Botanist to zoo curator
A botanist already meets 33% of what the zoo curator role asks for. The move turns on 29 required skills not yet in the profile.
77.3/ 100
1 How much of what a zoo curator is expected to do is already part of a botanist’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 zoo curator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A zoo curator role treats 16 of its required skills as things a botanist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- corporate social responsibility
- develop recreation programmes
- establish daily priorities
- follow company standards
- liaise with local authorities
- manage budgets
What stands in the way is 29 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 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A zoo curator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a botanist background worth leading with.
- already held manage recreational facility management skills
- already held develop recreation programmes management skills
- already held schedule recreation facilities management skills
- already held promote recreation activities communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held recreation activities services
- already held supervise daily information operations management skills
All 16 carried skills, including the 16 the zoo curator role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 41 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 assess the compatibility of individuals and animals to work together required
- still to learn manage teamwork required
- still to learn manage zoo staff required
- still to learn organise zoological exhibitions required
- still to learn oversee animal management required
- still to learn coordinate events required
- still to learn develop zoonotic disease control policies required
- still to learn fix meetings required
- still to learn perform project management required
- optional, not held coordinate export transportation activities optional
- optional, not held coordinate import transportation activities optional
- optional, not held create safe working protocols optional
- optional, not held prepare transportation routes optional
- still to learn advise on animal purchase required
- still to learn work effectively with animal-related organisations required
- still to learn chair a meeting required
- still to learn speak different languages required
- optional, not held solve operational transport problems optional
- optional, not held liaise with transportation companies optional
- optional, not held speak about your work in public optional
- still to learn budgetary principles required
- still to learn animal welfare legislation required
- still to learn environmental legislation required
- still to learn zoo regulations required
- optional, not held animal transport regulations optional
- still to learn maintain catalogue collection required
- still to learn read zoo reports required
- still to learn maintain professional records required
- optional, not held study a collection optional
- optional, not held analyse transportation costs optional
- still to learn animal acquisition required
- still to learn animal breeding programmes required
- still to learn physiology of animals required
- still to learn ensure health and safety of staff required
- still to learn ensure health and safety of visitors required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a zoo curator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 animal acquisition study this
- 02 animal breeding programmes study this
- 03 administer treatment to animals practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 16 skills that carry over
- already held corporate social responsibility knowledge
- already held develop recreation programmes skill
- already held establish daily priorities skill
- already held follow company standards skill
- already held liaise with local authorities skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held manage logistics skill
- already held manage recreational facility skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held manage supplies skill
- already held promote recreation activities skill
- already held recreation activities knowledge
- already held represent the organisation skill
- already held schedule recreation facilities skill
- already held set organisational policies skill
- already held supervise daily information operations skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn anatomy of animals required
- still to learn applied zoology required
- still to learn animal evolution required
- optional, not held zoo exhibit design optional
- still to learn administer treatment to animals required
- optional, not held breed reptiles optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held animal transport regulations optional
- optional, not held breed reptiles optional
- optional, not held coordinate export transportation activities optional
- optional, not held coordinate import transportation activities optional
- optional, not held solve operational transport problems optional
- optional, not held study a collection optional
- optional, not held zoo exhibit design optional
- optional, not held analyse transportation costs optional
- optional, not held create safe working protocols optional
- optional, not held liaise with transportation companies optional
- optional, not held prepare transportation routes optional
- optional, not held speak about your work in public optional
15 held skills the zoo curator role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on acquisitions skill
- not needed by the target role aquatic ecology knowledge
- not needed by the target role biology 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 collect biological data skill
- not needed by the target role conduct ecological surveys skill
- not needed by the target role ecology knowledge
- not needed by the target role educate people about nature skill
- not needed by the target role educate the public about wildlife skill
- not needed by the target role employ habitat survey techniques skill
- not needed by the target role evolution of economic forecasts knowledge
- not needed by the target role forest ecology knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor grounds maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role variety of botanicals knowledge
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 animal acquisition required
- still to learn animal breeding programmes required
- still to learn anatomy of animals required
- still to learn animal evolution required
- still to learn applied zoology required
- still to learn budgetary principles required
- still to learn physiology of animals required
- still to learn animal welfare legislation required
- still to learn environmental legislation required
- still to learn zoo regulations required
- optional, not held animal transport regulations optional
- optional, not held zoo exhibit design optional
Common questions about this move
Can a botanist become a zoo curator?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A botanist already covers 33% of what a zoo curator is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 16 of which the zoo curator role treats as required.
What skills does a botanist need to become a zoo curator?
29 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is animal acquisition.
How hard is the move from botanist to zoo curator?
Its learning distance is 77.3 out of 100, which is the career change 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.