Biochemist to biophysicist
A biochemist already meets 76% of what the biophysicist role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
40.2/ 100
1 How much of what a biophysicist is expected to do is already part of a biochemist’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 biophysicist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A biophysicist role treats 38 of its required skills as things a biochemist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse cell cultures
- apply for research funding
- apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities
- apply scientific methods
- biology
- communicate with a non-scientific audience
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 52 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A biophysicist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a biochemist background worth leading with.
- already held conduct genome research information skills
- already held synthetic biology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held analyse medication's impact on brain information skills
- already held spectroscopy engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held analyse cell cultures information skills
- already held stem cells natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 52 carried skills, including the 38 the biophysicist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 7 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 conduct research on fauna required
- still to learn conduct research on flora required
- still to learn gather experimental data required
- optional, not held apply statistical analysis techniques optional
- optional, not held collect biological data optional
- optional, not held execute analytical mathematical calculations optional
- still to learn protein required
- still to learn genomics required
- still to learn proteomics required
- still to learn physics required
- optional, not held alternative fuels optional
- optional, not held computational biology optional
- optional, not held organic chemistry optional
- still to learn examine cell specimens microscopically required
- optional, not held operate scientific measuring equipment optional
- optional, not held operate telescopes optional
- optional, not held use measurement instruments optional
- optional, not held osteology optional
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
- optional, not held supercomputing optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a biophysicist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 protein study this
- 02 analyse experimental laboratory data practise this
- 03 conduct research on fauna 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 52 skills that carry over
- already held analyse cell cultures skill
- 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 biology knowledge
- already held communicate with a non-scientific audience 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 life sciences knowledge
- 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 multidisciplinary research knowledge
- already held operate open source software skill
- already held perform laboratory tests 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 spectroscopy knowledge
- already held synthesise information skill
- already held think abstractly skill
- already held write scientific publications skill
- already held analyse medication's impact on brain skill
- already held apply blended learning skill
- already held biological chemistry knowledge
- already held calibrate laboratory equipment skill
- already held computational chemistry knowledge
- already held conduct genome research skill
- already held cryopreservation knowledge
- already held microbiology-bacteriology knowledge
- already held molecular biology knowledge
- already held stem cells knowledge
- already held synthetic biology knowledge
- already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
- already held virology knowledge
- already held write research proposals skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held quantitative analysis optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held alternative fuels optional
- optional, not held computational biology optional
- optional, not held osteology optional
- optional, not held supercomputing optional
- optional, not held apply statistical analysis techniques optional
- optional, not held collect biological data optional
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
- optional, not held execute analytical mathematical calculations optional
- optional, not held operate scientific measuring equipment optional
- optional, not held operate telescopes optional
- optional, not held organic chemistry optional
- optional, not held quantitative analysis optional
- optional, not held use measurement instruments optional
41 held skills the biophysicist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on crop diseases skill
- not needed by the target role analyse blood samples skill
- not needed by the target role analyse chemical substances skill
- not needed by the target role analytical chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
- not needed by the target role archive scientific documentation skill
- not needed by the target role assess environmental impact skill
- not needed by the target role biotechnology knowledge
- not needed by the target role clinical biochemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicable diseases knowledge
- not needed by the target role contribute to registration of pharmaceutical products skill
- not needed by the target role control production skill
- not needed by the target role develop product design skill
- not needed by the target role develop scientific research protocols skill
- not needed by the target role develop scientific theories skill
- not needed by the target role evolutionary biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role examine samples in dermatology skill
- not needed by the target role explain the molecular basis of a disease to patients skill
- not needed by the target role genetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify poisons skill
- not needed by the target role industrial research and development knowledge
- not needed by the target role laboratory techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain laboratory equipment skill
- not needed by the target role medical laboratory technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor patients during clinical tests skill
- not needed by the target role nanomaterials knowledge
- not needed by the target role oxidation knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform chemical experiments skill
- not needed by the target role perform lectures skill
- not needed by the target role pest control in plants knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmaceutical chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmacology knowledge
- not needed by the target role plant disease control knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare compliance documents skill
- not needed by the target role prepare lesson content skill
- not needed by the target role production processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role recommend product improvements skill
- not needed by the target role research design knowledge
- not needed by the target role solid phase microextraction knowledge
- not needed by the target role supervise laboratory operations skill
1 further entry not listed here
10 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 protein required
- still to learn genomics required
- still to learn proteomics required
- still to learn physics required
- optional, not held alternative fuels optional
- optional, not held computational biology optional
- optional, not held osteology optional
- optional, not held supercomputing optional
- optional, not held organic chemistry optional
- optional, not held quantitative analysis optional
Common questions about this move
Can a biochemist become a biophysicist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A biochemist already covers 76% of what a biophysicist is expected to do: 52 skills carry over, 38 of which the biophysicist role treats as required.
What skills does a biochemist need to become a biophysicist?
9 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is protein.
How hard is the move from biochemist to biophysicist?
Its learning distance is 40.2 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.