Academic support officer to academic advisor
An academic support officer already meets 46% of what the academic advisor role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
52.1/ 100
1 How much of what an academic advisor is expected to do is already part of an academic support officer’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 advisor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An academic advisor role treats 7 of its required skills as things an academic support officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assessment processes
- counsel students
- curriculum objectives
- education law
- give constructive feedback
- listen actively
What stands in the way is 7 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 advisor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an academic support officer 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 7 the academic advisor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 18 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 construct individual learning plans required
- still to learn encourage students to acknowledge their achievements required
- optional, not held organise job search workshops optional
- still to learn advise on learning methods required
- optional, not held provide information on education financing optional
- optional, not held consult student's support system optional
- optional, not held promote education programmes optional
- optional, not held provide career counselling optional
- still to learn curriculum standards required
- optional, not held action research optional
- optional, not held learning needs analysis optional
- still to learn counselling methods required
- optional, not held labour market optional
- still to learn monitor educational developments required
- optional, not held analyse education system optional
- still to learn provide information on school services required
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an academic advisor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 advise on learning methods practise this
- 02 construct individual learning plans practise this
- 03 counselling methods 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 counsel students skill
- already held curriculum objectives knowledge
- already held education law knowledge
- already held give constructive feedback skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held provide information on study programmes skill
- already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
- already held cooperate with education professionals skill
- already held identify education needs skill
- already held learning difficulties knowledge
- already held tackle issues that block academic progress skill
- already held university procedures knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held psychology optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held provide information on education financing optional
- optional, not held action research optional
- optional, not held analyse education system optional
- optional, not held consult student's support system optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held labour market optional
- optional, not held learning needs analysis optional
- optional, not held organise job search workshops optional
- optional, not held promote education programmes optional
- optional, not held provide career counselling optional
- optional, not held psychology optional
23 held skills the academic advisor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assess students skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with youth skill
- not needed by the target role communication knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate educational programmes skill
- not needed by the target role customer service knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronic communication knowledge
- not needed by the target role guarantee students' safety skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with educational staff skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with educational support staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage access programmes skill
- not needed by the target role monitor student's behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role oversee extra-curricular activities skill
- not needed by the target role project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role promote education course skill
- not needed by the target role promote social awareness skill
- not needed by the target role recruit student ambassador skill
- not needed by the target role school psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role show consideration for student's situation skill
- not needed by the target role support children's wellbeing skill
- not needed by the target role teach university class skill
- not needed by the target role tutor students skill
- not needed by the target role work with virtual learning environments skill
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill
7 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 counselling methods required
- still to learn curriculum standards required
- optional, not held action research optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held labour market optional
- optional, not held learning needs analysis optional
- optional, not held psychology optional
Other moves recorded from academic support officer
Common questions about this move
Can an academic support officer become an academic advisor?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An academic support officer already covers 46% of what an academic advisor is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 7 of which the academic advisor role treats as required.
What skills does an academic support officer need to become an academic advisor?
7 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 advise on learning methods.
How hard is the move from academic support officer to academic advisor?
Its learning distance is 52.1 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.