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Austin Stepanek

Mrs. Kathleen Trace

English 111

18 October 2018

Career Essay

I’ve always been interested in how people work. There are so many ways people

communicate their thoughts and feelings, good or bad. Technology in this generation has an

influence on how we communicate, and being able to examine these things would be a dream for

me. Why people do bad things is always a question floating around everyone’s head, even mine,

whenever a tragedy happens. I want to be the one the figure it out and get to the bottom of it. I

think a Digital Forensic Examiner would be a suitable career for me because of the benefits,

salary, and experiences from the job.

Finding a job you’re going to have for the rest of your life, and trying to figure out what’s

going to benefit you the most in the future is challenging. However, when you find something

that has helpful benefits for your future it make things a whole lot easier. There will be days

when you are sick, when you just need a day to yourself, or when a family emergency happens.

With this job you are allowed eight to ten days of sick leave and four to five days of family or

personal leave, which can all be compensated (“Benefits”). They also provide life insurance,

which has no cost to the employees, and health insurance that isn’t fully paid, but the state does

pay an approved amount toward each employee’s premium (Benefits.) Life and health insurance

is very important and having a job that pays for most of it takes a lot off one’s plate. These
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insurances are also vital, because they will be able to protect me and my family if anything ever

happens.

For my future, one thing I want to focus on is being able to support myself and my

family. Having a steady salary is one way I can guarantee I’m able to do so. The average salary

for a starting worker in the Digital Forensic Psychology field is around $60,000, and can double

with some years of experience (Forensic Psychology Salary for Masters in Psychology Grads) .

Having a steady salary would mean I don’t have to worry too heavily about bills, fixed incomes,

or even groceries, and possibly still have some extra saving and spending money. Being

financially stable is my goal for the future, and with this job I would be able to achieve this goal.

The most important part of a job to me is being able to enjoy it. I already enjoy

investigating and finding out information about people, and I am even more interested in doing

the same in the criminal aspect, but being able to have a career while doing that would make it

even better. “T​he workday for a digital forensics professional is anything but typical. Depending

on the organization for whom you’re working, you might be working a steady stream of child

pornography cases, or you might be analyzing subjects so high profile that you’re watching them

on CNN while you’re doing the work.” (​What It's Really Like To Work in Digital Forensics.)

You always hear all the crazy stuff that people do on the news, but to be a part of the

investigation is a whole other level. Experiences like this is what makes being a Digital Forensic

Examiner even better. I have always enjoyed the psychology of people's minds and why they do

things, and to turn that into a job would be the ideal future for me.

Digital Forensic Psychology is a growing field in this generation. With new

developments of technology, more experts are needed to decipher the information embedded in
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it. This career field would benefit me in the future because it’s something I would enjoy doing,

and also provides me with stability. There is a saying, “Do what you love and love what you do”

I plan to do exactly that.

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Works Cited

“Benefits.” Virginia Department of Forensic Science

https://www.dfs.virginia.gov/about-dfs/careers-with-dfs/benefits/

“Forensic Psychology Salary for Masters in Psychology Grads.” ​Masters In Psychology Guide,​

https://mastersinpsychologyguide.com/articles/what-is-the-salary-outlook-for-masters-in-

for

ensic-psychology-grads/

Roufa, Timothy. “What It's Really Like To Work in Digital Forensics.” ​The Balance Careers​,

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-it-s-like-to-work-as-a-digital-forensic-examiner

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