Botanical technician to zoology technician
A botanical technician already meets 75% of what the zoology technician role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
30.7/ 100
1 How much of what a zoology technician is expected to do is already part of a botanical 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 zoology technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A zoology technician role treats 16 of its required skills as things a botanical 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 3 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 26 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A zoology technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a botanical 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 maintain freelance database working with computers
- already held preserve samples handling and moving
- already held assist in the production of laboratory documentation information skills
- already held analyse cell cultures information skills
All 26 carried skills, including the 16 the zoology 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 applied zoology required
- still to learn animal biology required
- optional, not held cryopreservation optional
- optional, not held evolutionary biology optional
- optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional
- optional, not held life sciences optional
- still to learn animal behaviour required
- optional, not held pollution legislation optional
- optional, not held animal welfare legislation optional
- optional, not held animal food products optional
- optional, not held watershed development optional
- optional, not held analyse blood samples optional
- optional, not held inspect animal welfare management optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a zoology technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 26 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 biological data skill
- already held laboratory equipment knowledge
- already held laboratory techniques 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 use laboratory equipment skill
- already held write technical reports skill
- already held analyse cell cultures skill
- already held chemistry knowledge
- already held environmental legislation 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 prepare visual data skill
- already held preserve samples skill
- already held write research proposals skill
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held analyse blood samples optional
- optional, not held animal food products optional
- optional, not held cryopreservation optional
- optional, not held evolutionary biology optional
- optional, not held inspect animal welfare management optional
- optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional
- optional, not held pollution legislation optional
- optional, not held watershed development optional
- optional, not held animal welfare legislation optional
- optional, not held life sciences optional
19 held skills the zoology technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role aeroponics knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse environmental data skill
- not needed by the target role aquatic species knowledge
- not needed by the target role biosecurity knowledge
- not needed by the target role botany knowledge
- not needed by the target role characteristics of plants knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct ecological surveys skill
- not needed by the target role create soil and plant improvement programmes skill
- not needed by the target role ecology knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
- not needed by the target role handling chemical products for soil and plants skill
- not needed by the target role horticulture principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role hydroponics knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain plant health skill
- not needed by the target role nurse plants skill
- not needed by the target role plant care products knowledge
- not needed by the target role plant species knowledge
- not needed by the target role reforestation knowledge
- not needed by the target role variety of botanicals knowledge
11 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 animal behaviour required
- still to learn applied zoology required
- still to learn animal biology required
- optional, not held animal food products optional
- optional, not held cryopreservation optional
- optional, not held evolutionary biology optional
- optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional
- optional, not held pollution legislation optional
- optional, not held watershed development optional
- optional, not held animal welfare legislation optional
- optional, not held life sciences optional
Common questions about this move
Can a botanical technician become a zoology technician?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A botanical technician already covers 75% of what a zoology technician is expected to do: 26 skills carry over, 16 of which the zoology technician role treats as required.
What skills does a botanical technician need to become a zoology technician?
3 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. The single most important is animal behaviour.
How hard is the move from botanical technician to zoology technician?
Its learning distance is 30.7 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.