Cool Careers. Carolyn Boyes

medical and legal issues for the criminal justice system and the Home Office. Some work in the high security hospitals such as Broadmoor. They may also provide advice to adult psychiatric services. Most forensic psychiatrists work in the NHS, although psychiatric patients are also found in the private sector. Similar careers are to be found in forensic psycotherapy, forensic learning disabilities and forensic adolescent psychiatry.

      Forensic Botanist – Forensic botanists deal in environmental evidence. They carry out analysis of both plants and soil. For example, they might sample pollen and spores from an object or suspect’s clothing to match a particular crime scene and particular geology. These professionals were used in the investigation of mass graves in Srebrenica in the 1990s.

      Forensic Accountant – A perfect way to change a so-so career as an accountant into a cool career. Forensic accountants use accountancy, investigative and auditing skills to look at financial evidence for the courts. They are employed by the police, insurance companies, banks, government agencies and independent organisations, and may be used as expert witnesses.

      Forensic Psychologist – A forensic psychologist combines an understanding of people with an application to the law. Would you like to know what effect a witness has on a jury or if a defendant has the mental capacity to be tried? You could become an expert witness in court and may even study the law as well to help you develop more expertise in your work. Most forensic psychologists in the UK work for the prison service. However, they can also be found in academia, probation, police and social services. This is also referred to as investigative and criminological psychology.

      * UNUSUALLY COOL

       Forensic Linguist -

       Forensic linguists carry out written and spoken textual analysis. For example, they might have to decide whether or not the author of a text is the same as a person who has been accused of a crime, or they might check for plagiarism. They may also be asked to carry out psychological profiling of the author, for example, deciding on the mental state of the author, for criminal, terrorist or insurance fraud purposes.

       Phonetician -

       This is a related career to a forensic linguist but (forensic) phoneticians analyse only speech. They make comparisons of speakers by accent, dialect, voice quality and other speech features to identify the speaker or to carry out profiling. They also provide evidence on disputed utterances in court and carry out analysis of speech on black box recordings. Police and the secret service need phoneticians, but they are rare in the UK at present - there are less than 50 - though there are more in other countries. Contact the International Association of Forensic Phonetics and Acoustics for more information.

       Coroner -

       Coroners in England and Wales are independent judicial officers who are responsible for looking into and coming up with judgments on violent, sudden and unexpected, unnatural or suspicious deaths. The equivalent position in Scotland is the Procurator Fiscal. Most coroners work on a part-time basis. Some coroners are lawyers, some are doctors and some have both qualifications. For further information try contacting your local coroner.

       Forensic Lip-reader -

       This is a very new idea in the UK. Professional lip-readers are used from time to time by journalists to see what celebrities are saying, but, in the USA, forensic lip-readers are used as professional witnesses in trials to review surveillance tapes. They are also sometimes used to communicate what a patient with speech difficulties is saying to a doctor.

       In the know

      Celebrity Starter Careers

      Christina Aguilera, like Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, gained her first experience as a performer as a child singer in Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club.

      Woody Allen, the Oscar-winning director, writer and comedian, began writing one-liners for gossip columns aged only 15. He carried on as a comic writer for different television shows, until writing his first feature film in 1962.

2. Past, Present and Future

      Are your feet firmly rooted in the Now? Or maybe the 21st century doesn’t do much for you? Perhaps you would rather spend each day living in a bygone era - or dreaming about an age that hasn’t yet come. It’s cool to choose ‘when’ to work as well as where to work. What career will you choose? Past, present or future?

I like to live in the future

      Are you a trendspotter or a trendsetter? Do you enjoy forecasting future needs? Perhaps you enjoy spotting potential risks or threats? If so, consider a career that enables you to live in the future. They are all very cool.

       VERY COOL

      Horizon Scanning Analyst – Horizon scanning is the systematic examination of potential threats and opportunities in a particular area over a three- to ten-year period. As an analyst working for a government department or big organisation, you will anticipate future trends and challenges arising, for example, from new technologies, working practices or political developments.

      Futurologist/Futurist – May also use horizon scanning or other techniques. You will analyse trends and guess what we will be doing in the future, or provide long-range planning and scenario development. Futurologists are found advsing on global trends, risk management and consumer market opportunities in industries such as psychology, computer science, anthropology, political science and sociology. Also known as Foresight Consultants, Road-mappers, Cultural Critics, Corporate Strategists, Policy Analysts. Similar skills can be found in Planners and Marketers.

      Flood-risk Specialist – A flood-risk analyst carries out studies into the risk of flooding and prepares flood-risk mapping. They need to understand hydraulic modelling and hydrology and will probably have a civil engineering, water science or physical geography degree. Risk Analysts are to be found in many fields including Credit and Business.

      Chief Security Officer – Many global companies engage a chief security officer, who works within a company to ensure the safety of both the company’s employees and their assets. They must be able to analyse future threats from all directions, be it terrorism or local unrest overseas, and they coordinate security at global offices. They need good contacts in law enforcement and intelligence agencies. They also play a key business role, analysing business decisions and their implications for the board and the CEO.

      Climatologist – A climatologist studies long-term trends in the world’s climate. While meteorologists study what is likely to happen to the weather in the short term, climatolo gists may look at trends and patterns over millennia, as well as the natural or human factors that may cause climate change.

      Medium/Psychic – A psychic or medium predicts what will happen in a person’s future through clairvoyance, aura reading and spirit communication. Institutions do offer psychic and medium training.

      Tarot Reader – Tarot readers and tarot therapists use the tarot deck of cards to tell the future, and also, on occasion, to counsel or coach. Anyone can, in theory, set up as a self-employed tarot reader. You need to understand the meanings of the cards and to have some natural psychic abilities and sensitivity to people. There are an increasing number of companies offering web-based services.

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       Cryonics Scientist -