Also called: Composite Sketch Artist, Police Sketch Artist
Draws suspect sketches from witness descriptions, ages photos of missing children, and reconstructs faces from skulls.
A forensic artist sits with a nervous witness and gently asks questions while sketching a face, adjusting the nose or eyes until the witness says, 'That's him.' Other days they use software to show what a child missing for 10 years might look like now. Some work with medical examiners to rebuild faces on skull casts.
Estimate. Few full-time positions exist; many are officers or civilian employees who do forensic art as part of their job.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Art background plus forensic art training; the International Association for Identification offers certification. Many are police officers who trained in art.
Ways in: 4-year college, Certification, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Fine Arts, Criminal Justice, Illustration, Forensic Science.
Growing slowly. Very small field; most roles sit in state and federal agencies.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI composite generators and age-progression software do more of the drawing; witness interviews and court-ready judgment stay human.
Classes: Drawing and portrait art, Psychology, Criminal justice CTE.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-1013.
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.