No matter what specialty you choose, you may need experts from time to time. The PI doesn't have the luxury of taking his evidence to the state crime lab, so he must use private labs. Employees in private labs are good people to know. In fact, these labs can often return evidence much more quickly than state labs.

Try to find someone who appreciates your interest and ask if you can tour the facility to become acquainted with its services. Before you do this, brush up on your forensics so you'll be able to ask intelligent questions and come out of the experience with more knowledge than you went in with.

Discover who has the best reputation for administering lie detector tests, corporate drug tests, computer accident reconstruction and crime scene dramatization, age-progression of photos, and hidden camera installations. All of these people can be invaluable when you need experts for your cases. Again, don't wait until you need them to ask for their help or to engage their services. Get to know them now. Ask questions about how their expertise is related to the cases you work.

People are always more interested in doing a good job for someone they know and like. This doesn't mean you need to feign interest where none exists. With practice, you can become quite proficient at finding something in which you can feel real appreciation and interest in almost everyone you meet. Be sure you're genuinely interested in people and what they do. Otherwise, they may sense your insincerity. Regardless of whether they sense it, using people isn't going to get you anywhere. It's an ugly business not worthy of an honorable person.

It is essential that you know where to look in your investigations.