Academic advisor to academic support officer
An academic advisor already meets 38% of what the academic support officer role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
63.6/ 100
1 How much of what an academic support officer is expected to do is already part of an academic advisor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the academic support officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An academic support officer role treats 8 of its required skills as things an academic advisor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assessment processes
- assist in the organisation of school events
- cooperate with education professionals
- counsel students
- curriculum objectives
- identify education needs
What stands in the way is 12 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An academic support officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an academic advisor background worth leading with.
- already held tackle issues that block academic progress assisting and caring
- already held counsel students communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held provide information on study programmes assisting and caring
- already held identify education needs management skills
- already held education law business, administration and law
- already held cooperate with education professionals communication, collaboration and creativity
All 13 carried skills, including the 8 the academic support officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 23 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn manage access programmes required
- still to learn recruit student ambassador required
- still to learn assess students required
- still to learn coordinate educational programmes required
- still to learn oversee extra-curricular activities required
- optional, not held monitor student's behaviour optional
- still to learn communicate with youth required
- still to learn show consideration for student's situation required
- still to learn tutor students required
- still to learn write work-related reports required
- optional, not held teach university class optional
- optional, not held liaise with educational staff optional
- optional, not held liaise with educational support staff optional
- optional, not held promote education course optional
- optional, not held promote social awareness optional
- still to learn guarantee students' safety required
- still to learn support children's wellbeing required
- still to learn project management required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held electronic communication optional
- optional, not held communication optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an academic support officer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 manage access programmes practise this
- 02 recruit student ambassador practise this
- 03 project management study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 13 skills that carry over
- already held assessment processes knowledge
- already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
- already held cooperate with education professionals skill
- already held counsel students skill
- already held curriculum objectives knowledge
- already held identify education needs skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held tackle issues that block academic progress skill
- already held education law knowledge
- already held give constructive feedback skill
- already held learning difficulties knowledge
- already held provide information on study programmes skill
- already held university procedures knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held school psychology optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held teach university class optional
- optional, not held communication optional
- optional, not held electronic communication optional
- optional, not held liaise with educational staff optional
- optional, not held liaise with educational support staff optional
- optional, not held monitor student's behaviour optional
- optional, not held promote education course optional
- optional, not held promote social awareness optional
- optional, not held school psychology optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
18 held skills the academic support officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role action research knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on learning methods skill
- not needed by the target role analyse education system skill
- not needed by the target role construct individual learning plans skill
- not needed by the target role consult student's support system skill
- not needed by the target role counselling methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role curriculum standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role education administration knowledge
- not needed by the target role encourage students to acknowledge their achievements skill
- not needed by the target role labour market knowledge
- not needed by the target role learning needs analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor educational developments skill
- not needed by the target role organise job search workshops skill
- not needed by the target role promote education programmes skill
- not needed by the target role provide career counselling skill
- not needed by the target role provide information on education financing skill
- not needed by the target role provide information on school services skill
- not needed by the target role psychology knowledge
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn project management required
- optional, not held customer service optional
- optional, not held communication optional
- optional, not held electronic communication optional
- optional, not held school psychology optional
Common questions about this move
Can an academic advisor become an academic support officer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An academic advisor already covers 38% of what an academic support officer is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 8 of which the academic support officer role treats as required.
What skills does an academic advisor need to become an academic support officer?
12 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is manage access programmes.
How hard is the move from academic advisor to academic support officer?
Its learning distance is 63.6 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.