Also called: Medico-Legal Entomologist
Uses insects found on bodies and crime scenes to estimate time of death and solve crimes.
Gets called by detectives to a death scene, collects fly larvae and beetles from the body, raises them in the lab to identify their age, and testifies in court about when the person died.
Estimate; most are professors who consult on cases.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 10 years after high school. PhD in entomology plus forensic training; board certification (ABFE). Usually combined with a university job.
Ways in: Graduate school, Certification. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Entomology, Biology, Zoology, Forensic Science.
Growing about average. Fewer than 20 board-certified in the US.
Low risk for 10 years. Databases help estimate insect ages, but crime-scene collection, lab rearing and court testimony stay human.
Classes: AP Biology, Forensic science elective, AP Chemistry, Speech & debate.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-4092.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.