Criminologist to behavioural scientist
A criminologist already meets 73% of what the behavioural scientist role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
41.3/ 100
1 How much of what a behavioural scientist is expected to do is already part of a criminologist’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 behavioural scientist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A behavioural scientist role treats 37 of its required skills as things a criminologist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply for research funding
- apply knowledge of human behaviour
- apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities
- apply scientific methods
- apply statistical analysis techniques
- communicate with a non-scientific audience
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 · What you already bring
Of the 48 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A behavioural scientist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a criminologist background worth leading with.
- already held create criminal profiles information skills
- already held observe human behaviour information skills
- already held demography social sciences, journalism and information
- already held assist police investigations communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held anthropology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held criminology social sciences, journalism and information
All 48 carried skills, including the 37 the behavioural scientist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 missing skills fall into 12 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 report analysis results required
- still to learn research human behaviour required
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held conduct public surveys optional
- optional, not held conduct qualitative research optional
- optional, not held conduct quantitative research optional
- still to learn write work-related reports required
- optional, not held develop solutions for harmful behaviour optional
- optional, not held apply systemic design thinking optional
- optional, not held inform policy makers on health-related challenges optional
- optional, not held provide technical expertise optional
- still to learn psychological counselling methods required
- optional, not held experimental psychology optional
- optional, not held psychological treatment measures optional
- optional, not held quantitative analysis optional
- still to learn provide clinical psychological counselling required
- optional, not held apply clinical psychological treatment optional
- optional, not held create individual treatment programmes optional
- still to learn empirical analysis required
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- still to learn biology required
- optional, not held applied zoology optional
6 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a behavioural scientist 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 · The rest of the record
All 48 skills that carry over
- already held apply for research funding skill
- already held apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- already held apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities skill
- already held apply scientific methods skill
- already held apply statistical analysis techniques 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 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 psychology knowledge
- already held publish academic research skill
- already held research design knowledge
- already held scientific literature knowledge
- already held sociology knowledge
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held statistics knowledge
- already held synthesise information skill
- already held think abstractly skill
- already held write scientific publications skill
- already held anthropology knowledge
- already held apply blended learning skill
- already held apply teaching strategies skill
- already held assist police investigations skill
- already held create criminal profiles skill
- already held criminology knowledge
- already held demography knowledge
- already held observe human behaviour skill
- already held scientific research methodology knowledge
- already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
- already held write research proposals skill
The 6 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn pedagogy required
- optional, not held animal behaviour optional
- optional, not held phenomenology optional
- optional, not held assess animal behaviour optional
- optional, not held disability care optional
- optional, not held oversee animal management optional
20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held develop solutions for harmful behaviour optional
- optional, not held phenomenology optional
- optional, not held animal behaviour optional
- optional, not held applied zoology optional
- optional, not held apply clinical psychological treatment optional
- optional, not held assess animal behaviour optional
- optional, not held create individual treatment programmes optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held disability care optional
- optional, not held experimental psychology optional
- optional, not held oversee animal management optional
- optional, not held apply systemic design thinking optional
- optional, not held conduct public surveys optional
- optional, not held conduct qualitative research optional
- optional, not held conduct quantitative research optional
- optional, not held inform policy makers on health-related challenges optional
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held provide technical expertise optional
- optional, not held psychological treatment measures optional
- optional, not held quantitative analysis optional
19 held skills the behavioural scientist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on legal decisions skill
- not needed by the target role analyse legal evidence skill
- not needed by the target role conduct forensic evaluations skill
- not needed by the target role criminal law knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop criminology theories skill
- not needed by the target role develop security concepts skill
- not needed by the target role document evidence skill
- not needed by the target role document interviews skill
- not needed by the target role examine crime scenes skill
- not needed by the target role forensic psychiatry knowledge
- not needed by the target role international security studies knowledge
- not needed by the target role interview people skill
- not needed by the target role legal research knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage database skill
- not needed by the target role mathematics knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor security measures skill
- not needed by the target role present evidence skill
- not needed by the target role review criminal acts skill
- not needed by the target role use data processing techniques skill
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 biology required
- still to learn empirical analysis required
- still to learn pedagogy required
- still to learn psychological counselling methods required
- optional, not held phenomenology optional
- optional, not held animal behaviour optional
- optional, not held applied zoology optional
- optional, not held disability care optional
- optional, not held experimental psychology optional
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held psychological treatment measures optional
- optional, not held quantitative analysis optional
Common questions about this move
Can a criminologist become a behavioural scientist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A criminologist already covers 73% of what a behavioural scientist is expected to do: 48 skills carry over, 37 of which the behavioural scientist role treats as required.
What skills does a criminologist need to become a behavioural scientist?
8 required skills are missing, plus 20 optional ones. They fall into 12 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is biology.
How hard is the move from criminologist to behavioural scientist?
Its learning distance is 41.3 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.