WORLD> America
|
WORLD> America
|
|
More women choosing careers in forensic science
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-15 20:54 Female forensic scientists also point to characters like crime writer Patricia Cornwell's Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the chief medical examiner in a string of best-selling thrillers. Women entering the field today grew up when girls were being encouraged to study science. Even the Girl Scouts have an "Uncovering the Evidence" badge, trimmed in pink with a silver fingerprint. Some say they became forensic scientists out of a desire to help people -- both to find the bad guy and clear the innocent one. "I think all of us have kind of an altruist bent for the greater good, because we could probably be doing research, chemistry or medical and making more money, but everybody seems to have a passion for the science and work and wanting to help people," said Glass, 36, a supervisor in latent prints. Studies have shown men place more importance on salaries than women, and forensic scientists start at about $30,000, much less than many science laboratory jobs. Women also are more detail-oriented, Glass and others said, which comes in handy when matching up fingerprints or comparing striations on bullets. Women often prefer the cooperative environment of a crime lab over the competitive atmosphere found in the nation's top science labs, said Diane Vance, director of the forensic science program at Eastern Kentucky University. The more stable hours are better suited for those who want a family. To be successful at a top research university, "It has to be your whole life," Vance said. Lashanda Oglesby thought that was the life she wanted. She was on her way to getting a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology with a future in academic research. Then she realized something else was more important: having a family. "Looking at women actually doing what I thought I wanted to do, they seemed to have to make a really difficult choice as to making sure that their career was successful and also being successful moms, and they did it and they did it well, but it was just a choice that I did not want to make," said Oglesby, who now works in Virginia's DNA lab. Skye Mullarkey, 22 and a graduate forensic science student at Virginia Commonwealth University, has wanted to be a forensic scientist since middle school. Her father was a state trooper. "I just kind of meshed him coming home and telling stories at the dinner table to my love for science and that kind of morphed into wanting to do this," she said. In VCU's forensic science program, 33 women and 11 men finished the undergraduate program this year and 20 women and two men graduated from the graduate program. "Women are the future of forensic science," said program director Bill Eggleston, who says men are warned they will be in the minority before they start. "It's not just evolving, it's a revolution." |
