Environmental scientist to oceanographer
An environmental scientist already meets 65% of what the oceanographer role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
47.2/ 100
1 How much of what an oceanographer is expected to do is already part of an environmental scientist’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 oceanographer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An oceanographer role treats 31 of its required skills as things an environmental scientist 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
- communicate with a non-scientific audience
- conduct research across disciplines
- demonstrate disciplinary expertise
- develop professional network with researchers and scientists
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 38 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An oceanographer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an environmental scientist background worth leading with.
- already held environmental engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held biology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held environmental legislation business, administration and law
- already held collect samples for analysis handling and moving
- already held physics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held chemistry natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 38 carried skills, including the 31 the oceanographer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 30 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 geology required
- still to learn mathematics required
- still to learn oceanography required
- still to learn statistics required
- optional, not held coastal management optional
- optional, not held geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held aquatic ecology optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held meteorology optional
- optional, not held remote sensing techniques optional
- still to learn apply scientific methods required
- still to learn apply statistical analysis techniques required
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- still to learn gather experimental data required
- optional, not held conduct underwater surveys optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held conduct field work optional
- optional, not held conduct research on climate processes optional
- still to learn operate scientific measuring equipment required
- still to learn use measurement instruments required
- optional, not held operate remote sensing equipment optional
- optional, not held perform laboratory tests optional
- still to learn scientific modelling required
- optional, not held assist scientific research optional
- optional, not held design scientific equipment optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
- optional, not held use geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held apply digital mapping optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an oceanographer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply scientific methods practise this
- 02 apply statistical analysis techniques practise this
- 03 execute analytical mathematical calculations 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 38 skills that carry over
- already held apply for research funding skill
- already held apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities 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 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 biology knowledge
- already held chemistry knowledge
- already held collect samples for analysis skill
- already held environmental engineering knowledge
- already held environmental legislation knowledge
- already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held cartography optional
- optional, not held perform diving interventions optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held cartography optional
- optional, not held coastal management optional
- optional, not held conduct underwater surveys optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held use geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held apply digital mapping optional
- optional, not held aquatic ecology optional
- optional, not held assist scientific research optional
- optional, not held conduct field work optional
- optional, not held conduct research on climate processes optional
- optional, not held design scientific equipment optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held meteorology optional
- optional, not held operate remote sensing equipment optional
- optional, not held perform diving interventions optional
- optional, not held perform laboratory tests optional
- optional, not held remote sensing techniques optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
44 held skills the oceanographer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role address public health issues skill
- not needed by the target role advise on chemical use reduction skill
- not needed by the target role advise on environmental risk management systems skill
- not needed by the target role advise on pollution prevention skill
- not needed by the target role analyse environmental data skill
- not needed by the target role assess environmental plans against financial costs skill
- not needed by the target role assess groundwater environmental impact skill
- not needed by the target role carry out environmental audits skill
- not needed by the target role carry out training in environmental matters skill
- not needed by the target role civil engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct environmental site assessments skill
- not needed by the target role conduct environmental surveys skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research before survey skill
- not needed by the target role consumer protection knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop environmental remediation strategies skill
- not needed by the target role ecosystem management knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
- not needed by the target role environmental design knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental management monitors knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental policy knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental threats knowledge
- not needed by the target role food waste monitoring systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle chemicals skill
- not needed by the target role have computer literacy skill
- not needed by the target role hazardous waste storage knowledge
- not needed by the target role hydrology knowledge
- not needed by the target role implement environmental protection measures skill
- not needed by the target role inspect industrial equipment skill
- not needed by the target role interpret visual literacy skill
- not needed by the target role investigate pollution skill
- not needed by the target role manage chemical testing procedures skill
- not needed by the target role manage environmental management system skill
- not needed by the target role mining, construction and civil engineering machinery products knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor manufacturing impact skill
- not needed by the target role perform environmental investigations skill
- not needed by the target role pollution legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role pollution prevention knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare visual data skill
- not needed by the target role use consulting techniques skill
4 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 geology required
- still to learn mathematics required
- still to learn oceanography required
- still to learn scientific modelling required
- still to learn statistics required
- optional, not held cartography optional
- optional, not held coastal management optional
- optional, not held geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held aquatic ecology optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held meteorology optional
- optional, not held remote sensing techniques optional
Common questions about this move
Can an environmental scientist become an oceanographer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An environmental scientist already covers 65% of what an oceanographer is expected to do: 38 skills carry over, 31 of which the oceanographer role treats as required.
What skills does an environmental scientist need to become an oceanographer?
11 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. The single most important is apply scientific methods.
How hard is the move from environmental scientist to oceanographer?
Its learning distance is 47.2 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.