Biology technician to marine biologist
A biology technician already meets 40% of what the marine biologist role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
65.9/ 100
1 How much of what a marine biologist 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 marine biologist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A marine biologist role treats 12 of its required skills as things a biology technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply scientific methods
- biology
- botany
- collect biological data
- ecology
- laboratory techniques
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 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A marine biologist 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 perform field research information skills
- already held oceanography natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held collect biological data information skills
- already held molecular biology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held botany natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held ecology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 14 carried skills, including the 12 the marine biologist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 30 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 fish anatomy required
- still to learn fish biology required
- still to learn marine biology required
- still to learn organism taxonomy required
- still to learn fish identification and classification required
- optional, not held coastal management optional
- optional, not held habitat restoration optional
- optional, not held physics optional
- still to learn conduct research on fauna required
- still to learn conduct research on flora required
- still to learn gather experimental data required
- still to learn monitor water quality required
- optional, not held analyse fish samples for diagnosis optional
- optional, not held conduct ecological surveys optional
- optional, not held conduct fish mortality studies optional
- optional, not held inspect fish stock optional
- optional, not held monitor fish health status optional
- optional, not held conduct ecological research optional
- optional, not held conduct fish populations studies optional
- still to learn write work-related reports required
- optional, not held advise on nature conservation optional
- still to learn physiology of animals required
- still to learn ecosystem management required
- still to learn perform data analysis required
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a marine biologist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 conduct research on fauna practise this
- 02 conduct research on flora practise this
- 03 ecosystem management 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 14 skills that carry over
- already held apply scientific methods skill
- already held biology knowledge
- already held botany knowledge
- already held collect biological data skill
- already held ecology knowledge
- already held laboratory techniques knowledge
- already held microbiology-bacteriology knowledge
- already held molecular biology knowledge
- already held perform field research skill
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held scientific research methodology knowledge
- already held write research proposals skill
- already held chemistry knowledge
- already held oceanography knowledge
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held control aquatic production environment optional
- optional, not held send samples to laboratory optional
- optional, not held treat fish diseases optional
- optional, not held wind energy optional
- optional, not held biotechnology optional
- optional, not held develop aquaculture strategies optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on nature conservation optional
- optional, not held analyse fish samples for diagnosis optional
- optional, not held coastal management optional
- optional, not held conduct ecological surveys optional
- optional, not held conduct fish mortality studies optional
- optional, not held habitat restoration optional
- optional, not held inspect fish stock optional
- optional, not held monitor fish health status optional
- optional, not held wind energy optional
- optional, not held biotechnology optional
- optional, not held conduct ecological research optional
- optional, not held conduct fish populations studies optional
- optional, not held control aquatic production environment optional
- optional, not held develop aquaculture strategies optional
- optional, not held physics optional
- optional, not held send samples to laboratory optional
- optional, not held treat fish diseases optional
37 held skills the marine biologist 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 analyse experimental laboratory data 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 apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
- not needed by the target role assist in the production of laboratory documentation skill
- not needed by the target role biosecurity knowledge
- not needed by the target role calibrate laboratory equipment skill
- not needed by the target role collect reproductive cells skill
- not needed by the target role collect samples for analysis skill
- not needed by the target role computational biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role cryopreservation knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role evolutionary biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role genomics knowledge
- not needed by the target role hazardous waste storage knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep task records skill
- not needed by the target role label samples skill
- not needed by the target role laboratory equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role life sciences 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 inventory skill
- not needed by the target role monitor the welfare of animals skill
- 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 laboratory tests skill
- not needed by the target role perform stem cell transplantation skill
- not needed by the target role pharmacology knowledge
- not needed by the target role pollution prevention knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare visual data skill
- not needed by the target role preserve samples skill
- not needed by the target role stem cells knowledge
- not needed by the target role use laboratory equipment skill
- not needed by the target role virology knowledge
- not needed by the target role write technical reports skill
12 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 ecosystem management required
- still to learn fish anatomy required
- still to learn fish biology required
- still to learn marine biology required
- still to learn organism taxonomy required
- still to learn physiology of animals required
- still to learn fish identification and classification required
- optional, not held coastal management optional
- optional, not held habitat restoration optional
- optional, not held wind energy optional
- optional, not held biotechnology optional
- optional, not held physics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a biology technician become a marine biologist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A biology technician already covers 40% of what a marine biologist is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 12 of which the marine biologist role treats as required.
What skills does a biology technician need to become a marine biologist?
13 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. The single most important is conduct research on fauna.
How hard is the move from biology technician to marine biologist?
Its learning distance is 65.9 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.