Biology technician to biochemistry technician
A biology technician already meets 74% of what the biochemistry technician role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
33.1/ 100
1 How much of what a biochemistry technician is expected to do is already part of a biology technician’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 biochemistry technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A biochemistry technician role treats 18 of its required skills as things a biology technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse experimental laboratory data
- apply safety procedures in laboratory
- apply scientific methods
- assist in the production of laboratory documentation
- biology
- calibrate laboratory equipment
What stands in the way is 5 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 31 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A biochemistry technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a biology technician background worth leading with.
- already held use laboratory equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held laboratory equipment natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held evolutionary biology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held maintain freelance database working with computers
- already held preserve samples handling and moving
- already held assist in the production of laboratory documentation information skills
All 31 carried skills, including the 18 the biochemistry technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 13 missing skills fall into 5 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 biological chemistry required
- still to learn genetics required
- optional, not held computational chemistry optional
- optional, not held analytical chemistry optional
- optional, not held clinical cytology optional
- optional, not held toxicology optional
- still to learn biotechnology required
- optional, not held endocrinology optional
- optional, not held communicable diseases optional
- still to learn conduct routine blood testing required
- optional, not held examine samples in dermatology optional
- still to learn solid phase microextraction required
- optional, not held perform chemical experiments optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a biochemistry technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 biological chemistry study this
- 02 conduct routine blood testing practise this
- 03 genetics 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 31 skills that carry over
- already held analyse experimental laboratory data skill
- already held apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
- already held apply scientific methods skill
- already held assist in the production of laboratory documentation skill
- already held biology knowledge
- already held calibrate laboratory equipment skill
- already held collect samples for analysis skill
- already held laboratory equipment knowledge
- already held laboratory techniques knowledge
- already held life sciences knowledge
- already held maintain laboratory equipment skill
- already held manage inventory skill
- 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 use laboratory equipment skill
- already held write technical reports skill
- already held analyse blood samples skill
- already held analyse cell cultures skill
- already held evolutionary biology knowledge
- already held hazardous waste storage knowledge
- already held keep task records skill
- already held label samples skill
- already held maintain freelance database skill
- already held microbiology-bacteriology knowledge
- already held pharmacology knowledge
- already held prepare visual data skill
- already held preserve samples skill
- already held virology knowledge
- already held write research proposals skill
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held computational chemistry optional
- optional, not held endocrinology optional
- optional, not held examine samples in dermatology optional
- optional, not held analytical chemistry optional
- optional, not held clinical cytology optional
- optional, not held communicable diseases optional
- optional, not held perform chemical experiments optional
- optional, not held toxicology optional
20 held skills the biochemistry technician 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 biosecurity 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 reproductive cells skill
- not needed by the target role computational biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role cryopreservation knowledge
- not needed by the target role ecology knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role genomics knowledge
- not needed by the target role molecular biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor the welfare of animals skill
- not needed by the target role oceanography knowledge
- not needed by the target role pathology knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform fertility laboratory procedures skill
- not needed by the target role perform field research skill
- not needed by the target role perform stem cell transplantation skill
- not needed by the target role pollution prevention knowledge
10 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 biological chemistry required
- still to learn genetics required
- still to learn solid phase microextraction required
- still to learn biotechnology required
- optional, not held computational chemistry optional
- optional, not held endocrinology optional
- optional, not held analytical chemistry optional
- optional, not held clinical cytology optional
- optional, not held communicable diseases optional
- optional, not held toxicology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a biology technician become a biochemistry technician?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A biology technician already covers 74% of what a biochemistry technician is expected to do: 31 skills carry over, 18 of which the biochemistry technician role treats as required.
What skills does a biology technician need to become a biochemistry technician?
5 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. The single most important is biological chemistry.
How hard is the move from biology technician to biochemistry technician?
Its learning distance is 33.1 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.