How to Become a Handwriting Analyst: What to Know

How to Become a Handwriting Analyst: What to Know

Want to become a handwriting analyst? If yes, here is detailed information about the profession and how you can begin a career in it, including training and certifications.

What is handwriting analysis?

As we begin to mature in writing, our writing starts to become familiar to those who know us. Handwriting analysis or graphology is the science of determining the profile of a person by examining the characteristics of strokes contained in handwriting.

Technically, the purpose for analyzing someone’s handwriting may be to determine the essence of the writing, or to provide clues as to why they behave the way they do.

This profession tends to provide an understanding on how the mind of people is reflected in their writing.

For instance, hand writing analysts believe that since the brain receives neural emotions from our fingers, we tend to communicate our mind-set in writing whenever we write.

These emissions are noticed in the following ways:

• When we are in a bad mood, our writing tends to be messier
• Our handwriting becomes neat and clean when in a good mood
• When we are depressed, our writing tends to be sloping downwards
• Our writing tends to rise above the base line whenever we are in a excited mood.

Educational requirements and training to become a handwriting analyst

There are no criteria or eligibility that are required to enroll for a training as a handwriting analyst, but it would be of immense importance if you have a degree in psychology.

To train to become a handwriting analyst, there are trainings, books, and schools which offer courses in hand writing analysis; although a number of individuals may decide to self-study.

The American Association of Handwriting Analyst’s website also provides a guide to study and the relevant books to enable you study at your own speed.

Handwriting analyst certifications

The body that has the most respected certification for handwriting analysis is the American Association of Handwriting Analysts.

You can achieve certification from this body by scaling through a two-part exam.

The first tests the ability of the candidate to apply the basics of hand writing analysis, while the second is on the ability of the candidate to produce an analysis from a variety of complex situations.

Being certified can take between two to five years of study depending on learning style available.

Training institutions for handwriting analysts

Some schools where handwriting analysis is taught provide certificates and diplomas to qualify as a Certified Graphologist or a Master Graphologist, and they include:

• The International School of Handwriting Science (ISHS), which operates 10 sessions of three hour classes at basic, intermediate, and advanced levels.
• Insyte Inc. also provides lesson session in handwriting analysis, often comprising of about 20 lesson sessions, study cards and tapes.
• The International Graphoanalysis Society (IGAS) in Illinois, Chicago, provides an 18 months correspondence course, and having concluded the course, students are permitted to use titles such as CGA and MGA as long as the yearly dues and standards are kept. Each certification costs about $1600.
• The Institute of Graphological Science (tIGS) is another institution providing graphological training in Texas, offering three courses in graphology and one in Question Document Exam (QDE). The first levels introduce the rudiments of handwriting analysis; the next level focuses on more specialized areas, while the third level relates to advanced issues in graphology. The institution offers about thirty six lessons.
• International School of Handwriting Analysis (ISHA).
• American Handwriting Analysis Foundation (AHAF).
• National Society of Graphology (NSG).
• International Graphology Association (IGA).
• Instituto Superior Emerson , Buenos Aires, Argentina; which offers a BA in Graphology.
• The University of Urbino, Italy offers a MA in Graphology.
• The Autonomous University of Barcelona Spain also offers a MA in Graphology.
• British Institute of graphology also offers a diploma in graphology.

And courses may run from 6 months to about 18 months depending on the level of study.

Roles, duties, and responsibilities of handwriting analysts

Handwriting analysis is an interesting profession as well as a challenging one, but not many people have what it takes to make a career out of it.

A handwriting analyst assists in examining a person beyond what we see. They do not only play important roles in crime scenes, they can also be needed in the field of medicine and business, and can even be called upon to determine marital compatibility.

Career opportunities for handwriting analysts

It may be difficult to pinpoint the exact places these writing experts may work in, but handwriting analysts are required majorly by the general public, business owners, personnel managers, psychologists, journalists, academics, lawyers, the law enforcement agents, investigative agents, as well as questioned documents examiners.

Salary expectations for handwriting experts

It is difficult to ascertain for sure how much handwriting analysts earn, since a number of persons incorporate handwriting analysis to their profession.

While some people see handwriting analysis as a cottage industry, it has the ability to generate on its own an income of between $10,000 and $100,000 annually.

A good analyst can charge anywhere between $50 to $500 for work done, but this is dependent on the location and complexity of work to be done.