Biotechnical technician to biology technician
A biotechnical technician already meets 41% of what the biology technician role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
65.2/ 100
1 How much of what a biology technician is expected to do is already part of a biotechnical 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 biology technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A biology technician role treats 12 of its required skills as things a biotechnical technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse experimental laboratory data
- apply scientific methods
- biology
- collect biological data
- cryopreservation
- laboratory techniques
What stands in the way is 10 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 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A biology technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a biotechnical technician background worth leading with.
- already held collect reproductive cells handling and moving
- already held perform stem cell transplantation assisting and caring
- already held genomics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held stem cells natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held cryopreservation natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held collect biological data information skills
All 15 carried skills, including the 12 the biology technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 36 missing skills fall into 12 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 computational biology required
- still to learn laboratory equipment required
- optional, not held applied zoology optional
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held evolutionary biology optional
- optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held ecology optional
- optional, not held molecular biology optional
- optional, not held oceanography optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
- still to learn use laboratory equipment required
- still to learn calibrate laboratory equipment required
- optional, not held perform fertility laboratory procedures optional
- still to learn assist in the production of laboratory documentation required
- optional, not held analyse blood samples optional
- optional, not held analyse cell cultures optional
- optional, not held perform field research optional
- optional, not held keep task records optional
- optional, not held monitor the welfare of animals optional
- still to learn collect samples for analysis required
- optional, not held label samples optional
- optional, not held preserve samples optional
- still to learn write technical reports required
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
- still to learn apply safety procedures in laboratory required
6 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a biology technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply safety procedures in laboratory practise this
- 02 assist in the production of laboratory documentation practise this
- 03 computational biology 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 15 skills that carry over
- already held analyse experimental laboratory data skill
- already held apply scientific methods skill
- already held biology knowledge
- already held collect biological data skill
- already held cryopreservation knowledge
- already held laboratory techniques knowledge
- already held life sciences knowledge
- already held maintain laboratory equipment skill
- already held perform laboratory tests skill
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held perform stem cell transplantation skill
- already held stem cells knowledge
- already held collect reproductive cells skill
- already held genomics knowledge
- already held pollution prevention knowledge
The 6 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- still to learn manage inventory required
- optional, not held biosecurity optional
- optional, not held pathology optional
- optional, not held virology optional
- optional, not held animal welfare legislation optional
- optional, not held environmental legislation optional
- optional, not held maintain freelance database optional
- optional, not held prepare visual data optional
- optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
26 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held analyse blood samples optional
- optional, not held analyse cell cultures optional
- optional, not held applied zoology optional
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held evolutionary biology optional
- optional, not held label samples optional
- optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional
- optional, not held perform fertility laboratory procedures optional
- optional, not held perform field research optional
- optional, not held animal welfare legislation optional
- optional, not held biosecurity optional
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held ecology optional
- optional, not held environmental legislation optional
- optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
- optional, not held keep task records optional
- optional, not held maintain freelance database optional
- optional, not held molecular biology optional
- optional, not held monitor the welfare of animals optional
- optional, not held oceanography optional
- optional, not held pathology optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
- optional, not held prepare visual data optional
- optional, not held preserve samples optional
- optional, not held virology optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
28 held skills the biology technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on crop diseases skill
- not needed by the target role advise on pest infestation prevention skill
- not needed by the target role analyse scientific data skill
- not needed by the target role analyse test data skill
- not needed by the target role animal species knowledge
- not needed by the target role chemical processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role contact scientists skill
- not needed by the target role crop production principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop vaccines skill
- not needed by the target role environmental engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role food science knowledge
- not needed by the target role gather experimental data skill
- not needed by the target role measure pollution skill
- not needed by the target role medical devices knowledge
- not needed by the target role medical laboratory technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role medical studies knowledge
- not needed by the target role medicines knowledge
- not needed by the target role multidisciplinary research knowledge
- not needed by the target role pest control in plants knowledge
- not needed by the target role pests and diseases knowledge
- not needed by the target role plant species knowledge
- not needed by the target role research improvement of crop yields skill
- not needed by the target role run laboratory simulations skill
- not needed by the target role solid phase microextraction knowledge
- not needed by the target role sustainable agricultural production principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role undertake research in medical genetics skill
- not needed by the target role use technology for forensics skill
- not needed by the target role work with chemicals skill
18 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 computational biology required
- still to learn laboratory equipment required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held applied zoology optional
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held evolutionary biology optional
- optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional
- optional, not held animal welfare legislation optional
- optional, not held biosecurity optional
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held ecology optional
- optional, not held environmental legislation optional
- optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
- optional, not held molecular biology optional
- optional, not held oceanography optional
- optional, not held pathology optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
- optional, not held virology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a biotechnical technician become a biology technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A biotechnical technician already covers 41% of what a biology technician is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 12 of which the biology technician role treats as required.
What skills does a biotechnical technician need to become a biology technician?
10 required skills are missing, plus 26 optional ones. They fall into 12 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. The single most important is apply safety procedures in laboratory.
How hard is the move from biotechnical technician to biology technician?
Its learning distance is 65.2 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.