Chemist to analytical chemist
A chemist already meets 76% of what the analytical chemist role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
38/ 100
1 How much of what an analytical chemist is expected to do is already part of a chemist’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 analytical chemist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An analytical chemist role treats 39 of its required skills as things a chemist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse chemical substances
- analytical chemistry
- apply for research funding
- apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities
- apply safety procedures in laboratory
- apply scientific methods
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 52 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An analytical chemist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a chemist background worth leading with.
- already held analyse chemical substances information skills
- already held apply liquid chromatography handling and moving
- already held oxidation natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held use chromatography software working with computers
- already held green chemistry engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held pharmaceutical chemistry natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 52 carried skills, including the 39 the analytical chemist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 7 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 chemistry required
- still to learn chemistry required
- still to learn mathematics required
- still to learn statistics required
- optional, not held high-performance liquid chromatography optional
- still to learn apply statistical analysis techniques required
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- optional, not held analyse experimental laboratory data optional
- optional, not held record test data optional
- optional, not held report test findings optional
- still to learn chemical processes required
- optional, not held nanomaterials optional
- optional, not held solid phase microextraction optional
- optional, not held gas chromatography optional
- still to learn identify customer's needs required
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
- still to learn handle chemicals required
- optional, not held label samples optional
- still to learn perform laboratory tests required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an analytical chemist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 chemical processes study this
- 02 computational chemistry study this
- 03 identify customer's needs 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 52 skills that carry over
- already held analyse chemical substances skill
- already held analytical chemistry knowledge
- already held apply for research funding skill
- already held apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities skill
- already held apply safety procedures in laboratory 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 green chemistry knowledge
- 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 laboratory techniques knowledge
- 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 mentor individuals skill
- already held operate open source software skill
- already held oxidation knowledge
- 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 literature knowledge
- already held scientific research methodology knowledge
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held synthesise information skill
- already held think abstractly skill
- already held use chemical analysis equipment skill
- already held write scientific publications skill
- already held apply blended learning skill
- already held apply liquid chromatography skill
- already held archive scientific documentation skill
- already held calibrate laboratory equipment skill
- already held collect samples for analysis skill
- already held develop scientific research protocols skill
- already held manage chemical testing procedures skill
- already held oversee quality control skill
- already held pharmaceutical chemistry knowledge
- already held prepare chemical samples skill
- already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
- already held test chemical samples skill
- already held use chromatography software skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held supervise laboratory operations optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held analyse experimental laboratory data optional
- optional, not held high-performance liquid chromatography optional
- optional, not held label samples optional
- optional, not held nanomaterials optional
- optional, not held solid phase microextraction optional
- optional, not held gas chromatography optional
- optional, not held record test data optional
- optional, not held report test findings optional
- optional, not held supervise laboratory operations optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
44 held skills the analytical chemist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role CAE software knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on chemical use reduction skill
- not needed by the target role alternative fuels knowledge
- not needed by the target role analytical methods in biomedical sciences knowledge
- not needed by the target role assist scientific research skill
- not needed by the target role biological chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with external laboratories skill
- not needed by the target role conduct quality control analysis skill
- not needed by the target role cosmetics industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role customer relationship management knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop chemical products skill
- not needed by the target role develop components separation processes skill
- not needed by the target role develop new food products skill
- not needed by the target role develop scientific theories skill
- not needed by the target role dispose of hazardous waste skill
- not needed by the target role document analysis results skill
- not needed by the target role execute feasibility study on hydrogen skill
- not needed by the target role follow nuclear plant safety precautions skill
- not needed by the target role follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health skill
- not needed by the target role formulate cosmetic products skill
- not needed by the target role good manufacturing practices knowledge
- not needed by the target role inorganic chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role materials engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role nuclear energy knowledge
- not needed by the target role nuclear medicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role nuclear physics knowledge
- not needed by the target role organic chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform physico-chemical analysis to food materials skill
- not needed by the target role pharmaceutical drug development knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmacology knowledge
- not needed by the target role physics knowledge
- not needed by the target role polymer chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide technical expertise skill
- not needed by the target role radiation effects on human body knowledge
- not needed by the target role run laboratory simulations skill
- not needed by the target role solid-state chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role spectroscopy knowledge
- not needed by the target role toxicology knowledge
- not needed by the target role translate formulae into processes skill
- not needed by the target role types of fuels knowledge
4 further entries not listed here
9 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 chemical processes required
- still to learn computational chemistry required
- still to learn chemistry required
- still to learn mathematics required
- still to learn statistics required
- optional, not held high-performance liquid chromatography optional
- optional, not held nanomaterials optional
- optional, not held solid phase microextraction optional
- optional, not held gas chromatography optional
Other moves recorded from chemist
- religion scientific researcher 74% covered · moderate
- cosmetic chemist 74% covered · moderate
- thanatology researcher 71% covered · moderate
- philosopher 70% covered · moderate
- palaeontologist 70% covered · moderate
- astronomer 70% covered · moderate
- seismologist 70% covered · moderate
- toxicologist 67% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can a chemist become an analytical chemist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A chemist already covers 76% of what an analytical chemist is expected to do: 52 skills carry over, 39 of which the analytical chemist role treats as required.
What skills does a chemist need to become an analytical chemist?
10 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. The single most important is chemical processes.
How hard is the move from chemist to analytical chemist?
Its learning distance is 38 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.