John Jay is a very good criminal justice school, and they’re a CUNY, so for you, cheap.

In general, there are two main career tracks within forensics. I’m not sure which the program at John Jay best fits.

The first track is crime scene technician. These are the folks, usually police officers, who are also trained in evidence technologies. They go to the crime scene and gather evidence.

The second track is forensic scientist. These people are actually scientists working in a lab. They do not go to crime scenes (no matter what they show on CSI). They do not interview suspects. They work in a lab.

Most forensic science employers hire people with a bachelors degree or higher in a lab science – biology, chemistry, physics, and related. If the forensic science program you go to is a REAL science major, and not just “science lite” like I so often see, it could be fine. But it must be a real, solid science major, with tons of lab work.

And that’s why I can’t recommend any forensic science program you may find online. No way is it good enough to get you a job in this field. It’s got to be a reputable science major, from a good school (and NOT a Devry or the like), and there has to be a lot of hands-on lab work, or you will *never* get hired.

What I’d like you to do is go to the websites for the NYPD, and learn more about what’s needed to become a forensic scientist or “criminalist”. You’ll see that forensic science is a fine major for that field – but I am telling you that it needs to be a solid program. I’m sure the one at John Jay is fine.

NYPD info:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/careers/civilian_opportunities.shtml

One thing I really like about John Jay is that they’re a strong school, but they aren’t really hard to get into at all. And relative to most, they’re cheap. Major bonus.

Talk to John Jay about their major.