What training or education do I need to have to be a Forensic Pathologist Technician?

Answer 1

Based on TV I think that your main skills for this job would be dressing well, spending a lot of time at the toning gym and learning to talk back to your superiors.

Based on the work I did with the state lab, I would say the main skills you need are a tenacious patience in working with really bad smelling and amazingly gross specimens that would - I'm not kidding - make most people puke up their guts. You have to have a high tolerance for semen, blood, saliva and intestinal contents.

Also, you have to be the kind of person who is obsessively meticulous about labelling and handling everything. If you ever had a messy room, then you are probably not the right person for a crime lab. One mistake and a rapist or murderer goes free.

A Forensic technician is going to working for a pathologist. They are the geekiest of all doctors. The ones who never see patients but just sit in their lab office all day examining body parts. Most of the pathologists I've known were incredibly brilliant geniuses and also total nerds. Your boss is going to be fascinating and amazingly frustrating and boring at the same time.

Forensics is DEFINITELY not a job for everyone.

Answer 2

Many colleges and universities now offer B.S. degrees in forensic science and many offer masters degrees as well. So check with colleges or university in the area you wish to go to school.