15 Pros and Cons of Being a Forensic Psychologist

Forensic psychology is not your typical desk job, pushing paperwork.

Instead, it’s an exciting and growing field that allows you to support the U.S. legal system by working on criminal and civil cases.

Since it’s a new subfield of psychology, the position gets more attention than most other specialties due to television shows that glamorize the position.

The role benefits the community and can be highly lucrative, but also requires long hours and can present challenging work.

Like any role, there’s a balance of pros and cons of being a forensic psychologist, so it’s important to understand both before entering the field.

Keep reading to learn more!

Pros of Being a Forensic Psychologist

The pros of becoming a forensic psychologist include:

1. Better Understand Human Behavior

The field allows you to conduct interesting research, including the reasons criminals may commit certain crimes.

Your daily duties also require you to research the causes of and solutions to legal conflicts, like child custody.

These findings help the court system reach decisions that benefit the community and individuals.

You also must develop specialized and effective approaches when advocating for those who have varying life experiences.

2. Diverse Job Duties

The typical job description of a forensic psychologist includes researching human behavior to understand the causes of criminal acts, testifying in court based on their theories to support defense or prosecution, conducting therapy sessions with offenders, and observing rehabilitation progress.

This field is far from boring and never has monotony, as every case and situation is different, and the diversity of job duties is constantly changing.

This is the ideal job for those who want to break free from sitting at a desk and working with various types of people.

3. Excellent Growth Opportunities

Since you are constantly conducting research for each case or situation, you will be regularly learning new skills, traits, and information about human behavior, which is excellent for personal and professional development.

Also, forensic psychologists are advised to continue their education by earning certifications offered by the American Board of Forensic Psychology.

Furthermore, you can grow by learning from colleagues who specialize in other areas.

4. Direct Benefit to People

Depending on the type of work, you may have a direct benefit to those you serve.

For instance, some forensic psychologists help prepare witnesses for court testimony.

Therefore, your responsibility might be to train an expert witness on methods of presenting opinions and findings in the courtroom.

This could result in a more powerful testimony, thus strengthening the impact on a jury and helping the defense or prosecution win the case.

Another example is in a child custody case, you may present findings or opinions that help the child end up with the more stable parent.

5. High Salary

With an average annual salary of almost $95,000, the forensic psychology field is well above the median U.S. income.

Also, as with all careers, your earnings can increase through experience, certifications, promotions, and other benefits.

This role is financially fulfilling from a professional and personal perspective.

Forensic psychologists don’t just work for the government; they can work for private firms contracted by the government, corporations in niche fields, prisons, law firms, or labs.

Each of these areas has different financial benefits, and you can move around the industry.

6. Working With Insurance Companies Is Not Required

Many psychologists, like counseling or clinical, must work with insurance companies for reimbursements of offered services.

While some areas of forensic psychology may still need to perform this task, most do not.

This may seem like a trivial advantage, but it’s an essential benefit of this position.

Insurance paperwork can consume significant time, which means less time you have to spend working.

The less red tape you need to manage, the more time you have to focus on cases, research, and the exciting work you will do.

7. Preventing Future Crimes

When working to understand human behavior, you can help prevent future crimes.

As you learn why offenders commit certain acts that lead to violence, you can provide solutions for effective rehabilitation that can eliminate repeat offenses.

Also, during criminal trials, you can assist witnesses with delivering expert testimonies in the courtroom, which influences a jury’s decision to prosecute those who have committed crimes.

8. Work Within a Competitive Job Market

Another major benefit of entering this field is the availability of job opportunities.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that this occupation is expected to increase by eight percent over the next decade.

Law enforcement personnel commonly lean on forensic specialists to assist in solving cases, consulting during trials, and preventing future crimes.

Witnesses may need mental health support to improve their lives.

As an industry expert, you are constantly learning about human behavior, so research-based positions are also prevalent.

The number of position types in the job market is extensive due to the high demand for these professionals.

