Digital Forensic Consultant: Key Skills, Responsibilities, Salary, Career Path

Who is a Digital Forensic Consultant? 

A digital forensic consultant is an individual who devises a cost-effective and efficient plan for information collection. At the same time, the process helps with parsing information and retaining what may be useful for the legal team. 

Steps to Becoming A Digital Forensic Consultant

1. Education: There are several college degrees that you can opt for to get into digital forensics. Some of them include cyber security, electrical engineering, computer science, information technology and more. If you are looking for advanced positions in the field, then you will need a master’s degree for the same. 
2. Career path: To foray into the world of forensics, there are many entry-level jobs available. These offer excellent avenues of entry into digital forensics. Besides, you can also consider honing up on your technical skills. There are many information technology fields that mainly focus on cyber security. Another entry into digital forensics is to enter through software development. 
3. Certifications: It is always best to have a few professional certifications on your resume. It will help you gain jobs of your choice in the digital forensics department. There are several professional certifications available that cater to digital forensics. Today, many organizations offer widely recognized certifications for digital forensics consultants. 

Responsibilities of a Digital Forensics Consultant

• Recover hidden data, deleted user data, temporary files and file fragments
• Use leading software to identify and preserve electronic data from devices 
• Keep a track and manage electronic data
• Adhere to industry-standard practices while handling data and devices

Key Skills For A Digital Forensics Consultant

• Awareness of Networking Concepts: To become a digital forensics consultant, you need to have a thorough knowledge of networking concepts. When collecting digital evidence, you need to understand how data is transmitted over networks. Also, digital forensics doesn’t only limit to digital devices. You need to find the root cause of the attack.

• Analytical/Technical Skills: If you are looking forward to becoming a digital forensics consultant, then you should be analytically and technically sound. You should be well versed with the latest technology. Moreover, with great analytical skills, you can judge, examine and evaluate information easily.

• Great Communication Skills: In this field, you need to be great with communication. This is because you need to convey the technical terminologies to individuals with no technical background. Thus, communication should be understandable. In addition, you may have to present the facts to the court in simple terms. However, you should ensure not to divert from the exact issue.
• Focus To Detail: As a digital forensics consultant, you should pay attention to every minute detail. You need to have an eye for the smallest of details that may later prove to be beneficial. Often, you may have to think from the attacker’s viewpoint. You need to understand, analyze and comprehend why the attack was performed.

How Much Does A Digital Forensics Consultant Earn? 

A digital forensics consultant can easily earn around 40k -50k a month. With experience, the salary continues to hike over a few months. 

Final Words

Digital Forensics is a great professional field with a lot of scope and viable options. With the right set of skills and experience, you can scale your career to the next level. We hope you like this simple guide to becoming a digital forensics consultant. In case, you have any further issues, please write to us.