Computer Forensics Careers
Computer forensics is becoming one of the most well paid and most highly demanded areas of the IT arena. A successful computer forensics career can last a long time, can be well paid, and can offer excellent levels of fulfilment. However, there are one or two pitfalls. Some organisations offer greater remuneration than others. Depending upon who you work for or in which area of computer forensics you specialise, expectations may be fairly high. Starting salaries are very healthy for postgraduates; a typical starting salary for computer forensics careers is around £16,000 to £18,000. A fully qualified computer forensics analyst will typically earn somewhere in the region of £24,000. For people who have already had established computer forensics careers, their experience and knowledge will earn them between £30,000 and £35,000 each year. Additionally, some specialised computer forensics careers such as forensic accountants earn far more, sometimes as much as £60,000 when they take a management role. The salary you earn in your computer forensics career will often be graded to the geographical area in which you live, so you will need to take this into consideration when applying for computer forensics jobs outside of the larger cities.
Opportunities exist to establish a computer forensics career in many ways. One of the more traditional ways a graduate will make a start in the industry is to join either the police force, the military or some other form of government department which specialises in investigation. In the private sector, accountancy firms and solicitors are prime employers of computer forensics analysts, and offer some of the most lucrative computer forensics careers. Large corporations who maintain a human resources department often employ a resident computer forensics analyst to deal with cases of staff misuse of corporate IT equipment.
A career in computer forensics offers you the chance to get involved in cutting edge technology, and put your skills to use helping to solve crimes, bring justice and generally insure that the IT industry in general has a safety net it comes to misuse of technology.
