Table 1Transition record

academic support officertouniversity teaching assistant

A academic support officer already meets 46% of what the university teaching assistant role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.

From academic support officer

46%

Overlap1

To university teaching assistant

12 Skills carried over

5 Required, not held

50.7 Difficulty2

Career overlap Partial match

46%

Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

50.7/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 Share of the university teaching assistant role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the academic support officer profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A university teaching assistant role treats 6 of its required skills as things a academic support officer already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

assess students
assessment processes
curriculum objectives
give constructive feedback
guarantee students' safety
university procedures

What stands in the way is 5 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A university teaching assistant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a academic support officer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held provide information on study programmes assisting and caring
already held oversee extra-curricular activities management skills
already held university procedures business, administration and law
already held liaise with educational support staff communication, collaboration and creativity
already held assist in the organisation of school events management skills
already held work with virtual learning environments working with computers

All 12 carried skills, including the 6 the university teaching assistant role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 18 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier

01 communication, collaboration and creativity 5 required, 3 supplementary

required, not held provide assistance to lecturer required
required, not held assist students in their learning required
required, not held prepare lesson content required
required, not held provide lesson materials required
required, not held supervise practical courses required

optional, not held assist students with their dissertation optional
optional, not held assist scientific research optional
optional, not held consult students on learning content optional

02 information skills 4 supplementary

optional, not held conduct qualitative research optional
optional, not held conduct quantitative research optional
optional, not held conduct scholarly research optional
optional, not held monitor developments in field of expertise optional

03 assisting and caring 2 supplementary

optional, not held assist students with equipment optional
optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional

04 education 2 supplementary

optional, not held action research optional
optional, not held scientific research methodology optional

05 management skills 2 supplementary

optional, not held assign homework optional
optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a university teaching assistant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 12 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held assess students skill
already held assessment processes knowledge
already held curriculum objectives knowledge
already held give constructive feedback skill
already held guarantee students' safety skill
already held university procedures knowledge
already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
already held liaise with educational support staff skill
already held oversee extra-curricular activities skill
already held provide information on study programmes skill
already held work with virtual learning environments skill
already held write work-related reports skill

13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to acquire Tier

optional, not held assign homework optional
optional, not held assist students with their dissertation optional
optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
optional, not held action research optional
optional, not held assist scientific research optional
optional, not held assist students with equipment optional
optional, not held conduct qualitative research optional
optional, not held conduct quantitative research optional
optional, not held conduct scholarly research optional
optional, not held consult students on learning content optional
optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
optional, not held monitor developments in field of expertise optional
optional, not held scientific research methodology optional

24 held skills the university teaching assistant role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role communicate with youth skill
not needed by the target role communication knowledge
not needed by the target role cooperate with education professionals skill
not needed by the target role coordinate educational programmes skill
not needed by the target role counsel students skill
not needed by the target role customer service knowledge
not needed by the target role education law knowledge
not needed by the target role electronic communication knowledge
not needed by the target role identify education needs skill
not needed by the target role learning difficulties knowledge
not needed by the target role liaise with educational staff skill
not needed by the target role listen actively 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 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 tackle issues that block academic progress skill
not needed by the target role teach university class skill
not needed by the target role tutor students skill

2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier

optional, not held action research optional
optional, not held scientific research methodology optional

Index

Other moves recorded from academic support officer

Full index of moves from academic support officer

Note

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.