How Much Do You Make
The jobs that pay the most hire the fewest people. Forensic scientists working for the U.S. government (of which there are about 150 in the U.S.) make, on average, $40 an hour. This works out to about $84,000 a year.
The next highest paid forensic scientists work for consulting firms, whether they're doing general management, scientific work or technical advising. The average salary here is about $53,000 a year.
Hospitals come in third (both general and surgical hospitals), and pay about $52,000 a year in salary.
Your local and state governments come in next. Of course, there are far more local positions available in the U.S. than State (almost by a factor of two). Interestingly, though, the local jobs pay more than the state ones. Your local crime lab will pay you about $51,000 a year, while the state lab will fork over a little under $50,000.
