The Pros And Cons Of Occupation Of A Forensic Analyst

In today’s world, many people have stressful jobs and find them overwhelming. In researching the occupation of a forensic analyst and how it might impact my future, I discovered it to be particularly challenging. There is pressure to prevent wrongful convictions and to solve the crimes quickly. In addition, the burden of knowing many cases is unsolved. A Forensic analyst must navigate the challenges of technological advancements, unsolved crimes, and their own mental and emotional well-being.

Upon researching, the first challenge I discovered was the impact that processing crimes can have on someone's mental health. As noted in the article, The Impact of Stress, Trauma, and Burnout on Forensic Scientists, "forensic scientists often encounter

Society’s interest has increased with the popularity of true crime podcasts, “but the failures of forensic scientists to accurately ID perpetrators and exonerate the innocent have become as fascinating as the marvels of scientific sleuthing itself” (Shute 2). Many murders go unsolved because of the incorrect handling of evidence; testing was not available at the time to accurately determine who may have been the perpetrator; and there were limited resources, legal limitations, or corruption. “Advancements in genealogy databases have assisted in decreasing some of the outstanding unsolved cases, but according to the Uniform Crime Reporting data, there are currently more than 200,000 unsolved homicides in the United States, and this number continues to rise by 6,000 per year” (OJP). This can be frustrating for a forensic analyst, creating pressure to conduct additional analysis, draining resources, and taking on the responsibility of solving the crime quickly to lower costs. However, “most crime labs are not independent but tucked into police departments or state law enforcement agencies. They depend on law enforcement for funding and operate under ever-present financial and psychological pressure to collaborate in securing convictions. Third, no one from the outside is rigorously checking the work done by forensic analysts, who may or may not have adequate scientific training” (Hagerty 48). However, this could be