Career Spotlight: Forensic Psychologist

By Tim Boyle

With the popularity of shows like CSI, Bones, and even Dexter, Forensic Pathology has seen an increase in popularity as a career choice. The lucrative imagery of DNA testing, crime scene analysis, and solving unsolvable crimes has been effectively dramatized and when the word Forensic is mentioned, images of these shows come to mind in the mentality of pop culture. But what of the other Forensic Sciences, which haven’t gained as much media attention?

In this issue of the NAYP newsletter, I decided to write an article about a passion of mine, Forensic Psychology. When I tell most people that I’m studying to be a Forensic Psychologist, they often place me in the same category of those TV shows and assume that I aspire to hunt down serial killers for the local police station or the FBI. While some Forensic Psychologists do participate in helping to track such criminals, that isn’t exactly the meat on the proverbial skeleton of what the career entails.

The vast majority of the work done by Forensic Psychologists is related to being able to translate psychological terms into the language of the courts. In other words, when a forensic assessment is done of a defendant in a court case, the results of that assessment must be translated into jargon which is more easily understood by people who do not hold a degree in psychology. Forensic Psychologists can also be involved in juror selection, counseling police officers who have witnessed violent crimes, criminal profiling, and some even help in crisis negotiations. It’s an extremely broad field.

One major difference to note between a Forensic Psychologist and a Clinical Psychologist is that psychologists involved in forensics often don’t provide therapy for the clients they see (with the exception of counseling police officers), but rather, they provide unbiased clinical assessments of clients to whom they are referred. For example, if you have an offender that has multiple DUIs, then the Forensic Psychologist would administer psychometric tests designed to examine alcohol abuse, and then make a recommendation for treatment to the courts, without providing treatment to the client. A clinician, on the other hand, would provide therapy after the initial assessment.

Forensic Psychology is also a growing field, with several universities offering programs focused specifically on forensics, as opposed to clinical, educational, social, and business psychology programs that have been traditionally offered. As with most degrees in psychology, an advanced degree is preferred in order to receive licensing to practice in most, if not all states. The median salary in this field isn’t too bad as well, offering about 40,000$ in the first year, with a median salary of about 60,000$ after 10+ years, with some professionals even earning in excess of six figures after this time period, depending on area of practice, expertise, and, of course, advanced degrees.

So, if working in a court setting as an expert witness, potentially profiling criminals, helping to counsel police officers, or even helping with jury selection sounds like it would be up your alley, then check out Forensic Psychology!