Salary of a forensi...
 
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Salary of a forensics person?

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(@digitalexodus)
Posts: 10
Active Member
Topic starter
 

Ive just been asked to submit a resume and salary request for a forensics related job. And thats all the information i have about the job, what would you guys say? i have almost no idea how much a forensic person makes? if you can give me your best estimate, or any ideas that would be great. Im sure your wondering about my background, but give me a base based upon just the job itself. a garbage man still makes x amount of $$$ before they consider other factors which will increase/decrease his/her pay. Thanks for your input.

 
Posted : 07/02/2006 7:40 am
mbinmd
(@mbinmd)
Posts: 3
New Member
 

As a manager of and person who hires Forensic Examiners (which I am) your background is completely necessary to give you a ball park. Someone who has no experience and took one EnCase class is no where near as valuable to me as a former police officer with a masters degree and 10 years of CF experience. That being said in the Baltimore DC area you could make anywhere from mid-50s as an entry level technician to well over 100K as a rather senior examiner on a government contract to over 150 - 200 as a manager with a firm like D&T or KPMG.

 
Posted : 07/02/2006 7:59 am
(@digitalexodus)
Posts: 10
Active Member
Topic starter
 

I kind of expected that type of answer, but didnt think i would actually get any figures out of you, that does help. Here is my logic, and i might as well try and give more info on myself, and maybe you can tell me if im worth more/less than im asking. First of all I have an Associates in Computer Science, Two years of vocational-technical school combined 4 years of training. I have over 4 years of Consulting/Network administration experience. I only have one cert A+. I have had classes at a Tech school on Forensics(mostly Forensics Toolkit and the theory of forensics), cyber crime, and network security. I think thats pretty much it. As far as network administration goes i was looking and making anywhere from 25-33k If location means anything to you, i live in the pittsburgh area of PA. I figured forensics is alot more specialized than computer networking and was hoping to get at least 40k. That being said, are those unreasonable figures? Here is what i dont want. I dont want to reply to the individual with an amount less than im worth, nor respond with an amount that will force him/her to not even consider me based on pay, but u dont want to say negotiable, for its own reasons. He/she is asking for two things right now, a resume and a salary req. My best guess is that i would be the first forensic person they would be hiring which is why they dont really know how much im worth, or how much they can pay. Anyone else?

 
Posted : 07/02/2006 8:25 am
keydet89
(@keydet89)
Posts: 3568
Famed Member
 

For what it's worth, when I've conducted interviews, I like to give a practical portion. If someone says that they're a "Perl expert", I have them write some code…depending on what it says on their resume and in a background/Google search, I may even give them a system to run it on.

For practical, hands-on things, I've come up with practical, hands-on exercises, or used discussion-type questions to reason through a scenario.

The point of this is that you're putting a lot of focus into what you can get from an employer, whereas the employer is going to be focusing on what you can provide them. It might be a better approach to market yourself, rather than trying to categorize yourself based on certs and potential salary.

Something else to think about…I've had jobs where I was asked my salary requirements during the interview process. In my personal experience, I've found this to be indicative of someone who doesn't really know what they're looking for. If someone has a job description posted, and they don't really know what they're looking for, then it's a good bet that there are a lot of other unknowns behind the curtain, as well. IMHO, I'd have pretty good idea already of what I was looking for (junior/entry level, more experienced, or senior/mgr level) as well as a salary window.

The thing a lot of folks do not realize, particularly in the IT field, is that the employers are not the experts. Many times, they have no idea what they want.

H

 
Posted : 07/02/2006 4:44 pm
nickfx
(@nickfx)
Posts: 131
Estimable Member
 

I think you've answered your own question. If you were really passionate about getting into Forensics then the pay increase would be irrelevant to you, the desire to get your feet under the table would be enough. Are you sure you want this? Secondly, there is no substitute for real life case experience, this job could give you that.

I would stop thinking about the money and ask yourself if you really want this career shift. It all sounds glamorous but spending your life wading through other peoples digital garbage can be very tough as well as rewarding.

Focus your resume heavily on your drive to keep learning in this arena as you have demonstrated with courses and ask for $35k with a $5k salary review after 6 months.

If this is the first forensic person they have hired, no disrespect, but they would be nuts to hire you as their only guy!

All the best

Nick

 
Posted : 07/02/2006 4:48 pm
nickfx
(@nickfx)
Posts: 131
Estimable Member
 

sorry, posted duplicate by mistake

 
Posted : 07/02/2006 4:50 pm
(@armresl)
Posts: 1011
Noble Member
 

"former police officer with a masters degree"

I understand that someone with 10 years CF experience would be valuable. How is someone who was a police officer or having a masters degree any better then someone who doesn't have either or one?

 
Posted : 07/02/2006 5:48 pm
nickfx
(@nickfx)
Posts: 131
Estimable Member
 

Haven't you heard armresl, police officers know everything! That's why I'm not one.

)

Nick

 
Posted : 07/02/2006 6:10 pm
mbinmd
(@mbinmd)
Posts: 3
New Member
 

With a former police officer you know that the person already has an investigative mind set. Not to say that someone who wasn't an investigator can't develop this trait. But I have supervised and worked with both law enforcement background and IT background folks and it has been my experience that it takes just a little longer for the non-LE folks to know what leads to follow during an exam.

As far as a Masters Degree…computer forensics is first and foremost a science. Someone who has taken the time to obtain an advanced degree in Computer Science has already proven via academia, their understanding of computers and probably brings in some added benefits such as being able to program or script.

With all that being said one of my best friend that I work with has no degree yet he is outrageously brilliant when it comes to computers. The benefit from a hiring manager perspective is that with a degree, LE experience, and actual hands on experience you have an idea of what you are getting.

 
Posted : 07/02/2006 6:52 pm
(@fatrabbit)
Posts: 132
Estimable Member
 

The debate over qualifications and law enforcement experience has been conducted before on this forum. I personally agree that having an advanced academic qualification is beneficial, but disagree strongly with the argument for law enforcement experience. This is not applicable in your case, but forensic analysts know which artefacts exist and in which repositories/locations, not because they have x amount of years investigative experience, but because they know the vagaries of computers and computing.

 
Posted : 07/02/2006 7:40 pm
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