If you were to conceive everything you saw on television about a sidereal day in the lifespan of a forensic skill professional , it would be all crime shot probe all the prison term . As pulse - poundingly exciting as the fact-finding antics onCSI , NCIS , Dexter , andCriminal Mindsmay be , the day - to - day duty of forensic professionals are n’t always so cinematic . From accountants to astronomers , here are 10 lesser - known — but entirely entrancing — forensic careers .
1. FORENSIC LINGUIST
From orthoepy to Bible edict , the patterns with which a person communicates are almost as distinct as the sound of his or her vocalization . Which draw them an identifiable small-arm of evidence in a deplorable investigation , particularly in cause where fraud or piracy are concerned . Though the field of forensic philology emerged in the late sixties , it did n’t come into pop use in the U.S. until the mid-1990s , when FBI forensic linguistJames Fitzgeraldconvinced his employer that publishing the Unabomber ’s “ pronunciamento ” could possibly aid them catch the man who had killed three people and hurt virtually two dozen others with the homemade bombs he ’d been mailing to unsuspecting victims for most two decades . It worked . Several people called in tips after reading the manifesto , recognizing the writing style , which finally led them to Ted Kaczynski .
If you ’ve been watch Discovery’sManhunt : Unabomber , you ’ve already gotten a sense of what Fitzgerald ’s job entails . He ’s portrayed by Sam Worthington in the series , and Fitzgerald , a.k.a . " Fitz , " has been impressed with the serial publication ' accuracy . " They are in the high 80 percentile [ of accuracy],“Fitzgerald tell Bustle , observe that " the Fitz character is a composite character . " He distinguish the series as " a metaphorical look at my role in the Unabomber type , as well as bite and pieces of other agents who did it . It ’s comparatively actual . I will say , if it is about language analysis that is shown on the filmdom , that was me . That was the existent Fitz . "
2. FORENSIC OPTOMETRIST
Diagnosing astigmatism and glaucoma is all in a Clarence Shepard Day Jr. ’s workplace for an optometrist . Catching a murderer ? Not so much . ButGraham Stronghas spent more than two decennium doing just that , helping to prove the possession of eyewear grounds left behind at offense scenes . It all started in 1989 , when he assist investigators in prove that the glasses found beneath the torso of a murder victim were the same one that their key suspect was wearing in an earlier mug shot . “ I obtained more than 20 measure that enable me to conclude that the drinking glass found at the fit were superposable to photographs in every way,”Strong explainedof his investigative cognitive operation . The grounds resulted in a first - level slaying condemnation .
3. FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST
If you ’ve ever watch an episode ofBones , you kinda sorta know what ’s in a forensic anthropologist ’s job description : to help identify and inquire decompose or damage pinched corpse . If the science in the show seems sound , that ’s because ( for the most part ) it is : The serial , which finish its 12 - season run in March 2017 , is establish on the life , work , and writing ofKathy Reichs , who is one of only 100 forensic anthropologist ever certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology ( she ’s also a well - selling author and was one of the show ’s producer ) .
4. FORENSIC ARCHAEOLOGIST
Part Indiana Jones and part Sherlock Holmes , forensic archaeologists work with the police and other government delegacy to site , dig , and analyse historical evidence , from swallow up personal point to mickle graves . Employing the same technique they would at a dig internet site , forensic archaeologists help to organize a law-breaking setting and preserve likely grounds and are being increasinglycalled uponby organisation such as the United Nations in racial extermination investigations in Rwanda , Argentina , and Bosnia .
5. FORENSIC ACCOUNTANT
Some investigators express a gun ; others wield an adding motorcar . weigh this : When the FBI was founded in 1908 , 12 of its 34 original investigators were bank examiners . Today , about 400of the FBI ’s special agents are accountants . Forensic accountants are also found in accounting firms of varying sizes , as well as in law firms and police and government agencies , where they investigate a range of crimes that have been committed in the name of fiscal gain , which could include anything from murder to certificate fraud .
6. FORENSIC ASTRONOMER
Not even Copernicus could have likely imagined that the field he pioneered would one solar day be able-bodied to aid in the speech of effectual justice . But the celestial body that proceed to confuse us steady folk have been used in much more practical ways for several C now , dating all the way back to Abraham Lincoln’sdaysas a attorney , when he successfully defend a customer against murder by being able to establish the position of the moon on the Nox of the altercation ( whichdisprovedthe testimony of the prosecution ’s central spectator ) .
7. FORENSIC ODONTOLOGIST
In the later sixties , there was a serial killer and raper on the light in Montreal who earned the nickname “ The Vampire Rapist ” because of the signature bite sucker he left on the breasts of his victims . That condemnable career card became the undoing ofWayne Boden , the 23 - year - old former example who was arrested in 1971 whenGordon Swann , a local orthodontist , was capable to show 29 decimal point of similarity between Boden ’s chompers and the marks left on the trunk of Elizabeth Porteous , his last victim . Boden ’s judgment of conviction was the first in North America to lie on odontological grounds , but certainly not the last ; in 1979 , forensic odontologistRichard Souvironwas a central spectator in the prosecution of Ted Bundy for the Chi Omega execution at Florida State University .
8. FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST
Forensic pathologist — medical Dr. tax with examining corpses to determine identity and the effort and manner of death — have find themselves in the spot in recent years with the popularity of world television set series likeDr . G : Medical Examiner , which play along Dr. Jan Garavaglia , Orlando ’s Chief Medical Examiner , who excellently identifiedthe remains of Caylee Anthony . A decade in the beginning , HBO premieredAutopsy , a documentary series in which Dr. Michael Baden — the former Chief Medical Examiner of New York City — explained the scientific discipline behind some of the most infamous law-breaking of the century , including the character assassination of JFK , the decease of Sid Vicious , and the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson . Lesser - knownAutopsycases test how maggot , tattoos , breast implant , and chewing gingiva have all help oneself figure out crimes .
9. FORENSIC MICROSCOPIST
The most damnatory grounds at a law-breaking view is usually the kind that is impossible to see with the naked eye . infix forensic microscopy , the scientific discipline of trace evidence , which can offer valuable clues in solve a criminal offence by try a variety of substances such as hairs , vulcanized fiber , soil , dust , build materials , paint chip shot , botanical , and food . Skip Palenik has spent a lifetime using microscropy to solve real - human beings law-breaking , analyzing trace evidence in the sheath of the Hillside Strangler , JonBenét Ramsey , the Unabomber , and the Green River Killer . In 1992 , he foundedMicrotrace LLC , an independent laboratory and audience firm focus on small particle analysis .
10. FORENSIC NURSE
Nurses are the first point of striking for many a crime dupe , so it only makes sentiency that they would dally an important role in the legal scheme . From collecting roue and deoxyribonucleic acid sample distribution to counseling crime victims , the specialisation of a forensic nanny can diverge , as can their breeding . Writer - manufacturer Serita Stevens — a forensic nurse herself — explores the field in deepness in her bookForensic Nurse : The New Role of the Nurse in Law Enforcement , which notes of the job that “ When the human body itself is a crime scenery , [ the forensic nursemaid ] is the most critical investigator of all . ”
