Biologist to biology technician
A biologist already meets 56% of what the biology technician role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
52.3/ 100
1 How much of what a biology technician is expected to do is already part of a biologist’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 biology technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A biology technician role treats 12 of its required skills as things a biologist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply scientific methods
- biology
- collect biological data
- collect samples for analysis
- computational biology
- cryopreservation
What stands in the way is 10 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 29 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A biology technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a biologist background worth leading with.
- already held computational biology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held perform field research information skills
- already held analyse blood samples information skills
- already held genomics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held oceanography natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held applied zoology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 29 carried skills, including the 12 the biology technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 11 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 use laboratory equipment required
- still to learn calibrate laboratory equipment required
- still to learn maintain laboratory equipment required
- optional, not held perform fertility laboratory procedures optional
- still to learn analyse experimental laboratory data required
- still to learn assist in the production of laboratory documentation required
- optional, not held keep task records optional
- optional, not held monitor the welfare of animals optional
- still to learn apply safety procedures in laboratory required
- still to learn perform stem cell transplantation required
- still to learn laboratory equipment required
- optional, not held evolutionary biology optional
- still to learn write technical reports required
- still to learn manage inventory required
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a biology 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 safety procedures in laboratory practise this
- 03 assist in the production of laboratory documentation 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 29 skills that carry over
- already held apply scientific methods skill
- already held biology knowledge
- already held collect biological data skill
- already held collect samples for analysis skill
- already held computational biology knowledge
- already held cryopreservation knowledge
- already held laboratory techniques knowledge
- already held life sciences knowledge
- already held perform laboratory tests skill
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held scientific research methodology knowledge
- already held stem cells knowledge
- already held analyse blood samples skill
- already held analyse cell cultures skill
- already held animal welfare legislation knowledge
- already held applied zoology knowledge
- already held biosecurity knowledge
- already held botany knowledge
- already held chemistry knowledge
- already held ecology knowledge
- already held genomics knowledge
- already held microbiology-bacteriology knowledge
- already held molecular biology knowledge
- already held oceanography knowledge
- already held pathology knowledge
- already held perform field research skill
- already held pharmacology knowledge
- already held virology knowledge
- already held write research proposals skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held collect reproductive cells optional
- optional, not held label samples optional
- optional, not held preserve samples optional
- optional, not held maintain freelance database optional
- optional, not held prepare visual data optional
- optional, not held environmental legislation optional
- optional, not held pollution prevention optional
- optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held collect reproductive cells optional
- optional, not held evolutionary biology optional
- optional, not held label samples optional
- optional, not held perform fertility laboratory procedures optional
- optional, not held environmental legislation optional
- optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
- optional, not held keep task records optional
- optional, not held maintain freelance database optional
- optional, not held monitor the welfare of animals optional
- optional, not held pollution prevention optional
- optional, not held prepare visual data optional
- optional, not held preserve samples optional
69 held skills the biology technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply for research funding skill
- not needed by the target role apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities skill
- not needed by the target role aquatic species knowledge
- not needed by the target role archive scientific documentation skill
- not needed by the target role assess environmental impact in aquaculture operations skill
- not needed by the target role biological chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role biotechnology in aquaculture knowledge
- not needed by the target role collect fish samples for diagnosis skill
- not needed by the target role communicate by telephone skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with a non-scientific audience skill
- not needed by the target role conduct ecological research skill
- not needed by the target role conduct fish mortality studies skill
- not needed by the target role conduct fish populations studies skill
- not needed by the target role conduct genome research skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research across disciplines skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research on fauna skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research on flora skill
- not needed by the target role conserve natural resources skill
- not needed by the target role create natural science taxonomies skill
- not needed by the target role demonstrate disciplinary expertise skill
- not needed by the target role develop aquaculture breeding strategies skill
- not needed by the target role develop professional network with researchers and scientists skill
- not needed by the target role develop scientific research protocols skill
- not needed by the target role disseminate results to the scientific community skill
- not needed by the target role draft scientific or academic papers and technical documentation skill
- not needed by the target role ecosystem management knowledge
- not needed by the target role entomology knowledge
- not needed by the target role evaluate research activities skill
- not needed by the target role fish anatomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role fish biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role fish identification and classification knowledge
- not needed by the target role gather experimental data skill
- not needed by the target role habitat restoration knowledge
- not needed by the target role herpetology knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify poisons skill
- not needed by the target role increase the impact of science on policy and society skill
- not needed by the target role inspect fish stock skill
- not needed by the target role interact professionally in research and professional environments skill
- not needed by the target role lepidoptery knowledge
- not needed by the target role mammalogy knowledge
29 further entries not listed here
5 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 laboratory equipment required
- optional, not held evolutionary biology optional
- optional, not held environmental legislation optional
- optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
- optional, not held pollution prevention optional
Other moves recorded from biologist
- marine biologist 76% covered · moderate
- biophysicist 68% covered · moderate
- aquaculture biologist 66% covered · moderate
- microbiologist 65% covered · moderate
- geneticist 60% covered · substantial
- palaeontologist 58% covered · substantial
- aquatic animal health professional 57% covered · substantial
- immunologist 57% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a biologist become a biology technician?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A biologist already covers 56% of what a biology technician is expected to do: 29 skills carry over, 12 of which the biology technician role treats as required.
What skills does a biologist need to become a biology technician?
10 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with machinery and specialised equipment. The single most important is analyse experimental laboratory data.
How hard is the move from biologist to biology technician?
Its learning distance is 52.3 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.