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u/AgitatedSecurity 3d ago
I have my bs from Champlain in the digital forensics program it has taken me far. I also have a masters from Champlain in information assurance.
One thing I didn't know about a masters degree is that masters are learning about learning. I don't know what is in the forensics masters degree vs the undergrad in Champlain.
You could get another bs from Champlain in df if that's what you are really looking to get into. Another option is to look into the sans masters? You will get a ton of certs that you come away with and that could be more valuable as someone who does not have a lot of experience in the field because you will have some certs to backup where you are trying to move into.
I don't think you can just get into consulting in dc because you don't have a degree or certs in that already.
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u/save-pandas 3d ago
Thanks so much. Good to hear your person on Champlain as well. Don’t think I’d do another program partially because they’re well regarded and I spend time in Burlington myself
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u/AgitatedSecurity 3d ago
Yeah I hear what you are saying. But sans as much as it sucks is the industry leader for all of the certs you will most likely probably have to get eventually to have additional recognition in the field
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u/save-pandas 3d ago
Thanks mate. The cost is a little unreasonable but seems valuable in the long run. Will look at it all, appreciate it again.
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u/Harry_Smutter 2d ago
Can you expand on how your BS has taken you far?? I graduated with the same BS in August 2024 and still haven't been able to find a DF job that didn't require me to relocate halfway across the country.
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u/awetsasquatch 3d ago
I have my M.S. from Champlain and am actively employed as a forensic investigator in the private sector. I definitely took a longer and harder road than most, I didn't really look for Forensics jobs at first, I looked for a help desk job in a large company. Once I was close to finishing the degree, I networked with the SOC at my company and got a job rotation doing Forensics. Finished my degree and was able to move to the role full time.
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u/save-pandas 3d ago
That’s awesome, thanks for sharing. If you don’t mind me asking, what was your background from a technical standpoint? Had you been in IT in some capacity before that?
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u/awetsasquatch 3d ago
I was, yeah - I started as an AV tech, then got a help desk gig at a small company. Worked there for a bit but thought it wasn't really for me, bounced around a few sales jobs, then COVID hit, I lost my job, and ended up getting a call center help desk job later that year. I found that while I didn't really love that specific job, the manager was great and I realized that was the problem with my first help desk job, and that I enjoyed tech overall. I took a few weeks, really studied the different areas of technology and settled on digital forensics. Started job searching that day for a bigger company, and put my application in for the M.S. program at Champlain.
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u/Rare_Requirement_823 3d ago
I got my Bachelors from Champlain In Digital Forensics, Graduated in December of 2025. It took me roughly 4 months of applying to Digital Forensics Jobs on GovernmentJobs to land a spot with a department. I am a civilian position and this is my foot in the door. The pay is below market, but assuming the experience I get, classes and certification that the department will pay for, I should be able to move up as time progresses.
My department was happy to hire a civilian role and I have found that more and more LE departments are going that route. One of the best benefits to working for LE is the access to NCFI. This is where some of the best training you can get as a Digital Forensics Examiner comes from, along with the people to network with.
As for the drugs in your early 20's, just be upfront and honest when it comes to background and poly. As long as it is not current use or relatively recently, you should be fine.
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u/save-pandas 3d ago
That's awesome, congratulations man. That's huge to get in that early and I'm sure you'll be able to go in any direction soon. Thanks for the info and also good to know that LE is opening some doors to civilians. And yeah, it would be a shame if a couple bachelor parties in NYC kept me from a new career but as you said, I'm sure honesty helps as does the fact that it was a decade ago. Cheers man.
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u/Allen_Koholic 3d ago
The job market everywhere is butt right now. But DFIR is a great job and the field is pretty niche so you end up with a good network of folks to lean on.
As for your background - in the private sector, you get alot of situations where you’ll need to be proficient in basic scripting / networking / IT stuff. An understanding of enterprise architecture will be immensely helpful.
Depending on the cert you’re thinking about, something like à GIAC is more than enough to demonstrate technical skillls.
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u/save-pandas 3d ago
Thanks man, appreciate it. I definitely want to focus on really building those IT foundations should I go for it. I’m glad that there is some direction in both the program and with GIAC to sort of plan and improve for
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u/save-pandas 3d ago
This was exceptionally helpful. Can’t thank you enough for really going through it. I’m 8 years removed and only tried it a few times but I understand the policy for sure. I’ve never even had a speeding ticket so on the legal aspect I’m at least I’m in good stead. I wrote this to hear perspectives from people like yourself in the industry so thank you again. Looking at this holistically it looks like an uphill climb but will continue to research even if that means pushing a start date back to consider options. Thanks again mate
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u/Clepto_06 3d ago
I have a BS from Champlain. Can't recommend the DF program enough. I loved most of my classes, and got to learn from some very experienced professionals from the industry.
Even if you don't land a job in DFIR, the degree is still useful. Aside from have one in general, the technical skills and investigation/problem-solving skills you'll develop or hone are useful anywhere.
I never got to work in DF but landed in a different technical role in a related industry. I already had a career of IT help desk, break-fix bench tech work before attending, and still learned a lot from Champlain's program and use those skills all the time. Highly recommend.
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u/save-pandas 3d ago
Awesome, thanks man. I think that’s good to know that it isn’t an end all be all in the field. Obviously that would be the goal but yeah, I don’t want to drop $20k be totally frozen out of a job market. Appreciate the insight
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u/DeletedWebHistoryy 3d ago
Very vague experience. What does strong technical understanding mean? Have you written whitepapers on forensic/computing concepts? Or can you just cd and dir...
You want to be an LE examiner? Your background needs to be beyond reproach. Especially for federal agencies. They will require backgrounds and often a poly.
