Table 1Transition record

industrial pharmacisttopharmaceutical quality specialist

A industrial pharmacist already meets 27% of what the pharmaceutical quality specialist role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.

From industrial pharmacist

27%

Overlap1

To pharmaceutical quality specialist

8 Skills carried over

14 Required, not held

72.4 Difficulty2

Career overlap Distant match

27%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

72.4/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 Share of the pharmaceutical quality specialist role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the industrial pharmacist profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A pharmaceutical quality specialist role treats 6 of its required skills as things a industrial pharmacist already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

ensure pharmacovigilance
manage medication safety issues
manufacture medicines
pharmaceutical chemistry
pharmaceutical technology
test medicinal products

What stands in the way is 14 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A pharmaceutical quality specialist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a industrial pharmacist background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held ensure pharmacovigilance assisting and caring
already held manage medication safety issues management skills
already held test medicinal products information skills
already held manufacture medicines handling and moving
already held improve safety of medicines management skills
already held pharmaceutical technology health and welfare

All 8 carried skills, including the 6 the pharmaceutical quality specialist role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 26 missing skills fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier

01 information skills 5 required, 3 supplementary

required, not held test pharmaceutical process required
required, not held conduct quality control analysis required
required, not held ensure quality assurance for pharmaceutical products required
required, not held monitor manufacturing quality standards required
required, not held perform product testing required

optional, not held evaluate pharmaceutical manufacturing process optional
optional, not held take pharmaceutical inventory optional
optional, not held record test data optional

02 health and welfare 3 required

required, not held pharmaceutical products required
required, not held biotechnology required
required, not held pharmaceutical industry required

03 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 2 required, 3 supplementary

required, not held analytical chemistry required
required, not held laboratory techniques required

optional, not held chemical products optional
optional, not held basic chemicals optional
optional, not held pharmacology optional

04 assisting and caring 2 required, 2 supplementary

required, not held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice required
required, not held work safely with chemicals required

optional, not held perform therapeutic drug monitoring optional
optional, not held provide specialist pharmaceutical care optional

05 business, administration and law 1 required

required, not held pharmaceutical legislation required

06 services 1 required

required, not held controlled substances permits required

4 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a pharmaceutical quality specialist 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

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 8 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held ensure pharmacovigilance skill
already held manage medication safety issues skill
already held manufacture medicines skill
already held pharmaceutical chemistry knowledge
already held pharmaceutical technology knowledge
already held test medicinal products skill
already held improve safety of medicines skill
already held manage adverse reactions to drugs skill

The 4 learning areas not shown above

Skill to acquire Tier

07 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 supplementary

optional, not held chemical processes optional

08 handling and moving 1 supplementary

optional, not held transfer chemicals optional

09 working with computers 1 supplementary

optional, not held record data from biomedical tests optional

10 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 supplementary

optional, not held perform chemical experiments optional

12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to acquire Tier

optional, not held chemical processes optional
optional, not held chemical products optional
optional, not held evaluate pharmaceutical manufacturing process optional
optional, not held perform therapeutic drug monitoring optional
optional, not held provide specialist pharmaceutical care optional
optional, not held take pharmaceutical inventory optional
optional, not held transfer chemicals optional
optional, not held basic chemicals optional
optional, not held perform chemical experiments optional
optional, not held pharmacology optional
optional, not held record data from biomedical tests optional
optional, not held record test data optional

38 held skills the pharmaceutical quality specialist role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role accept own accountability skill
not needed by the target role adhere to organisational guidelines skill
not needed by the target role analyse experimental laboratory data skill
not needed by the target role analyse medication's impact on brain skill
not needed by the target role apply context specific clinical competences skill
not needed by the target role apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
not needed by the target role assist in the production of laboratory documentation skill
not needed by the target role botany knowledge
not needed by the target role comply with legislation related to health care skill
not needed by the target role conduct health related research skill
not needed by the target role contribute to public health campaigns skill
not needed by the target role contribute to registration of pharmaceutical products skill
not needed by the target role develop pharmaceutical drugs skill
not needed by the target role human anatomy knowledge
not needed by the target role implement marketing strategies skill
not needed by the target role inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
not needed by the target role inorganic chemistry knowledge
not needed by the target role maintain medical devices skill
not needed by the target role maintain medical laboratory equipment skill
not needed by the target role manage medical supply chains skill
not needed by the target role microbiology-bacteriology knowledge
not needed by the target role organic chemistry knowledge
not needed by the target role perform laboratory tests skill
not needed by the target role perform toxicological studies skill
not needed by the target role pharmaceutical processes knowledge
not needed by the target role pharmacognosy knowledge
not needed by the target role pharmacokinetics knowledge
not needed by the target role pharmacotherapy knowledge
not needed by the target role pharmacy law knowledge
not needed by the target role physics knowledge
not needed by the target role provide pharmaceutical advice skill
not needed by the target role quality assurance methodologies knowledge
not needed by the target role recommend product improvements skill
not needed by the target role report medication interaction to pharmacist skill
not needed by the target role safe management of medicines knowledge
not needed by the target role sales strategies knowledge
not needed by the target role toxicology knowledge
not needed by the target role wear appropriate protective gear skill

11 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier

required, not held controlled substances permits required
required, not held pharmaceutical products required
required, not held analytical chemistry required
required, not held biotechnology required
required, not held laboratory techniques required
required, not held pharmaceutical industry required
required, not held pharmaceutical legislation required
optional, not held chemical processes optional
optional, not held chemical products optional
optional, not held basic chemicals optional
optional, not held pharmacology optional

Index

Other moves recorded from industrial pharmacist

Full index of moves from industrial pharmacist

Note

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.