Also called: Medical Examiner, Deputy Medical Examiner
A doctor who performs autopsies to determine how and why people died.
Forensic pathologists examine bodies in suspicious or sudden deaths, determining whether it was murder, suicide, accident, or natural causes. They testify in murder trials. There's a severe national shortage, with only about 700 board-certified forensic pathologists.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 13 years after high school. Medical degree (MD/DO), pathology residency, and forensic pathology fellowship.
Ways in: 4-year college, Professional school. Training cost: Over $150k.
Majors to look at: Biology, Chemistry, Pre-Medicine, Biochemistry.
Growing faster than average. Approximate; strong shortage.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps read scans and slides; autopsies, cause-of-death rulings and testimony stay with the doctor.
Classes: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, Anatomy & physiology, AP Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 29-1222.
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.