Coroner to polygraph examiner
A coroner already meets 21% of what the polygraph examiner role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
71.4/ 100
1 How much of what a polygraph examiner is expected to do is already part of a coroner’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 polygraph examiner role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A polygraph examiner role treats 3 of its required skills as things a coroner already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse legal evidence
- comply with legal regulations
- write work-related reports
What stands in the way is 11 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 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A polygraph examiner role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a coroner background worth leading with.
- already held provide testimony in court hearings communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held assist police investigations communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held investigation research methods services
- already held analyse legal evidence information skills
- already held comply with legal regulations assisting and caring
- already held write work-related reports communication, collaboration and creativity
All 6 carried skills, including the 3 the polygraph examiner role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 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 document interviews required
- still to learn manage tests required
- still to learn observe human behaviour required
- still to learn report analysis results required
- optional, not held create criminal profiles optional
- still to learn assess character required
- still to learn maintain professional administration required
- optional, not held profile people optional
- still to learn conduct research interview required
- optional, not held interrogate individuals optional
- optional, not held present evidence optional
- optional, not held promote human rights optional
- still to learn observe confidentiality required
- optional, not held deal with aggressive behaviour optional
- still to learn psychophysiology required
- optional, not held human physiology optional
- still to learn forensic intelligence required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a polygraph examiner role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 psychophysiology study this
- 02 assess character practise this
- 03 conduct research interview 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 6 skills that carry over
- already held analyse legal evidence skill
- already held comply with legal regulations skill
- already held write work-related reports skill
- already held assist police investigations skill
- already held investigation research methods knowledge
- already held provide testimony in court hearings skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn use technology for forensics required
- optional, not held criminology optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held psychology optional
- optional, not held criminal law optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held profile people optional
- optional, not held create criminal profiles optional
- optional, not held criminal law optional
- optional, not held criminology optional
- optional, not held deal with aggressive behaviour optional
- optional, not held human physiology optional
- optional, not held interrogate individuals optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held present evidence optional
- optional, not held promote human rights optional
- optional, not held psychology optional
20 held skills the polygraph examiner role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on legal decisions skill
- not needed by the target role apply scientific methods skill
- not needed by the target role carry out an autopsy skill
- not needed by the target role compile legal documents skill
- not needed by the target role conduct health related research skill
- not needed by the target role court procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role crime scene preservation knowledge
- not needed by the target role determine cause of death skill
- not needed by the target role diagnostic methods in medical laboratory knowledge
- not needed by the target role document evidence skill
- not needed by the target role evidence-based approach in general practice knowledge
- not needed by the target role examine crime scenes skill
- not needed by the target role follow clinical guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role human anatomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep up to date with diagnostic innovations skill
- not needed by the target role maintain operational communications skill
- not needed by the target role maintain work area cleanliness skill
- not needed by the target role pathology knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform forensic examinations skill
- not needed by the target role perform toxicological studies skill
7 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 psychophysiology required
- still to learn forensic intelligence required
- optional, not held criminal law optional
- optional, not held criminology optional
- optional, not held human physiology optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held psychology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a coroner become a polygraph examiner?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A coroner already covers 21% of what a polygraph examiner is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 3 of which the polygraph examiner role treats as required.
What skills does a coroner need to become a polygraph examiner?
11 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is psychophysiology.
How hard is the move from coroner to polygraph examiner?
Its learning distance is 71.4 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.