I work full time as a forensic scientist, and it’s a dream job for the girl who’s loved true crime and CSI since I was like 11 years old.

I love what I do as a forensic toxicology analyst, but I want to move further up in my career. As an analyst, I do the testing on different samples in order to determine if there are any drugs present and the amount of those drugs. I want to move up and be the person interpreting the data from the lab and submitting case reports to clients – called the toxicologist or certifying scientist depending on the company and amount of experience the person has.

Here’s what I’m doing to reach that position:

Earned a Master’s Degree

A Masters degree is definitely not necessary to be a forensic scientist – you can get into the field with just a Bachelors. Having a Master’s should help me move up the career ladder more smoothly, and without having to wait as long.

After graduating from undergrad and working as a Quality Control Chemist for three years, I moved to Philly and attended Thomas Jefferson University, earning my Masters in Forensic Toxicology.

(Read more about my journey to become a forensic scientist here)

Make my goals known

I’ve told my supervisor and some coworkers about my goal to become a toxicologist. Having other people know my goals will help hold me accountable. They can also recommend me for projects and opportunities that might come up since they know that’s a goal of mine.

Network

Networking is sooooo important! I want to talk to people who are already working in the position I want to get to. They’ve already made the move that I want to make, so I want to know how they did it! I’ll ask about projects they worked on, experience they gained (how long), people they spoke to, etc.

Do research outside of work

Looking up information from your field when you’re not at work shows that you care about the job, and that you took the initiative to learn something new outside of work without your boss having to tell you.