Also called: Crime Lab Manager, Forensic Laboratory Director
Runs a forensic lab that tests DNA, drugs, fingerprints, and firearms evidence for police and courts.
Lab directors manage teams of scientists, keep the lab accredited, handle budgets and case backlogs, and sometimes testify about the lab's methods. Most started as forensic scientists.
Estimate from BLS natural sciences managers in government.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 14 years after high school. Bachelor's in a natural science, often a master's, plus 10+ years of forensic experience.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Forensic Science, Chemistry, Biology.
Growing about average. Steady demand.
Low risk for 10 years. Automation shifts lab staffing; accreditation, backlogs and leading scientists stay human.
Classes: AP Chemistry, AP Biology, Business, AP Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 11-9121.
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.