Living in the era when access for communication is rather easy, criminal minds tend to devise their own lingo not because for the reason of exclusivity, but because of their secret schemes. As an answer to this predicament, police forces require the help of the minds that are great in solving mysteries and puzzles. These people we are referring to are what we call police cryptologists.
Job Description and Career
Police cryptologists mainly crack the codes thrown by criminals. From the Greek crypt which means hidden secret, cryptologists are closely related into these three words: cryptology, cryptography and cryptanalysis. These three are the foundation of the study, creation and breaking of hidden messages. Thus, cryptologists must perform complex mathematics, computer science, writing and cracking of algorithms in order to break the codes.
Cryptologists assist in cases or investigations for identity theft, digital forensics, computer hacking, terrorism and information security. They perform gathering of information and data analyses in order to crack codes.
If you are aspiring to have a career as a cryptologist, you must be well-educated and have analytical and critical thinking skills. College degrees that do well in cryptology are computer science, computer programming, math and communications. For career advancement, one should consider a Master’s Degree or Ph.D. plus work experience in reputable agencies such as NSA and the military.
Salary
Cryptologists can earn quite a good sum of money ranging from $60,000 to $80,000 and can climb up into an average of $101,000 annually.