Careers in Digital Forensics
09/06/2023

A common misconception
When people think of digital forensic science, they may consider career prospects to be limited to roles in law enforcement. Whilst it is accurate to say that those that have trained in digital forensic science may go on to be employed in digital forensic units and labs conducting work for regional police forces or national and international crime prevention agencies, this is not the only option.
The options
Sticking with the law enforcement theme for now, those with the knowledge and skills of this domain may not necessarily go on to conduct digital forensic work, instead seeking to pursue more analytical or intelligence-based roles within police forces. In turn, rather than conducting more ‘post mortem’ work due to the reactive nature of forensics, an individual may choose to apply their skills in a more preventative security role.
If we consider these types of agencies to also include those beyond regional police forces, such as those operating at both a national and international level, then careers may include working with those conducting work such as serious fraud or organised crime investigations. In turn, there are a range of private sector firms who conduct outsourced digital forensic work for law enforcement as well as private clients.
The following job adverts require digital forensic specialists in the following areas:
- Health care providers.
- Government organisation.
- Social media companies.
- Private sector companies.
- TV/cable providers.
- Airlines.
- Google.
- Visa.
- Warner Bros.
- Supermarkets.
- Graduate schemes.
- Academic teaching, research and training.
Practitioners in high demand!
This shows that the potential range of careers is large, effectively driven by businesses and organisations who utilise technology to have the in-house capability to investigate incidents if and when they occur. Given that technology is now prolific in society and relied upon by almost all, then many companies need the capability to interrogate their systems and establish any chain of events following a potential incident – a potentially perfect task for someone trained in digital forensic science!
It is important to remember that digital forensic practitioners have a range of technical and analytical skills that can be applied in a number of domains beyond those career areas that may seem more obvious. They possess knowledge of both the computer science and forensic science fields, in essence being somewhat of a ‘digital detective’, where there are many fields and careers requiring those which have such investigative abilities.
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
Bank holiday hours for Library Services: Monday 26 May
Library Services staff will be taking a break on Monday 26 May for the early May bank holiday. You will still be able to access all the resources and help you need via our library website. ...
Want to know more about research methods?
Research methods are the strategies and tools used to gather, analyse and interpret data or evidence to uncover new information or create better understanding of a topic. Research methodology is the theory, justification and assumptions ...
How do I cite…. items with multiple authors in APA7?
This post follows on from our post on using 'et al' in citations but has a slightly different focus - do read them both! As you may know, in-text citations can be written either as ...
The British Library Business and IP Centre
Did you know that the Business and IP Centre at the British Library, on the Euston Road in London, has a variety of events and resources to support entrepreneurs and small businesses? If you register ...
Getting started on your Master’s thesis
Please note: This post is intended to provide advice to all students undertaking a thesis in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences. There is separate advice for School of Management students. Choosing your thesis ...
A key strength of the Management MSc: Thesis-linked Internships for all students
What drew me to Cranfield was not just its reputation, but the practical, real-world approach embedded in the curriculum. The course offers the chance to work on live case studies with companies and even ...