Field survey manager to polygraph examiner
A field survey manager already meets 23% of what the polygraph examiner role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
70.2/ 100
1 How much of what a polygraph examiner is expected to do is already part of a field survey manager’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 4 of its required skills as things a field survey manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- conduct research interview
- document interviews
- observe confidentiality
- write work-related reports
What stands in the way is 10 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 5 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 field survey manager background worth leading with.
- already held document interviews information skills
- already held interview techniques social sciences, journalism and information
- already held conduct research interview communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held observe confidentiality assisting and caring
- already held write work-related reports communication, collaboration and creativity
All 5 carried skills, including the 4 the polygraph examiner role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 23 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 analyse legal evidence 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 comply with legal regulations 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
- optional, not held investigation research methods optional
- still to learn use technology for forensics 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 analyse legal evidence practise this
- 03 assess character 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 5 skills that carry over
- already held conduct research interview skill
- already held document interviews skill
- already held observe confidentiality skill
- already held write work-related reports skill
- already held interview techniques knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held assist police investigations optional
- optional, not held interrogate individuals optional
- optional, not held present evidence optional
- optional, not held promote human rights optional
- optional, not held provide testimony in court hearings optional
- optional, not held criminology optional
- optional, not held psychology optional
- optional, not held criminal law optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held profile people optional
- optional, not held assist police investigations 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 investigation research methods optional
- optional, not held present evidence optional
- optional, not held promote human rights optional
- optional, not held provide testimony in court hearings optional
- optional, not held psychology optional
27 held skills the polygraph examiner role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adhere to questionnaires skill
- not needed by the target role capture people's attention skill
- not needed by the target role collect data using GPS skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with stakeholders skill
- not needed by the target role communication knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct public surveys skill
- not needed by the target role design questionnaires skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate interview reports skill
- not needed by the target role explain interview purposes skill
- not needed by the target role forecast workload skill
- not needed by the target role information confidentiality knowledge
- not needed by the target role interview focus groups skill
- not needed by the target role interview people skill
- not needed by the target role monitor field surveys skill
- not needed by the target role perform data analysis skill
- not needed by the target role perform resource planning skill
- not needed by the target role prepare survey report skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role record survey data skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role revise questionnaires skill
- not needed by the target role supervise staff skill
- not needed by the target role survey techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role tabulate survey results skill
- not needed by the target role train field investigators skill
- not needed by the target role use microsoft office skill
- not needed by the target role visual presentation techniques knowledge
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 investigation research methods optional
- optional, not held psychology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a field survey manager become a polygraph examiner?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A field survey manager already covers 23% of what a polygraph examiner is expected to do: 5 skills carry over, 4 of which the polygraph examiner role treats as required.
What skills does a field survey manager need to become a polygraph examiner?
10 required skills are missing, plus 13 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 field survey manager to polygraph examiner?
Its learning distance is 70.2 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.