Behavioural scientist to communication scientist
A behavioural scientist already meets 74% of what the communication scientist role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
37.3/ 100
1 How much of what a communication scientist is expected to do is already part of a behavioural scientist’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 communication scientist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A communication scientist role treats 34 of its required skills as things a behavioural scientist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply for research funding
- apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities
- apply scientific methods
- communicate with a non-scientific audience
- conduct qualitative research
- conduct quantitative research
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 42 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A communication scientist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a behavioural scientist background worth leading with.
- already held anthropology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held conduct public surveys information skills
- already held sociology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held develop scientific theories information skills
- already held scientific literature generic programmes and qualifications
- already held write research proposals communication, collaboration and creativity
All 42 carried skills, including the 34 the communication scientist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 23 missing skills fall into 9 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 media studies required
- still to learn types of media required
- still to learn analyse the comments of selected audiences required
- optional, not held study communications channels for different employers/contractors optional
- optional, not held monitor sociological trends optional
- optional, not held perform market research optional
- still to learn communication studies required
- optional, not held journalism optional
- optional, not held social network analysis optional
- still to learn use data processing techniques required
- optional, not held digital communication and collaboration optional
- optional, not held use presentation software optional
- still to learn develop communications strategies required
- optional, not held develop media strategy optional
- still to learn communication required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a communication scientist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 analyse the comments of selected audiences practise this
- 02 communication study this
- 03 communication studies 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 42 skills that carry over
- already held apply for research funding skill
- already held apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities skill
- already held apply scientific methods skill
- already held communicate with a non-scientific audience skill
- already held conduct qualitative research skill
- already held conduct quantitative research skill
- already held conduct research across disciplines skill
- already held demonstrate disciplinary expertise skill
- already held develop professional network with researchers and scientists skill
- already held disseminate results to the scientific community skill
- already held draft scientific or academic papers and technical documentation skill
- already held evaluate research activities skill
- already held increase the impact of science on policy and society skill
- already held integrate gender dimension in research skill
- already held interact professionally in research and professional environments skill
- already held manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data skill
- already held manage intellectual property rights skill
- already held manage open publications skill
- already held manage personal professional development skill
- already held manage research data skill
- already held mentor individuals skill
- already held operate open source software skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held promote open innovation in research skill
- already held promote the participation of citizens in scientific and research activities skill
- already held promote the transfer of knowledge skill
- already held publish academic research skill
- already held scientific literature knowledge
- already held scientific research methodology knowledge
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held synthesise information skill
- already held think abstractly skill
- already held write scientific publications skill
- already held anthropology knowledge
- already held apply blended learning skill
- already held apply teaching strategies skill
- already held conduct public surveys skill
- already held develop scientific theories skill
- already held sociology knowledge
- already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
- already held write research proposals skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held advise on communication strategies optional
- optional, not held advise on public relations optional
- optional, not held interview focus groups optional
- optional, not held perform public relations optional
- optional, not held advertising techniques optional
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
- optional, not held media law optional
- optional, not held perform customer management optional
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held study communications channels for different employers/contractors optional
- optional, not held digital communication and collaboration optional
- optional, not held monitor sociological trends optional
- optional, not held advertising techniques optional
- optional, not held advise on communication strategies optional
- optional, not held advise on public relations optional
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
- optional, not held develop media strategy optional
- optional, not held interview focus groups optional
- optional, not held journalism optional
- optional, not held media law optional
- optional, not held perform customer management optional
- optional, not held perform market research optional
- optional, not held perform public relations optional
- optional, not held social network analysis optional
- optional, not held use presentation software optional
34 held skills the communication scientist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role animal behaviour knowledge
- not needed by the target role applied zoology knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply clinical psychological treatment skill
- not needed by the target role apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role apply statistical analysis techniques skill
- not needed by the target role apply systemic design thinking skill
- not needed by the target role assess animal behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role assist police investigations skill
- not needed by the target role biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role create criminal profiles skill
- not needed by the target role create individual treatment programmes skill
- not needed by the target role criminology knowledge
- not needed by the target role demography knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop solutions for harmful behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role disability care knowledge
- not needed by the target role empirical analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role experimental psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- not needed by the target role multidisciplinary research knowledge
- not needed by the target role observe human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role oversee animal management skill
- not needed by the target role pedagogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role phenomenology knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide clinical psychological counselling skill
- not needed by the target role provide technical expertise skill
- not needed by the target role psychological counselling methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role psychological treatment measures knowledge
- not needed by the target role psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role quantitative analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role report analysis results skill
- not needed by the target role research design knowledge
- not needed by the target role research human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports 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 communication required
- still to learn communication studies required
- still to learn media studies required
- still to learn types of media required
- optional, not held advertising techniques optional
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
- optional, not held journalism optional
- optional, not held media law optional
- optional, not held social network analysis optional
Other moves recorded from behavioural scientist
Common questions about this move
Can a behavioural scientist become a communication scientist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A behavioural scientist already covers 74% of what a communication scientist is expected to do: 42 skills carry over, 34 of which the communication scientist role treats as required.
What skills does a behavioural scientist need to become a communication scientist?
7 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by arts and humanities. The single most important is analyse the comments of selected audiences.
How hard is the move from behavioural scientist to communication scientist?
Its learning distance is 37.3 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.