Fisheries adviser to marine biologist
A fisheries adviser already meets 15% of what the marine biologist role asks for. The move turns on 22 required skills not yet in the profile.
84.6/ 100
1 How much of what a marine biologist is expected to do is already part of a fisheries adviser’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 marine biologist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A marine biologist role treats 3 of its required skills as things a fisheries adviser already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ecosystem management
- fish biology
- fish identification and classification
What stands in the way is 22 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 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A marine biologist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a fisheries adviser background worth leading with.
- already held coastal management natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held monitor fish health status information skills
- already held ecosystem management business, administration and law
- already held wind energy engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held fish identification and classification natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held habitat restoration natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 8 carried skills, including the 3 the marine biologist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 36 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 botany required
- still to learn fish anatomy required
- still to learn marine biology required
- still to learn microbiology-bacteriology required
- still to learn organism taxonomy required
- still to learn biology required
- still to learn ecology required
- still to learn laboratory techniques required
- still to learn molecular biology required
- optional, not held oceanography optional
- optional, not held physics optional
- still to learn conduct research on fauna required
- still to learn conduct research on flora required
- still to learn perform field research required
- still to learn apply scientific methods required
- still to learn collect biological data required
- still to learn gather experimental data required
- still to learn monitor water quality required
- still to learn perform scientific research required
- optional, not held analyse fish samples for diagnosis optional
- optional, not held conduct ecological surveys optional
- optional, not held conduct fish mortality studies optional
- optional, not held inspect fish stock optional
- optional, not held conduct ecological research optional
- optional, not held conduct fish populations studies optional
- still to learn write research proposals required
- still to learn write work-related reports required
- optional, not held advise on nature conservation optional
- still to learn physiology of animals required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- still to learn perform data analysis required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a marine biologist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 botany study this
- 02 conduct research on fauna practise this
- 03 conduct research on flora 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 8 skills that carry over
- already held ecosystem management knowledge
- already held fish biology knowledge
- already held fish identification and classification knowledge
- already held chemistry knowledge
- already held coastal management knowledge
- already held habitat restoration knowledge
- already held monitor fish health status skill
- already held wind energy knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held control aquatic production environment optional
- optional, not held send samples to laboratory optional
- optional, not held treat fish diseases optional
- optional, not held biotechnology optional
- optional, not held develop aquaculture strategies optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on nature conservation optional
- optional, not held analyse fish samples for diagnosis optional
- optional, not held conduct ecological surveys optional
- optional, not held conduct fish mortality studies optional
- optional, not held inspect fish stock optional
- optional, not held biotechnology optional
- optional, not held conduct ecological research optional
- optional, not held conduct fish populations studies optional
- optional, not held control aquatic production environment optional
- optional, not held develop aquaculture strategies optional
- optional, not held oceanography optional
- optional, not held physics optional
- optional, not held send samples to laboratory optional
- optional, not held treat fish diseases optional
34 held skills the marine biologist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt production levels skill
- not needed by the target role advise on environmental remediation skill
- not needed by the target role advise on soil and water protection skill
- not needed by the target role analyse business plans skill
- not needed by the target role apply fishery biology to fishery management skill
- not needed by the target role aquaculture industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role assess site production potential skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research before survey skill
- not needed by the target role conduct underwater surveys skill
- not needed by the target role develop business case skill
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role estimate fishery status skill
- not needed by the target role fisheries legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role fisheries management knowledge
- not needed by the target role fishing industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect fish eggs skill
- not needed by the target role interpret scientific data to assess water quality skill
- not needed by the target role leadership principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage fisheries projects skill
- not needed by the target role manage land resources permits skill
- not needed by the target role mathematics knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor hatchery production skill
- not needed by the target role monitor the use of resources in production skill
- not needed by the target role plankton production knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare surveying report skill
- not needed by the target role process collected survey data skill
- not needed by the target role provide advice to hatcheries skill
- not needed by the target role respond to changing situations in fishery skill
- not needed by the target role soil science knowledge
- not needed by the target role study fish migration skill
- not needed by the target role support fishery training procedures skill
- not needed by the target role surveying methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role water policies knowledge
- not needed by the target role wildlife knowledge
14 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 botany required
- still to learn fish anatomy required
- still to learn marine biology required
- still to learn microbiology-bacteriology required
- still to learn organism taxonomy required
- still to learn physiology of animals required
- still to learn biology required
- still to learn ecology required
- still to learn laboratory techniques required
- still to learn molecular biology required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held biotechnology optional
- optional, not held oceanography optional
- optional, not held physics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a fisheries adviser become a marine biologist?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A fisheries adviser already covers 15% of what a marine biologist is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 3 of which the marine biologist role treats as required.
What skills does a fisheries adviser need to become a marine biologist?
22 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. The single most important is botany.
How hard is the move from fisheries adviser to marine biologist?
Its learning distance is 84.6 out of 100, which is the career change 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.