Assayer to physics technician
An assayer already meets 23% of what the physics technician role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
70.6/ 100
1 How much of what a physics technician is expected to do is already part of an assayer’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 physics technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A physics technician role treats 4 of its required skills as things an assayer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply safety procedures in laboratory
- laboratory techniques
- perform laboratory tests
- physics
What stands in the way is 9 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 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A physics technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an assayer background worth leading with.
- already held apply safety procedures in laboratory assisting and caring
- already held geology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held laboratory techniques natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held perform laboratory tests working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held physics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held statistics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 6 carried skills, including the 4 the physics technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 27 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 analyse experimental laboratory data required
- still to learn apply statistical analysis techniques required
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- still to learn gather experimental data required
- still to learn report analysis results required
- optional, not held interpret geophysical data optional
- optional, not held analyse scientific data optional
- optional, not held apply scientific methods optional
- optional, not held observe matter optional
- still to learn maintain laboratory equipment required
- still to learn use measurement instruments required
- optional, not held calibrate laboratory equipment optional
- optional, not held operate remote sensing equipment optional
- optional, not held operate telescopes optional
- still to learn assist scientific research required
- optional, not held communicate with external laboratories optional
- optional, not held write scientific publications optional
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held quantum mechanics optional
- optional, not held acoustics optional
- optional, not held astronomy optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held mathematics optional
- optional, not held thermodynamics optional
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a physics technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 analyse experimental laboratory data practise this
- 02 apply statistical analysis techniques practise this
- 03 assist scientific research practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 6 skills that carry over
- already held apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
- already held laboratory techniques knowledge
- already held perform laboratory tests skill
- already held physics knowledge
- already held geology knowledge
- already held statistics knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held densiometry optional
- optional, not held quantum computing optional
18 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held densiometry optional
- optional, not held interpret geophysical data optional
- optional, not held quantum computing optional
- optional, not held quantum mechanics optional
- optional, not held acoustics optional
- optional, not held analyse scientific data optional
- optional, not held apply scientific methods optional
- optional, not held astronomy optional
- optional, not held calibrate laboratory equipment optional
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
- optional, not held communicate with external laboratories optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held mathematics optional
- optional, not held observe matter optional
- optional, not held operate remote sensing equipment optional
- optional, not held operate telescopes optional
- optional, not held thermodynamics optional
- optional, not held write scientific publications optional
21 held skills the physics technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analytical chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role characteristics of precious metals knowledge
- not needed by the target role chemical processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role good laboratory practice knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle chemicals skill
- not needed by the target role heat jewellery metals skill
- not needed by the target role identify customer's needs skill
- not needed by the target role jewellery processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role label samples skill
- not needed by the target role manage chemical testing procedures skill
- not needed by the target role manufacturing of jewellery knowledge
- not needed by the target role metal and metal ore products knowledge
- not needed by the target role precious metals knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare chemical samples skill
- not needed by the target role record test data skill
- not needed by the target role report test findings skill
- not needed by the target role separate metals from ores skill
- not needed by the target role supervise laboratory operations skill
- not needed by the target role test raw minerals skill
- not needed by the target role use chemical analysis equipment skill
9 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 scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held densiometry optional
- optional, not held quantum computing optional
- optional, not held quantum mechanics optional
- optional, not held acoustics optional
- optional, not held astronomy optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held mathematics optional
- optional, not held thermodynamics optional
Common questions about this move
Can an assayer become a physics technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An assayer already covers 23% of what a physics technician is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 4 of which the physics technician role treats as required.
What skills does an assayer need to become a physics technician?
9 required skills are missing, plus 18 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is analyse experimental laboratory data.
How hard is the move from assayer to physics technician?
Its learning distance is 70.6 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.