Chemical engineering technician to physics technician
A chemical engineering technician already meets 33% of what the physics technician role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
62.3/ 100
1 How much of what a physics technician is expected to do is already part of a chemical engineering 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 physics technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A physics technician role treats 6 of its required skills as things a chemical engineering technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse experimental laboratory data
- apply safety procedures in laboratory
- execute analytical mathematical calculations
- laboratory techniques
- maintain laboratory equipment
- perform laboratory tests
What stands in the way is 7 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 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A physics technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a chemical engineering technician background worth leading with.
- already held communicate with external laboratories communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held analyse experimental laboratory data information skills
- already held maintain laboratory equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held calibrate laboratory equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held apply safety procedures in laboratory assisting and caring
- already held laboratory techniques natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 8 carried skills, including the 6 the physics technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 missing skills fall into 8 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 apply statistical analysis techniques required
- still to learn gather experimental data required
- still to learn report analysis results required
- optional, not held interpret geophysical data optional
- optional, not held analyse scientific data optional
- optional, not held apply scientific methods optional
- optional, not held observe matter optional
- still to learn physics required
- optional, not held quantum mechanics optional
- optional, not held acoustics optional
- optional, not held astronomy optional
- optional, not held geology optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held mathematics optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
- optional, not held thermodynamics optional
- still to learn use measurement instruments required
- optional, not held operate remote sensing equipment optional
- optional, not held operate telescopes optional
- still to learn assist scientific research required
- optional, not held write scientific publications optional
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a physics technician 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 assist scientific research practise this
- 03 gather experimental data 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 8 skills that carry over
- already held analyse experimental laboratory data skill
- already held apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
- already held execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- already held laboratory techniques knowledge
- already held maintain laboratory equipment skill
- already held perform laboratory tests skill
- already held calibrate laboratory equipment skill
- already held communicate with external laboratories skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held densiometry optional
- optional, not held quantum computing optional
18 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held densiometry optional
- optional, not held interpret geophysical data optional
- optional, not held quantum computing optional
- optional, not held quantum mechanics optional
- optional, not held acoustics optional
- optional, not held analyse scientific data optional
- optional, not held apply scientific methods optional
- optional, not held astronomy optional
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
- optional, not held geology optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held mathematics optional
- optional, not held observe matter optional
- optional, not held operate remote sensing equipment optional
- optional, not held operate telescopes optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
- optional, not held thermodynamics optional
- optional, not held write scientific publications optional
47 held skills the physics technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse production processes for improvement skill
- not needed by the target role analytical chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role archive scientific documentation skill
- not needed by the target role assess hydrogen production technologies skill
- not needed by the target role chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role collaborate with engineers skill
- not needed by the target role computational chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role control production skill
- not needed by the target role corrosion types knowledge
- not needed by the target role determine production feasibility skill
- not needed by the target role develop components separation processes skill
- not needed by the target role dispose of hazardous waste skill
- not needed by the target role energy efficiency knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
- not needed by the target role execute feasibility study on hydrogen skill
- not needed by the target role green chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role hazardous waste storage knowledge
- not needed by the target role hazardous waste types knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify hazards in the workplace skill
- not needed by the target role inorganic chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep records of work progress skill
- not needed by the target role maintain chromotography machinery skill
- not needed by the target role maintain nuclear reactors skill
- not needed by the target role manage health and safety standards skill
- not needed by the target role nuclear energy knowledge
- not needed by the target role nuclear reprocessing knowledge
- not needed by the target role oxidation knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform product testing skill
- not needed by the target role prepare chemical samples skill
- not needed by the target role production processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role quality assurance methodologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role radiation protection knowledge
- not needed by the target role recognise signs of corrosion skill
- not needed by the target role recommend product improvements skill
- not needed by the target role risk management knowledge
- not needed by the target role run laboratory simulations skill
- not needed by the target role schedule production skill
- not needed by the target role set production facilities standards skill
7 further entries not listed here
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 physics required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held densiometry optional
- optional, not held quantum computing optional
- optional, not held quantum mechanics optional
- optional, not held acoustics optional
- optional, not held astronomy optional
- optional, not held geology optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held mathematics optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
- optional, not held thermodynamics optional
Other moves recorded from chemical engineering technician
Common questions about this move
Can a chemical engineering technician become a physics technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A chemical engineering technician already covers 33% of what a physics technician is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 6 of which the physics technician role treats as required.
What skills does a chemical engineering technician need to become a physics technician?
7 required skills are missing, plus 18 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is apply statistical analysis techniques.
How hard is the move from chemical engineering technician to physics technician?
Its learning distance is 62.3 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.