Also called: Computer Forensics Analyst
Recovers deleted files, texts, and data from phones and computers for investigations.
Examiners image hard drives, crack phones, recover deleted messages, and testify about digital evidence in court.
Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in digital forensics or cybersecurity; certifications like GCFE.
Ways in: 4-year college, Certification, Military. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Digital Forensics, Cybersecurity, Computer Science.
Growing much faster than average (about 29% over 10 years).
Medium risk for 10 years. Tools already auto-extract phones and AI summarizes chats, so each examiner covers more cases; court testimony and chain of custody stay human.
Classes: Computer Science, Networking CTE, Criminal justice, AP Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 15-1212.
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.