Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Chemist to astronomer

A chemist already meets 70% of what the astronomer role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From chemist
70 % overlap
Strong match
To astronomer
37 You already bring
8 Still to learn
65 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

42.4/ 100

1 How much of what an astronomer 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 astronomer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An astronomer role treats 33 of its required skills as things a chemist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • apply for research funding
  • apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities
  • apply scientific methods
  • communicate with a non-scientific audience
  • conduct research across disciplines
  • demonstrate disciplinary expertise

What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 37 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An astronomer 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.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held archive scientific documentation information skills
  • already held develop scientific theories information skills
  • already held scientific literature generic programmes and qualifications
  • already held apply scientific methods information skills
  • already held physics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
  • already held manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data information skills

All 37 carried skills, including the 33 the astronomer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 28 missing skills fall into 6 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 information skills 4 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn apply statistical analysis techniques required
  • still to learn carry out scientific research in observatory required
  • still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
  • still to learn gather experimental data required
  • optional, not held define celestial bodies optional
  • optional, not held analyse telescope images optional
02 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 3 required, 8 supplementary
  • still to learn astronomy required
  • still to learn mathematics required
  • still to learn statistics required
  • optional, not held computational physics optional
  • optional, not held mathematical physics optional
  • optional, not held quantum technology optional
  • optional, not held aeronomy optional
  • optional, not held geophysics optional
  • optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
  • optional, not held optics optional
  • optional, not held types of optical instruments optional
03 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn operate scientific measuring equipment required
  • optional, not held operate telescopes optional
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 5 supplementary
  • optional, not held perform lectures optional
  • optional, not held apply teaching strategies optional
  • optional, not held design scientific equipment optional
  • optional, not held teach astronomy optional
  • optional, not held write research proposals optional
05 engineering, manufacturing and construction 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held optoelectronics optional
  • optional, not held optomechanical engineering optional
06 information and communication technologies (icts) 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held quantum computing optional
  • optional, not held scientific modelling optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an astronomer 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

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 37 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held apply for research funding skill
  • already held apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities 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 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 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 perform project management skill
  • already held perform scientific research skill
  • already held physics knowledge
  • 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 write scientific publications skill
  • already held apply blended learning skill
  • already held archive scientific documentation skill
  • already held develop scientific theories skill
  • already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held computational physics optional
  • optional, not held define celestial bodies optional
  • optional, not held mathematical physics optional
  • optional, not held perform lectures optional
  • optional, not held quantum computing optional
  • optional, not held quantum technology optional
  • optional, not held aeronomy optional
  • optional, not held analyse telescope images optional
  • optional, not held apply teaching strategies optional
  • optional, not held design scientific equipment optional
  • optional, not held geophysics optional
  • optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
  • optional, not held operate telescopes optional
  • optional, not held optics optional
  • optional, not held optoelectronics optional
  • optional, not held optomechanical engineering optional
  • optional, not held scientific modelling optional
  • optional, not held teach astronomy optional
  • optional, not held types of optical instruments optional
  • optional, not held write research proposals optional
59 held skills the astronomer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • 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 analyse chemical substances skill
  • not needed by the target role analytical chemistry knowledge
  • not needed by the target role analytical methods in biomedical sciences knowledge
  • not needed by the target role apply liquid chromatography skill
  • not needed by the target role apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
  • 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 calibrate laboratory equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role collect samples for analysis skill
  • 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 research protocols 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 green chemistry knowledge
  • not needed by the target role inorganic chemistry knowledge
  • not needed by the target role laboratory techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role manage chemical testing procedures skill
  • 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 oversee quality control skill
  • not needed by the target role oxidation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role perform physico-chemical analysis to food materials skill
  • not needed by the target role pharmaceutical chemistry knowledge

19 further entries not listed here

15 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn astronomy required
  • still to learn mathematics required
  • still to learn statistics required
  • optional, not held computational physics optional
  • optional, not held mathematical physics optional
  • optional, not held quantum computing optional
  • optional, not held quantum technology optional
  • optional, not held aeronomy optional
  • optional, not held geophysics optional
  • optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
  • optional, not held optics optional
  • optional, not held optoelectronics optional
  • optional, not held optomechanical engineering optional
  • optional, not held scientific modelling optional
  • optional, not held types of optical instruments optional
Index

Other moves recorded from chemist

Full index of moves from chemist

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a chemist become an astronomer?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A chemist already covers 70% of what an astronomer is expected to do: 37 skills carry over, 33 of which the astronomer role treats as required.

What skills does a chemist need to become an astronomer?

8 required skills are missing, plus 20 optional ones. They fall into 6 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 chemist to astronomer?

Its learning distance is 42.4 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.