Cons of Being a Forensic Psychologist

Like with any career, there are cons you must be aware of, including:

1. Challenging Cases

As a forensic psychologist, you will be involved in sensitive situations related to mental health conditions, family conflict, and crimes.

Due to the challenging nature of these cases, you must maintain your emotional wellness to live a high quality of life and be effective on the job.

It’s best to concentrate on the positive aspects of a legal scenario and take breaks when feeling overwhelmed or stressed about how the trials or situations are developing.

2. Extensive Job Requirements

Becoming a forensic psychologist is not an easy task.

Qualification requires an extensive time commitment to meet the educational and certification requirements.

At a minimum, you must earn a four-year bachelor’s degree, with most adding four to six years for advanced degrees.

Once all degrees are earned, you may take extra preparation time to earn the license.

These educational and licensing costs can add up quickly.

On the other hand, having a higher education level makes you more marketable and can help you negotiate a higher starting salary.

3. Must Follow Ethical Standards

When consulting with legal teams, you often need to view the case from a prosecution or defense point of view.

For instance, if a defense attorney hires you, you must apply your expertise to support a defendant’s arguments.

This includes presenting objective testimony that upholds ethical standards.

Depending on the case, defending a criminal can present a conscious ethical conundrum.

It’s important to collect all information about the situation in complicated cases to deliver a well-informed and thorough stance.

Many forensic psychologists choose cases without a personal connection to maintain ethical codes.

4. Potentially High Stress Levels

While many workers enjoy a challenge, the stress can mount, causing a poor quality of life.

This is highly common in this line of work.

For instance, one case can have an overwhelming number of tasks and be emotionally charged, resulting in excessive stress.

Multiply this by several simultaneous highly stressful cases, and it can result in burnout.

For this reason, it’s critical to ensure you maintain your mental health with potential counseling sessions and a strong work-life balance.

5. Scarcity of Jobs in Some Locations

For those who live in populated, urban areas, demand for forensic psychologists is likely high and growing.

However, for those who live in rural areas, the opposite may be true.

On a positive note, less populated areas tend to have fewer crimes or legal situations, but that doesn’t bode well for those who want a career in forensic psychology.

Therefore, if you want a rural lifestyle, be prepared to travel further distances to find work.

Commute times and costs may render the position unattractive, so it is important to determine this upfront.

6. Takes Time to Develop Supplementary Skills

In addition to having excellent research skills, forensic psychologists must also be fantastic problem solvers and have good oral and written communication skills.

They must also be able to work within a team and independently, work well under pressure, and meet tight deadlines.

Although some of these skills are inherently incorporated into educational training, it can take years to fully develop all the skills necessary to become an expert in the field.

7. Unpredictable Schedule

Forensic psychologists’ work is heavily dependent on case complexity, so you may not work standard business hours or have a fixed schedule.

Due to the urgency of working on criminal cases and partnering with law enforcement, you must be available on holidays and weekends and may be asked to travel to different locations to provide firsthand expertise.

Many find that the pros of working in this field quickly outweigh the unpredictability of the schedule, but this point is important to understand before entering the industry.

Pros and Cons of Being a Forensic Psychologist – Summary Table

Should You Become a Forensic Psychologist?

Deciding whether to become a forensic psychologist depends on your focus line of work and whether the pros outweigh the cons.

On the one hand, being a forensic psychologist can be incredibly rewarding, as you’re helping individuals and communities, and can also be highly lucrative.

From a personal development standpoint, you are constantly learning about human behavior and evolving your skills, and professionally, there is a diversity of jobs and growth opportunities.

On the other hand, the stress of the job and challenging cases can wear on your physical, mental, and social health.

Also, you may be working uncommon hours, including nights, weekends, and holidays; it may take time to develop skills, and you may not find work in rural areas.

The deciding question is, can you mentally handle this type of work, knowing that you are helping others on an individual and societal basis?

Source

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/psychologists.htm#tab-6