What skills should a Forensic Science Technician put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, and Writing among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Forensic Science Technician list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Photoshop, Automated Biometric Identification System ABIS, Combined DNA Index System CODIS, Computer aided design and drafting CADD software, and Corel WordPerfect Office Suite. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Forensic Science Technician work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Crime Scene Technician, Crime Scene Tech, Criminalist, and CSI. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Forensic Science Technician need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 36% reported their level of education as "Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Forensic Science Technician role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Forensic Science Technician resume example

A resume for a Forensic Science Technician needs to show the work itself: collect, identify, classify, and analyze physical evidence related to criminal investigations. Day to day that means work like this: collect evidence from crime scenes, storing it in conditions that preserve its integrity; keep records and prepare reports detailing findings, investigative methods, and laboratory techniques. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Crime Scene Technician
Crime Scene Tech
Criminalist
CSI
Crime Scene Investigator
Forensic Scientist
Crime Lab Analyst
Crime Laboratory Analyst
Crime Scene Analyst
CSA
Evidence Technician
Evidence Tech
Forensic Science Examiner
Forensic Specialist
Latent Print Examiner
Ballistics Tech
Biometric Fingerprint Tech
Biometric Fingerprinting Tech

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

Crime Lab Analyst (Crime Laboratory Analyst)
Crime Scene Analyst (CSA)
Crime Scene Technician (Crime Scene Tech)
CSI (Crime Scene Investigator)
Evidence Technician (Evidence Tech)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Collect evidence from crime scenes, storing it in conditions that preserve its integrity.
Keep records and prepare reports detailing findings, investigative methods, and laboratory techniques.
Use photographic or video equipment to document evidence or crime scenes.
Testify in court about investigative or analytical methods or findings.
Use chemicals or other substances to examine latent fingerprint evidence and compare developed prints to those of known persons in databases.
Measure and sketch crime scenes to document evidence.
Visit morgues, examine scenes of crimes, or contact other sources to obtain evidence or information to be used in investigations.
Train new technicians or other personnel on forensic science techniques.
Operate and maintain laboratory equipment and apparatus.
Collect impressions of dust from surfaces to obtain and identify fingerprints.
Examine and analyze blood stain patterns at crime scenes.
Analyze gunshot residue and bullet paths to determine how shootings occurred.

24 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Collect evidence from crime scenes, storing it in conditions that preserve its integrity, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Keep records and prepare reports detailing findings, investigative methods, and laboratory techniques, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Use photographic or video equipment to document evidence or crime scenes, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Testify in court about investigative or analytical methods or findings, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe Photoshop
Automated Biometric Identification System ABIS
Combined DNA Index System CODIS
Computer aided design and drafting CADD software
Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
DataWorks Plus Digital CrimeScene
DesignWare 3D EyeWitness
DM2 Bills of Lading
Eos Systems PhotoModeler
Graphics software
IBM Notes
Image enhancement software
Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System IAFIS
Laboratory information management system LIMS

32 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

35 millimeter cameras
Benchtop mixers
Biohazard suits
Blood collection kits
Body fluid collection kits
Breathalyzers
Colored camera filters
Crime scene evidence flags
Crime scene tape measures
Cyanoacrylate fuming chambers
Deoxyribonucleic acid DNA collection kits
Desktop computers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Automated Biometric Identification System ABIS
Combined DNA Index System CODIS
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Critical Thinking
03Reading Comprehension
04Speaking
05Writing
06Complex Problem Solving
07Active Learning
08Judgment and Decision Making
09Monitoring
10Science

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Law and Government
Public Safety and Security
Education and Training
English Language
Computers and Electronics
Customer and Personal Service
Administration and Management
Chemistry

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

36%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
29%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
17%Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Forensic Science Technician do?: Collect, identify, classify, and analyze physical evidence related to criminal investigations. Day to day that includes work like collect evidence from crime scenes, storing it in conditions that preserve its integrity and Keep records and prepare reports detailing findings, investigative methods, and laboratory techniques.
What skills should a Forensic Science Technician put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, and Writing among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Forensic Science Technician list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Photoshop, Automated Biometric Identification System ABIS, Combined DNA Index System CODIS, Computer aided design and drafting CADD software, and Corel WordPerfect Office Suite. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Forensic Science Technician work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Crime Scene Technician, Crime Scene Tech, Criminalist, and CSI. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Forensic Science Technician need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 36% reported their level of education as "Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Forensic Science Technician role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.