Biologist to toxicologist
A biologist already meets 56% of what the toxicologist role asks for. The move turns on 19 required skills not yet in the profile.
59.7/ 100
1 How much of what a toxicologist 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 toxicologist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A toxicologist role treats 31 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 19 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 43 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A toxicologist 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 identify poisons handling and moving
- already held conduct research on flora information skills
- already held conduct research on fauna information skills
- already held analyse blood samples information skills
- already held analyse cell cultures information skills
- already held archive scientific documentation information skills
All 43 carried skills, including the 31 the toxicologist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 43 missing skills fall into 10 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 advise on poisoning incidents required
- still to learn manage intellectual property rights required
- still to learn advise on chemical use reduction required
- still to learn mentor individuals required
- still to learn speak different languages required
- still to learn think abstractly required
- optional, not held perform lectures optional
- optional, not held provide specialist pharmaceutical advice optional
- optional, not held advise on legislative acts optional
- optional, not held apply blended learning optional
- optional, not held assist in clinical trials optional
- optional, not held assist police investigations optional
- optional, not held prepare lesson content optional
- optional, not held recommend product improvements optional
- optional, not held report on environmental issues optional
- optional, not held teach in academic or vocational contexts optional
- optional, not held troubleshoot cosmetics formula issues optional
- still to learn calibrate laboratory equipment required
- still to learn maintain laboratory equipment required
- still to learn perform chemical experiments required
- still to learn use chemical analysis equipment required
- still to learn integrate gender dimension in research required
- still to learn manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data required
- still to learn perform toxicological studies required
- optional, not held analyse environmental data optional
- optional, not held conduct experiments on animals optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held test samples for pollutants optional
- optional, not held contribute to registration of pharmaceutical products optional
- optional, not held prepare compliance documents optional
- still to learn apply safety procedures in laboratory required
- still to learn work safely with chemicals required
- optional, not held manage adverse reactions to drugs optional
- optional, not held assess environmental impact optional
- optional, not held develop patient treatment strategies optional
- still to learn cancer risks required
- optional, not held public health optional
- still to learn mix chemicals required
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a toxicologist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 advise on poisoning incidents practise this
- 02 apply safety procedures in laboratory practise this
- 03 cancer risks study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 43 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 gather experimental data skill
- already held identify poisons 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 laboratory techniques knowledge
- already held life sciences knowledge
- already held manage open publications skill
- already held manage personal professional development skill
- already held manage research data 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 synthesise information skill
- already held toxicology knowledge
- already held write scientific publications skill
- already held analyse blood samples skill
- already held analyse cell cultures skill
- already held archive scientific documentation skill
- already held biological chemistry knowledge
- already held biology knowledge
- already held collect samples for analysis skill
- already held conduct research on fauna skill
- already held conduct research on flora skill
- already held develop scientific research protocols skill
- already held pharmacology knowledge
- already held provide technical expertise skill
- already held write research proposals skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn analytical chemistry required
- still to learn operate open source software required
- optional, not held control production optional
- optional, not held develop pharmaceutical drugs optional
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
24 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held analyse environmental data optional
- optional, not held conduct experiments on animals optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held manage adverse reactions to drugs optional
- optional, not held perform lectures optional
- optional, not held provide specialist pharmaceutical advice optional
- optional, not held test samples for pollutants optional
- optional, not held advise on legislative acts optional
- optional, not held apply blended learning optional
- optional, not held assess environmental impact optional
- optional, not held assist in clinical trials optional
- optional, not held assist police investigations optional
- optional, not held contribute to registration of pharmaceutical products optional
- optional, not held control production optional
- optional, not held develop patient treatment strategies optional
- optional, not held develop pharmaceutical drugs optional
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held prepare compliance documents optional
- optional, not held prepare lesson content optional
- optional, not held public health optional
- optional, not held recommend product improvements optional
- optional, not held report on environmental issues optional
- optional, not held teach in academic or vocational contexts optional
- optional, not held troubleshoot cosmetics formula issues optional
55 held skills the toxicologist role does not ask for
- 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 assess environmental impact in aquaculture operations skill
- not needed by the target role biosecurity knowledge
- not needed by the target role biotechnology in aquaculture knowledge
- not needed by the target role botany knowledge
- not needed by the target role chemistry 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 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 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 habitat restoration knowledge
- not needed by the target role herpetology knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect fish stock skill
- not needed by the target role lepidoptery knowledge
- not needed by the target role mammalogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role marine biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role medical parasitology 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 fish health status skill
- not needed by the target role mycology knowledge
- not needed by the target role oceanography knowledge
- not needed by the target role ornithology knowledge
15 further entries not listed here
4 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 cancer risks required
- still to learn analytical chemistry required
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held public health 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 toxicologist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A biologist already covers 56% of what a toxicologist is expected to do: 43 skills carry over, 31 of which the toxicologist role treats as required.
What skills does a biologist need to become a toxicologist?
19 required skills are missing, plus 24 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is advise on poisoning incidents.
How hard is the move from biologist to toxicologist?
Its learning distance is 59.7 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.