Over the last decade, CSI TV shows have become largely popular and their viewership is increasing to a great extent. Since the last decade, some of the most popular CSI TV shows include Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS, The Wire, Bones, Castle, Lie to Me, Psych, The Mentalist, and Law & Order among many others. The phenomenon of crime scene investigator and the methods that are used in these TV shows are very close to reality and reflect the way crimes are resolved and cases closed in real world scenarios. In order to make these shows, inspiration is drawn from real cases and in some cases real people in law enforcement inspire certain characters in TV shows.

CSI (Crime scene investigation), which was named after the CSIs in law enforcement, is one of the most popular and high-ranking TV shows in the world, especially in the US. It started in the year 2000 and since then, due to its suspense, action and outstandingly creative cases, has successfully managed to exponentially increase its viewership around the globe. This show basically follows the activities of the Crime Scene Investigation bureau of Las Vegas Police Department. CSI has the best methods for solving puzzles and incomplete clues through highly advanced scientific and technical methods. This show portrays the best of forensic science. The secret behind such smashing success of the show is the bold content and subject matter along with witty deduction and very popular characters. Due to its huge popularity and success, the show has won many awards.

Anthony Zuiker is the creator of the show. It was during the 1990s that he came up with the idea of police, solving mysterious cases of crime, and murder. When his wife told him about a show that ran on the Discovery Channel and used forensic evidence for solving cases, he got inspired and started researching. In order to see how real world crime scene investigators worked on cases, he started spending time at the Las Vegas Police Department. When this idea was turned into a show, it proved to be a great success in spite of the criticism by people from law enforcement and parents who were concerned about the gritty subject matter.

Criminal Minds is another popular show running since 2005. The show is based on an elite team of the FBI known as the Behavioral Analysis Unit. The team consists of FBI profilers. They analyze the minds of criminals, get inside their heads and figure out what their next move could be. Every member in the team has unique abilities that they bring to the table and together they form this team, which is considered superior in terms of its ability to catch criminals. From the perspective of forensic and criminal psychology, this show is amazing and that is the reason behind its success. Jeff Davis is the creator of this show.

One of the greatest TV shows with crime, as the theme is The Wire. This epic crime show was a big hit. The reason that made it stand out from all others was that the inspiration for its most popular and compelling characters was drawn from real people. In this show, Jay Landsman is a homicide detective. The inspiration for this character was Jay Landsman. David Simon is the creator of this show and he worked at the Baltimore Sun. During his time there as a crime writer, he came to know about many criminals and people in law enforcement. David met Landsman while researching his first book. The Wires is one show, which has ten of its characters inspired from real life people.

Another hugely popular show based on CSI is Law & Order. The show started in 1990 and ran for two decades having ended in 2010 after completing its twentieth season. Dick Wolf developed the concept for this show. The main inspiration behind this show was the depiction of a positive and optimistic image of the American justice system. Law & Order used the headlines to keep track of real cases and then these were used in for the series. This ability of the show to investigate some of the real cases increased its popularity.

Lie to me is a show that started in 2009 and became popular really quickly. It revolves around Cal Lightman and the Lightman Group. The group has people who specialize in reading micro-expressions, applied psychology and by studying the Facial actions and body language; they can tell if or not someone is telling the truth. The inspiration behind this show was drawn from Dr. Paul Ekman who specialized in micro-expressions and detecting deception.

Through all these shows focusing on CSI crime scene investigation and the hard work, knowledge, wit, attention to detail and observation that they put into investigating each and every case, the social standing of CSIs increased to a great extent in the eyes of the people. Crime scene investigator school has also started to spring up in many departments of leading universities of the US for those seeking to pursue a strong and great career within the police department. While these shows were inspired from real-world CSIs and detectives, they in turn helped in increasing the respect the society gave to CSIs. In addition, through these shows, the viewers also found a way to relate to the CSIs and the problems that they face in solving and investigating their cases. These shows have increased the knowledge of the people about procedural crime investigation and have also inspired many people to aspire to become CSIs in the future.

