Bioinformatics scientist to biophysicist
A bioinformatics scientist already meets 75% of what the biophysicist role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
41.4/ 100
1 How much of what a biophysicist is expected to do is already part of a bioinformatics 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 biophysicist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A biophysicist role treats 39 of its required skills as things a bioinformatics 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
- biology
- communicate with a non-scientific audience
- conduct research across disciplines
What stands in the way is 8 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 49 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 bioinformatics scientist background worth leading with.
- already held conduct genome research information skills
- already held proteomics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held computational biology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held genomics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held stem cells natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held computational chemistry natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 49 carried skills, including the 39 the biophysicist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 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 analyse cell cultures required
- still to learn analyse experimental laboratory data required
- still to learn conduct research on fauna required
- still to learn conduct research on flora required
- optional, not held analyse medication's impact on brain optional
- optional, not held execute analytical mathematical calculations optional
- still to learn protein required
- still to learn physics required
- optional, not held alternative fuels optional
- optional, not held biological chemistry optional
- optional, not held cryopreservation optional
- optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional
- optional, not held synthetic biology optional
- optional, not held organic chemistry optional
- still to learn examine cell specimens microscopically required
- optional, not held calibrate laboratory equipment optional
- optional, not held operate scientific measuring equipment optional
- optional, not held operate telescopes optional
- optional, not held use measurement instruments optional
- still to learn spectroscopy required
- optional, not held osteology optional
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
3 further areas 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 cell cultures practise this
- 03 analyse experimental laboratory data 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 49 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 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 gather experimental data skill
- already held genomics knowledge
- 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 proteomics knowledge
- 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 apply blended learning skill
- already held apply statistical analysis techniques skill
- already held collect biological data skill
- already held computational biology knowledge
- already held computational chemistry knowledge
- already held conduct genome research skill
- already held molecular biology knowledge
- already held stem cells 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 virology optional
- optional, not held supercomputing optional
- optional, not held quantitative analysis optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held alternative fuels optional
- optional, not held analyse medication's impact on brain optional
- optional, not held biological chemistry optional
- optional, not held cryopreservation optional
- optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional
- optional, not held osteology optional
- optional, not held supercomputing optional
- optional, not held synthetic biology optional
- optional, not held calibrate laboratory equipment 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
- optional, not held virology optional
35 held skills the biophysicist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse scientific data skill
- not needed by the target role assist scientific research skill
- not needed by the target role biometrics knowledge
- not needed by the target role computer engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role computer equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role computer programming knowledge
- not needed by the target role computer simulation knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct quantitative research skill
- not needed by the target role contact scientists skill
- not needed by the target role data quality assessment knowledge
- not needed by the target role data science knowledge
- not needed by the target role database management systems knowledge
- 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 evaluate genetic data skill
- not needed by the target role gather data skill
- not needed by the target role genetic engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role genetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret current data skill
- not needed by the target role laboratory techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain freelance database skill
- not needed by the target role maintain laboratory equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage data collection systems skill
- not needed by the target role manage database skill
- not needed by the target role mathematics knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform data analysis skill
- not needed by the target role plan research process skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role scientific computing knowledge
- not needed by the target role scientific modelling knowledge
- not needed by the target role statistical modeling techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role use databases skill
- not needed by the target role web programming knowledge
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill
13 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 spectroscopy required
- still to learn physics required
- optional, not held alternative fuels optional
- optional, not held biological chemistry optional
- optional, not held cryopreservation optional
- optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional
- optional, not held osteology optional
- optional, not held supercomputing optional
- optional, not held synthetic biology optional
- optional, not held organic chemistry optional
- optional, not held quantitative analysis optional
- optional, not held virology optional
Other moves recorded from bioinformatics scientist
Common questions about this move
Can a bioinformatics scientist become a biophysicist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A bioinformatics scientist already covers 75% of what a biophysicist is expected to do: 49 skills carry over, 39 of which the biophysicist role treats as required.
What skills does a bioinformatics scientist need to become a biophysicist?
8 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is protein.
How hard is the move from bioinformatics scientist to biophysicist?
Its learning distance is 41.4 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.