It is certainly true that the world is facing difficult economic times. But in the field of computers and technology, the list of occupations that offer high salaries is simply staggering. And one area in particular, known as computer forensics, faces a severe shortage of experts.

So why should you consider a career in this exciting profession? With the increase in crime reported by the FBI, the demand for computer forensics professionals is overwhelming. These professionals are needed to investigate crimes that include employee Internet abuse, industrial espionage, hacking, fraud, deception, terrorism, drug trafficking, and violence, among many. In 2009, for example, the FBI warned the public about scams targeting charitable contributors during natural disasters.

Law enforcement agencies such as the CIA, Department of Defense, NSA, FBI, Interpol, and large corporations, to name just a few, seek out computer forensics professionals. His job involves retrieving vital information from computers, as well as recreating events that would lead to secure convictions. After all, computers can be the target of a crime like theft of social security benefits; they can be the instrument of a crime as in the theft of government secrets; or evidence of a violent crime as seen in child pornography cases.

Many nations around the world face daily threats to national security. This has opened up the market for people who specialize in cyber technology. Stopping hackers and terrorism on the Internet has become a priority.

The field can be fun, rewarding, and certainly never tedious. A forensic technician will copy the hard drive and recover all the files. This will, of course, include files that were intentionally lost or deleted. He or she will scan protected folders and hidden areas of the drive. The expert will conduct an in-depth investigation of the data, study the user’s activities, and henceforth write a detailed report.

To better understand the usefulness of this field, let’s look at the case of Joseph E. Duncan. Data recovered from his home computer, which included a list of contacts taken with a business card scanner, led to his arrest; information found in a spreadsheet led to his conviction and death sentence.

So if you are looking for a career that is lucrative, exciting and certainly essential to society, don’t hesitate. Computer forensics experts will never be short of jobs.