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That depends. If you're an actor who plays one on television, you can make a lot of money. "CSI" actor William Peterson reportedly makes $250,000 per episode. Sadly, real crime scene investigators make much less than the fake ones. This 2004 want ad from the city of Philadelphia offers a starting salary of between $38,733 and $42,720 a year. The job description entails "locating, gathering, documenting, transporting, preserving and analyzing physical evidence from crime scenes." A quick scan of the job postings on Crime-Scene-Investigator.net reveals a similar
range of salaries. Starting CSIs in West Palm Beach, Florida, make just over $15 per hour. CSIs in Orange County make between $3,000 and $4,000 a month. What's required to become a crime scene investigator? If you want to do lab work, you'll probably need a bachelor's degree in science. Some crime scene technician positions accept only police officers. Other jobs require only a GED certificate and some vocational course work. Lesson learned? If you want to be a CSI, do it for the challenge, camaraderie, and satisfaction earned from fighting crime. But don't do it for the
money.
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