Biomedical engineer to oceanographer
A biomedical engineer already meets 70% of what the oceanographer role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
42.5/ 100
1 How much of what an oceanographer is expected to do is already part of a biomedical engineer’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 oceanographer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An oceanographer role treats 34 of its required skills as things a biomedical engineer 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 8 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 39 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An oceanographer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a biomedical engineer background worth leading with.
- already held design scientific equipment communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held gather experimental data information skills
- already held biology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held perform laboratory tests working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held apply scientific methods information skills
- already held execute analytical mathematical calculations information skills
All 39 carried skills, including the 34 the oceanographer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 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 geology required
- still to learn oceanography required
- still to learn physics required
- still to learn statistics required
- optional, not held coastal management optional
- optional, not held geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held aquatic ecology optional
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held meteorology optional
- optional, not held remote sensing techniques optional
- still to learn operate scientific measuring equipment required
- still to learn use measurement instruments required
- optional, not held operate remote sensing equipment optional
- still to learn apply statistical analysis techniques required
- optional, not held conduct underwater surveys optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held conduct field work optional
- optional, not held conduct research on climate processes optional
- still to learn scientific modelling required
- optional, not held assist scientific research optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
- optional, not held cartography optional
- optional, not held environmental engineering optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an oceanographer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply statistical analysis techniques practise this
- 02 geology study this
- 03 oceanography 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 39 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 execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- already held gather experimental data skill
- already held increase the impact of science on policy and society skill
- already held integrate gender dimension in research skill
- already held interact professionally in research and professional environments skill
- already held manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data skill
- already held manage intellectual property rights skill
- already held manage open publications skill
- already held manage personal professional development skill
- already held manage research data skill
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held mentor individuals skill
- already held operate open source software 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 research methodology knowledge
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held synthesise information skill
- already held think abstractly skill
- already held write scientific publications skill
- already held apply blended learning skill
- already held biology knowledge
- already held design scientific equipment skill
- already held perform laboratory tests skill
- already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
- optional, not held perform diving interventions optional
- optional, not held use geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held apply digital mapping optional
- optional, not held environmental legislation optional
21 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held cartography optional
- optional, not held coastal management optional
- optional, not held conduct underwater surveys optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held use geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held apply digital mapping optional
- optional, not held aquatic ecology optional
- optional, not held assist scientific research optional
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
- optional, not held conduct field work optional
- optional, not held conduct research on climate processes optional
- optional, not held environmental engineering optional
- optional, not held environmental legislation optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held meteorology optional
- optional, not held operate remote sensing equipment optional
- optional, not held perform diving interventions optional
- optional, not held remote sensing techniques optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
28 held skills the oceanographer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adjust engineering designs skill
- not needed by the target role approve engineering design skill
- not needed by the target role assess the feasibility of implementing developments skill
- not needed by the target role assist in clinical trials skill
- not needed by the target role biological chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role biomedical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role biotechnology knowledge
- not needed by the target role collect biological data skill
- not needed by the target role design principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role design prototypes skill
- not needed by the target role develop pharmaceutical drugs skill
- not needed by the target role develop product design skill
- not needed by the target role develop test procedures skill
- not needed by the target role draft design specifications skill
- not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role examine samples in dermatology skill
- not needed by the target role general medicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role genetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role industrial design knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret electromyograms skill
- not needed by the target role laboratory techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role life sciences knowledge
- not needed by the target role medical devices materials knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmaceutical chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role product data management knowledge
- not needed by the target role research new treatments for blood related disorders skill
- not needed by the target role test procedures knowledge
15 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 geology required
- still to learn oceanography required
- still to learn physics required
- still to learn scientific modelling required
- still to learn statistics required
- optional, not held cartography optional
- optional, not held coastal management optional
- optional, not held geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held aquatic ecology optional
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held environmental engineering optional
- optional, not held environmental legislation optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held meteorology optional
- optional, not held remote sensing techniques optional
Common questions about this move
Can a biomedical engineer become an oceanographer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A biomedical engineer already covers 70% of what an oceanographer is expected to do: 39 skills carry over, 34 of which the oceanographer role treats as required.
What skills does a biomedical engineer need to become an oceanographer?
8 required skills are missing, plus 21 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. The single most important is apply statistical analysis techniques.
How hard is the move from biomedical engineer to oceanographer?
Its learning distance is 42.5 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.