Job Opportunities
A lot of forensic anthropologists do not work full time because of the limited amount of places they can work, “A few are employed as full time forensic scientists, particularly for the U.S. government and military.” (archlab.uindy.edu). This may be the case because there are few cases in which the help of forensic anthropologists are needed, but in the military they are more likely to need them in order to help identify dead soldiers.
Also depending in the state in which you choose to live, geographical location, and population size the death cases will be more different or more common. For example “at the University of Indianapolis yearly they can get about 15 to 20 cases a year, not including the cases that involve ancient skeletons and animal remains.” (1) This may be because many people will commonly get animal and human bones confused and call in a false human body.
Most crime scenes do not involve the full human skeleton of just bone structure only the already decomposing human body with skin still attached to the bone.
There is a great interest in forensic anthropology especially with the influence of the media, but there is not always a place where a forensic anthropologist can work that is why it is a difficult field to get into as states Mr. Skelton: “Many people think there are a lot of jobs available in forensic anthropology. As much as I wish that were true, I haven’t found it to be so.
The reason for this is that there simply aren’t enough cases, even in a big city like Los Angeles or New York City, to keep a forensic anthropologist busy.” (Skelton 1). It is very hard for a forensic anthropologist to find a job just like Mr. Randy Skelton said because there are not always cases in which someone stumbles upon a pile of bones. Although there are not many places a forensic anthropologist can work there are three places where they can work are as quoted by Mr. Skelton are as:
A faculty member at a college or university, or working as a curator for a museum. Working for the army, which hires a few forensic
anthropologists at their forensic centers in Hawaii and Washington D.C. and working in a local, state, or federal crime lab as a regular staff member who just happens to have expertise in forensic anthropology. (1)
These are some of the main places that a forensic anthropologist can work at because of the limited number of choices available and the degree of education, knowledge, and experience that a forensic anthropology has. Also considering how popular this work field is especially among students because of the current television shows that have popularized crime scene investigators, “Forensic anthropologists are commonly portrayed in the media as forensic scientists and/or crime scene technicians, but this is not accurate.” (utk.edu 1).
This has caused a lot of confusion between many young people because as portrayed in the television shows one person does not investigate, analyze evidence, and then determine the manner of death there are all sorts of different jobs that contribute to one case.
There are many people who specialize in their own category of work such as forensic dentist, forensic pathologist, and homicidal investigator. The credit does not fall on just one person and this confuses many people into wanting to become detectives or crime scene investigators.
Also depending in the state in which you choose to live, geographical location, and population size the death cases will be more different or more common. For example “at the University of Indianapolis yearly they can get about 15 to 20 cases a year, not including the cases that involve ancient skeletons and animal remains.” (1) This may be because many people will commonly get animal and human bones confused and call in a false human body.
Most crime scenes do not involve the full human skeleton of just bone structure only the already decomposing human body with skin still attached to the bone.
There is a great interest in forensic anthropology especially with the influence of the media, but there is not always a place where a forensic anthropologist can work that is why it is a difficult field to get into as states Mr. Skelton: “Many people think there are a lot of jobs available in forensic anthropology. As much as I wish that were true, I haven’t found it to be so.
The reason for this is that there simply aren’t enough cases, even in a big city like Los Angeles or New York City, to keep a forensic anthropologist busy.” (Skelton 1). It is very hard for a forensic anthropologist to find a job just like Mr. Randy Skelton said because there are not always cases in which someone stumbles upon a pile of bones. Although there are not many places a forensic anthropologist can work there are three places where they can work are as quoted by Mr. Skelton are as:
A faculty member at a college or university, or working as a curator for a museum. Working for the army, which hires a few forensic
anthropologists at their forensic centers in Hawaii and Washington D.C. and working in a local, state, or federal crime lab as a regular staff member who just happens to have expertise in forensic anthropology. (1)
These are some of the main places that a forensic anthropologist can work at because of the limited number of choices available and the degree of education, knowledge, and experience that a forensic anthropology has. Also considering how popular this work field is especially among students because of the current television shows that have popularized crime scene investigators, “Forensic anthropologists are commonly portrayed in the media as forensic scientists and/or crime scene technicians, but this is not accurate.” (utk.edu 1).
This has caused a lot of confusion between many young people because as portrayed in the television shows one person does not investigate, analyze evidence, and then determine the manner of death there are all sorts of different jobs that contribute to one case.
There are many people who specialize in their own category of work such as forensic dentist, forensic pathologist, and homicidal investigator. The credit does not fall on just one person and this confuses many people into wanting to become detectives or crime scene investigators.