Biologist to palaeontologist
A biologist already meets 58% of what the palaeontologist role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
55.4/ 100
1 How much of what a palaeontologist 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 palaeontologist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A palaeontologist role treats 25 of its required skills as things a biologist 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 research across disciplines
- demonstrate disciplinary expertise
What stands in the way is 13 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 33 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A palaeontologist 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 habitat restoration natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held botany natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held gather experimental data information skills
- already held scientific literature generic programmes and qualifications
- already held write research proposals communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held biology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 33 carried skills, including the 25 the palaeontologist 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 manage intellectual property rights required
- still to learn mentor individuals required
- still to learn speak different languages required
- still to learn think abstractly required
- optional, not held apply blended learning optional
- optional, not held teach in academic or vocational contexts optional
- still to learn geographic information systems required
- still to learn geological time scale required
- still to learn geology required
- still to learn paleontology required
- optional, not held geography optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- still to learn integrate gender dimension in research required
- still to learn manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data required
- optional, not held conduct geochemical research optional
- optional, not held identify fossils optional
- optional, not held analyse experimental laboratory data optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held examine geochemical samples optional
- optional, not held interpret geophysical data optional
- optional, not held apply statistical analysis techniques optional
- optional, not held conduct field work optional
- optional, not held oversee excavation optional
- optional, not held record test data optional
- still to learn operate open source software required
- still to learn use geographic information systems required
- still to learn scientific modelling required
- optional, not held assemble fossils optional
- optional, not held excavate fossils optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a palaeontologist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 geographic information systems study this
- 02 manage intellectual property rights practise this
- 03 operate open source software 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 33 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 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 interact professionally in research and professional environments skill
- already held manage open publications skill
- already held manage personal professional development skill
- already held manage research data 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 synthesise information skill
- already held write scientific publications skill
- already held biology knowledge
- already held botany knowledge
- already held chemistry knowledge
- already held collect samples for analysis skill
- already held gather experimental data skill
- already held habitat restoration knowledge
- already held perform laboratory tests skill
- already held write research proposals skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held locate fossils optional
- optional, not held operate scientific measuring equipment optional
- optional, not held paleography optional
- optional, not held work ergonomically optional
20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assemble fossils optional
- optional, not held conduct geochemical research optional
- optional, not held excavate fossils optional
- optional, not held identify fossils optional
- optional, not held locate fossils optional
- optional, not held analyse experimental laboratory data optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held examine geochemical samples optional
- optional, not held interpret geophysical data optional
- optional, not held paleography optional
- optional, not held apply blended learning optional
- optional, not held apply statistical analysis techniques optional
- optional, not held conduct field work optional
- optional, not held geography optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held operate scientific measuring equipment optional
- optional, not held oversee excavation optional
- optional, not held record test data optional
- optional, not held teach in academic or vocational contexts optional
- optional, not held work ergonomically optional
65 held skills the palaeontologist role does not ask for
- 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 animal welfare legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role applied zoology knowledge
- 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 biosecurity knowledge
- not needed by the target role biotechnology in aquaculture knowledge
- not needed by the target role collect biological data skill
- 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 computational biology knowledge
- 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 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 cryopreservation knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop aquaculture breeding strategies skill
- not needed by the target role develop scientific research protocols skill
- not needed by the target role ecology knowledge
- not needed by the target role ecosystem management knowledge
- not needed by the target role entomology knowledge
- 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 genomics knowledge
- not needed by the target role herpetology knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify poisons skill
- not needed by the target role inspect fish stock skill
- not needed by the target role laboratory techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role lepidoptery knowledge
- not needed by the target role life sciences knowledge
- not needed by the target role mammalogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role marine biology knowledge
25 further entries not listed here
8 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 geographic information systems required
- still to learn geological time scale required
- still to learn geology required
- still to learn paleontology required
- still to learn scientific modelling required
- optional, not held paleography optional
- optional, not held geography optional
- optional, not held geophysics 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
- aquatic animal health professional 57% covered · substantial
- immunologist 57% covered · substantial
- religion scientific researcher 57% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can a biologist become a palaeontologist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A biologist already covers 58% of what a palaeontologist is expected to do: 33 skills carry over, 25 of which the palaeontologist role treats as required.
What skills does a biologist need to become a palaeontologist?
13 required skills are missing, plus 20 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is geographic information systems.
How hard is the move from biologist to palaeontologist?
Its learning distance is 55.4 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.