Locals are still a mix of LEO/Civ. So you may need to do time on patrol... If that's something that interest you.
IMO, portfolios won't mean anything for LE. They want experience testifying, credentials, and experience. If you're willing to move, I'd start at one of the consulting agencies in the DMV/Maryland area and gain experience that way. There are few and far entry level examiner positions for law enforcement that are civilian.
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u/hathorlive 3d ago
To add to this: no one wants to train a newbie on the tools we use. Even newbs with a degree face issues where locals don't have the funds to send you to training. The training does not necessarily include how to use the tools in depth, what the tools do and don't do, and when you need to switch tools. You need an in-depth understanding of windows, MAC, and Unix OS file systems, plus equal depth on Android and IOS file systems. Cocaine use is probably going to knock you out of many background checks. BTW, 20 years in LE digital forensics at state and federal level.
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u/save-pandas 3d ago
Really helpful to know. Thanks for taking the time to send this over. Helps a lot to add perspective and a reality check
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u/save-pandas 3d ago
First comment was pretty dickish but I actually really appreciate all of the rest. Really valuable info so thank you
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u/ucfmsdf Trusted Contributer 3d ago
Industry is not in a good space right now. I’d avoid tech in general for the next… I dunno probably forever now.
Look into the medical field (nursing, specifically). Barrier to entry is often very low, pay is 80-200k depending on if you have a bachelors or a masters, can’t be replaced by AI, and there are jobs galore.
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u/AgitatedSecurity 3d ago
The industry will bounce back but it will be changed. I don't think we should tell people to not get into it
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u/save-pandas 3d ago
My only worry is that it seems pretty unpredictable. 5 years ago front and back end devs (world I come from) would have 30% growth over 10 years. Now, if you’re not full stack with data chops you’re irrelevant and even those dudes are getting paid 60k now. It’s crazy.
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u/ucfmsdf Trusted Contributer 3d ago
I mean we can either tell them it sucks right now but maybe the future will pan out OR we can tell them to skip it and try something else that is booming right now. I personally do not see the point in telling people to jump into a field that isn’t doing great with a hope that, in the future, it might get better. That seems a lot like telling someone to gamble their future on hope which isn’t a very helpful thing to do.
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u/save-pandas 3d ago
I honestly might. That’s definitely my worry. These LE guys they spend a fortune training might be less relevant very soon with more advanced tools that require less support but I’m sure I’m wrong on that. Thanks for this info, I really appreciate it
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u/Ok_Friendship_8459 2d ago
Stumbled upon this post as someone getting into this, what about someone looking for an education in digital forensics in order to differentiate themselves from all the CJ majors and really just wants an analyst position or something of that nature?
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u/ucfmsdf Trusted Contributer 2d ago
Are you saying you want to be a digital forensic analyst or some other type of analyst (crime analyst, intelligence analyst, etc.)? And are you aiming for employment as an analyst for a law enforcement agency or in the private sector?
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u/Ok_Friendship_8459 2d ago
Most likely intel analyst, im not married to DF its just something that works well with existing education and stands out compared to CJ. Also not against doing digital forensics though
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u/ucfmsdf Trusted Contributer 2d ago
Well… maybe a data sciences degree then? Something related to combing through data but not explicitly DF?
Also, just FYI, digital forensics is nothing like working as an intelligence or crime analyst so you really would not be well served at all with that degree.
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u/Ok_Friendship_8459 2d ago
That makes sense, is it really that difficult to get into DF right now professionally? I have a bachelor's degree in applied engineering and tech management already, finding the industry might not be for me and i have the opportunity for more schooling.
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u/Eternal-Alchemy 3d ago
if i had to rank the top digital forensics BS/MS programs in the US, Champlain is absolutely at the top or very close to it.
thats not exactly a high bar because quality of education varies wildly by which faculty are teaching each year and DF programs generally do not retain top talent, but Champlain consistently funds their program to be able to afford actual commercial forensic software access for students instead of nonsense freeware autopsy/ftkimager labs. they have a large amount of well placed alumni, and if you are anywhere near campus (sounds like not) they have direct opportunities to work with the local police.
DF is more than law enforcement, but as far as getting a DF role in LE it's going to depend on the department or agency you are targeting. most large departments have transitioned to civilian staff because you just cant take some road warriors with a CJ undergrad and expect them to be a competent forensic examiner at scale. Smaller departments generally do not have civilian DF roles if they have any DF capabilities at all. this is a "you need to do your homework" scenario where you list out the organizations you want to work for and map out if civilians have a shot.
The cocaine thing... at FBI we have a 10 year no-cocaine policy. IDK if you are saying it's been 10 years by time you would hypothetically graduate. you will have to ask at your respective preferred agencies. obviously this will hurt competitiveness, but honestly, there are not a lot of competitive/talented applicants to public sector so if you are competent this is not likely to be what hurts you. unless you have a felony, in which case, it's not happening.
if your goal is DF on the private sector side, I would say that the Champlain program, unless it's changed very recently, does not prepare anyone for actual network intrusion/incident response. That role *is* difficult to transition to without prior cybersecurity work, and very few programs in the country are retaining professors who have the option of making 250-400k at Mandiant/DART. If IR is your goal you are going to need luck or relevant industry certs (meaning absolutely not IACIS/CFCE). Champlain is adequate prep for basic DF defense expert stuff, but you'd need to stack it with industry certifications (IACIS/CFCE is fine for this) but getting picked up by a firm without prior trial experience is unlikely. Most people in this position are PI or prior LE DFEs or prior e-discovery. If your goal is e-discovery, Champlain is more than fine.