Biochemist to physiologist
A biochemist already meets 75% of what the physiologist role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
40.6/ 100
1 How much of what a physiologist 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 physiologist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A physiologist role treats 37 of its required skills as things a biochemist 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 safety procedures in laboratory
- apply scientific methods
- biology
- calibrate laboratory equipment
What stands in the way is 4 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 50 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A physiologist 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 explain the molecular basis of a disease to patients communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held perform lectures communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held archive scientific documentation information skills
- already held life sciences natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held maintain laboratory equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held develop scientific research protocols information skills
All 50 carried skills, including the 37 the physiologist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 33 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 human anatomy required
- still to learn human physiology required
- optional, not held clinical immunopathology optional
- optional, not held dermapathology optional
- optional, not held exercise physiology optional
- optional, not held hepatology optional
- optional, not held intracranial hypertension optional
- optional, not held neoplasia optional
- optional, not held neuroscience optional
- optional, not held professional documentation in health care optional
- optional, not held urolithiasis in the urinary tract optional
- optional, not held nuclear medicine optional
- optional, not held occupational physiology optional
- optional, not held rehabilitation optional
- still to learn conduct research on fauna required
- optional, not held conduct experiments on animals optional
- optional, not held conduct polysomnography optional
- optional, not held conduct preoperative investigations optional
- optional, not held interpret electromyograms optional
- optional, not held gather experimental data optional
- still to learn histology required
- optional, not held advise on rehabilitation exercises optional
- optional, not held explain types of coagulation disorders optional
- optional, not held assist in clinical trials optional
- optional, not held offer advice on diet-related concerns optional
- optional, not held assist in performing physical exercises optional
- optional, not held assist patients with rehabilitation optional
- optional, not held develop patient treatment strategies optional
- optional, not held proteomics optional
- optional, not held clinical cytology optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a physiologist 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 · The rest of the record
All 50 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 safety procedures in laboratory skill
- already held apply scientific methods skill
- already held biology knowledge
- already held calibrate laboratory equipment skill
- 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 laboratory techniques knowledge
- already held maintain laboratory equipment 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 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 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 apply blended learning skill
- already held archive scientific documentation skill
- already held assess environmental impact skill
- already held develop scientific research protocols skill
- already held develop scientific theories skill
- already held explain the molecular basis of a disease to patients skill
- already held life sciences knowledge
- already held perform lectures skill
- already held prepare lesson content skill
- already held research design knowledge
- already held scientific literature 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 scientific modelling optional
- optional, not held develop pharmaceutical drugs optional
- optional, not held ergonomics optional
29 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on rehabilitation exercises optional
- optional, not held assist in performing physical exercises optional
- optional, not held assist patients with rehabilitation optional
- optional, not held clinical immunopathology optional
- optional, not held conduct experiments on animals optional
- optional, not held conduct polysomnography optional
- optional, not held conduct preoperative investigations optional
- optional, not held dermapathology optional
- optional, not held exercise physiology optional
- optional, not held explain types of coagulation disorders optional
- optional, not held hepatology optional
- optional, not held interpret electromyograms optional
- optional, not held intracranial hypertension optional
- optional, not held neoplasia optional
- optional, not held neuroscience optional
- optional, not held professional documentation in health care optional
- optional, not held proteomics optional
- optional, not held urolithiasis in the urinary tract optional
- optional, not held assist in clinical trials optional
- optional, not held clinical cytology optional
- optional, not held develop patient treatment strategies optional
- optional, not held develop pharmaceutical drugs optional
- optional, not held ergonomics optional
- optional, not held gather experimental data optional
- optional, not held nuclear medicine optional
- optional, not held occupational physiology optional
- optional, not held offer advice on diet-related concerns optional
- optional, not held rehabilitation optional
- optional, not held scientific modelling optional
43 held skills the physiologist 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 cell cultures skill
- not needed by the target role analyse chemical substances skill
- not needed by the target role analyse medication's impact on brain skill
- not needed by the target role analytical chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role biological chemistry knowledge
- 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 computational chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct genome research skill
- 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 cryopreservation knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop product design 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 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 medical laboratory technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role microbiology-bacteriology knowledge
- not needed by the target role molecular biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor patients during clinical tests skill
- not needed by the target role multidisciplinary research knowledge
- 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 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 production processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role recommend product improvements skill
- not needed by the target role solid phase microextraction knowledge
- not needed by the target role spectroscopy knowledge
- not needed by the target role stem cells knowledge
- not needed by the target role supervise laboratory operations skill
3 further entries not listed here
19 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 histology required
- still to learn human anatomy required
- still to learn human physiology required
- optional, not held clinical immunopathology optional
- optional, not held dermapathology optional
- optional, not held exercise physiology optional
- optional, not held hepatology optional
- optional, not held intracranial hypertension optional
- optional, not held neoplasia optional
- optional, not held neuroscience optional
- optional, not held professional documentation in health care optional
- optional, not held proteomics optional
- optional, not held urolithiasis in the urinary tract optional
- optional, not held clinical cytology optional
- optional, not held ergonomics optional
- optional, not held nuclear medicine optional
- optional, not held occupational physiology optional
- optional, not held rehabilitation optional
- optional, not held scientific modelling optional
Common questions about this move
Can a biochemist become a physiologist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A biochemist already covers 75% of what a physiologist is expected to do: 50 skills carry over, 37 of which the physiologist role treats as required.
What skills does a biochemist need to become a physiologist?
4 required skills are missing, plus 29 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by health and welfare. The single most important is conduct research on fauna.
How hard is the move from biochemist to physiologist?
Its learning distance is 40.6 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.