Epidemiologist to immunologist
An epidemiologist already meets 71% of what the immunologist role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
46.9/ 100
1 How much of what an immunologist is expected to do is already part of an epidemiologist’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 immunologist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An immunologist role treats 37 of its required skills as things an epidemiologist 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
- biology
- communicate with a non-scientific audience
- conduct research across disciplines
What stands in the way is 12 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 immunologist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an epidemiologist background worth leading with.
- already held develop vaccines information skills
- already held communicable diseases health and welfare
- already held analyse blood samples information skills
- already held assist in clinical trials communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held immunology health and welfare
- already held genomics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 52 carried skills, including the 37 the immunologist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 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 diagnostic immunology techniques required
- still to learn cancer risks required
- still to learn clinical immunopathology required
- still to learn medical parasitology required
- still to learn neoplasia required
- still to learn clinical immunology required
- optional, not held allergies optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical industry optional
- still to learn molecular and cellular immunology required
- still to learn stem cells required
- optional, not held medical mycology optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical chemistry optional
- still to learn calibrate laboratory equipment required
- still to learn maintain laboratory equipment required
- still to learn research immune system malfunctions required
- optional, not held diagnose patients with immunodeficiencies optional
- optional, not held analyse cell cultures optional
- optional, not held contribute to registration of pharmaceutical products optional
- optional, not held record test data optional
- still to learn apply safety procedures in laboratory required
- optional, not held develop patient treatment strategies optional
- optional, not held perform lectures optional
- optional, not held recommend product improvements optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an immunologist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 diagnostic immunology techniques study this
- 02 molecular and cellular immunology study this
- 03 research immune system malfunctions 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 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 biology knowledge
- 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 immunology 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 life sciences 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 perform laboratory tests 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 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 analyse blood samples skill
- already held apply blended learning skill
- already held archive scientific documentation skill
- already held assess environmental impact skill
- already held assist in clinical trials skill
- already held communicable diseases knowledge
- already held develop scientific research protocols skill
- already held develop scientific theories skill
- already held develop vaccines skill
- already held general medicine knowledge
- already held genomics knowledge
- already held microbiology-bacteriology knowledge
- already held research design knowledge
- already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
- already held virology knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held control production optional
- optional, not held develop pharmaceutical drugs optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held diagnose patients with immunodeficiencies optional
- optional, not held analyse cell cultures optional
- optional, not held medical mycology optional
- optional, not held perform lectures optional
- optional, not held allergies optional
- optional, not held contribute to registration of pharmaceutical products optional
- optional, not held control production optional
- optional, not held develop patient treatment strategies optional
- optional, not held develop pharmaceutical drugs optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical chemistry optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical industry optional
- optional, not held recommend product improvements optional
- optional, not held record test data optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
24 held skills the immunologist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role SAS language knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on legislative acts skill
- not needed by the target role apply statistical analysis techniques skill
- not needed by the target role biological chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role biometrics knowledge
- not needed by the target role contribute to practice innovation in health care skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to public health campaigns skill
- not needed by the target role develop communicable disease control policies skill
- not needed by the target role educate on the prevention of illness skill
- not needed by the target role epidemiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role gather experimental data skill
- not needed by the target role inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- not needed by the target role manage clinical risk skill
- not needed by the target role manufacture medicines skill
- not needed by the target role multidisciplinary research knowledge
- not needed by the target role prevent communicable diseases' outbreaks skill
- not needed by the target role preventive medicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role professional documentation in health care knowledge
- not needed by the target role project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role public health knowledge
- not needed by the target role report analysis results skill
- not needed by the target role statistical analysis system software knowledge
- not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role take disease prevention measures 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 diagnostic immunology techniques required
- still to learn molecular and cellular immunology required
- still to learn cancer risks required
- still to learn clinical immunopathology required
- still to learn medical parasitology required
- still to learn neoplasia required
- still to learn stem cells required
- still to learn clinical immunology required
- optional, not held medical mycology optional
- optional, not held allergies optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical chemistry optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical industry optional
Common questions about this move
Can an epidemiologist become an immunologist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An epidemiologist already covers 71% of what an immunologist is expected to do: 52 skills carry over, 37 of which the immunologist role treats as required.
What skills does an epidemiologist need to become an immunologist?
12 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by health and welfare. The single most important is diagnostic immunology techniques.
How hard is the move from epidemiologist to immunologist?
Its learning distance is 46.9 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.