Although careers in forensic pathology are all the rage nowadays thanks to all of the crime dramas on TV, the actual field goes back quite a long way. Back in the day, becoming a famous forensic pathologist was both easier and harder. In some ways it was easier because the technology was not as advanced. There was simply not as much to master, and there were fewer experts in the field. As such, anyone who could really make a few notable advances in the treatment of forensic crime scenes would have their name remembered for a long time.
At the same time, however, forensic pathologists had a much harder job to do. Nowadays, technology such as DNA tests, bullet tracing, and fingerprinting make forensic sciences much easier than they used to be. Much of police work nowadays is grunt work. If you go back far enough, however, just making a case with the primitive forensic pathology available was very difficult for detectives.
As forensic pathology becomes more of a matter of technology, its appeal becomes broader and broader. After all, no one wants to reach dead ends more often than they can catch the bad guys! If you go back far enough, it was almost impossible to successfully catch a bad guy unless someone actually witnessed the crime being committed. Things have come a long way for law enforcement! Now it is much more difficult for criminals to get away with serious offenses. Yet, without the diligent work of forensic pathology professionals, we would never have gotten to this point!
I was a pretty unlikely candidate for forensic pathologist schooling. I was not a law and order type. I was actually somewhat of a rebel, if you want to know the truth. I was very independently minded and had trouble with authority. Nevertheless, I had a very probing and analytical mind. I have simply always loved to solve problems, and forensic pathology gave me just the opportunity to do that. I had always been a fan of detective novels, and games like chess, as well as puzzles, have always captured my imagination. In retrospect, it is obvious, but in college I had no idea that I wanted to go into forensic sciences. If it weren't for a good friend of mine going into law enforcement, I never would have figured it out either. I am definitely glad that I found the right career!
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