During the last decade, an ocean of people has started opting for the career of a crime scene investigator. This can be credited to many things. One of these can be the increase in the number of CSI TV shows that sometimes act as an inspiration to become a CSI. In addition to that, there have also been major advancements in criminal investigation methods. This is in terms of technology and criminal science. People become CSIs also for the sense of fulfillment and the feeling of being capable of making a difference.

CSI is not the term for just one job. Rather it is an entire category revolving around criminal science and investigation. Considering there are various positions and job titles that come under crime scene investigation, their salaries also vary largely according to the nature of their job and the qualifications and responsibilities associated with them. Crime scene investigation is a field in itself and there are further occupations that make it up.

There are some determinants of crime scene investigator salary that a CSI gets. The first of these is the level of education one has obtained before becoming a CSI. The higher the level of education is, the more the salary is likely to be. Another factor is the amount of experience. The more a CSI detective is experienced, the more the earnings are. For whom the CSI is working, is yet another variable that determines the salary one is likely to receive.

The CSIs that work with a department situated in a large city are likely to get higher pays than those who work in small cities or towns. This is because large towns have bigger funds to be organized and managed from the state government to get compensated for security purposes. The more experienced one steps higher on the ladder as a CSI, the more the salary is going to be relative to someone who just got a kick start of his/her career. The wage rate for CSIs varies in accordance with the level of responsibilities performed by the CSI. The skill set and expertise for crime scene investigator jobs that the CSI possesses are important in determining the salary.
The specific hourly and annual salaries of people, working as CSIs in any capacity, vary. Crime scene investigators and detectives make an annual salary of around a median of $58,000 to $62,000. Just like every job, the job of a CSI also has a salary range. Annually, the salary range mostly varies between $37,000 and $99,000. This range is rather wide. Where a CSI stands in this particular range depends upon a couple of factors where a big one is the type of employer. Whether a CSI works at for the local department or the state or federal department greatly affects the salary. The geographic region and level of specialization in the field also determine where a CSI falls in the salary range.

In terms of salary, the highest compensation to CSIs offered, is in the Federal executive branch. Local government and then the state government follow this. The average annual salaries for these offices are around $75,000, $61,000 and $54,000 respectively. In terms of job opportunities the local government departments offer the highest number of jobs for Crime Scene Investigations. There are always opportunities to move up the ladder from the local office in the future and getting a higher compensation.

In terms of geographic regions, the salaries of CSIs and the job opportunities for them also vary largely. The Columbia District rates highest in terms of this attribute. New Jersey and State of California rate second and third respectively. In Columbia, a CSI makes about $94,000 annually. This brings the average hourly wage rate to around $45. The average salaries for New Jersey and California are around $85,000 and $80,000 respectively. So, the average hourly rate comes to $41 and $38 respectively. It is for a fact that the CSIs working in Metropolitan areas earn high salaries annually.
The amount of hard work and expertise that have to be put into the job also determines the salary of that position to some extent. CSIs usually have to put in extra hours at work, filling in paperwork and going meticulously over every small detail of a case. As CSIs get promoted to the next level, the salary increases and so do the duties and responsibilities, as modifications are made to the job description.

In the consideration to become a CSI and the respective salary, making a choice is essential in terms of the area you want to work in for CSI crime scene investigation. You can make this choice with respect to the skills you think you have. In addition, whether you want to work in the field or the office or the lab also has an impact on which CSI job you choose to do. While the Crime Scene Investigator salary can be a motivating factor for the job to some extent, according to many CSIs, the main motivation and drive comes from the sense of achievement and fulfillment after closing a case. The career of a CSI offers a stable career. Other than this, there is also a lot of opportunity and room for career growth and moving up the ladder, as one becomes more experienced and skilled in detective work.