologists of all kinds working in the United States was $55,040 per year, or $26.46 per hour. This ranked forensic pathologists working for both local and state governments in the third quartile or 50th to 75th percentile range of national salaries. However, those employed by the federal government earned the most, ranking in the top 10 percent of the field's salaries.
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