Marine biologist to bacteriology technician
A marine biologist already meets 33% of what the bacteriology technician role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
69.1/ 100
1 How much of what a bacteriology technician is expected to do is already part of a marine biologist’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 bacteriology technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A bacteriology technician role treats 8 of its required skills as things a marine biologist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply scientific methods
- biology
- collect biological data
- laboratory techniques
- microbiology-bacteriology
- molecular biology
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 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A bacteriology technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a marine biologist background worth leading with.
- already held collect biological data information skills
- already held molecular biology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held botany natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held microbiology-bacteriology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held write research proposals communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held laboratory techniques natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 10 carried skills, including the 8 the bacteriology technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 missing skills fall into 10 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 use laboratory equipment required
- still to learn calibrate laboratory equipment required
- still to learn maintain laboratory equipment required
- still to learn perform laboratory tests required
- optional, not held perform fertility laboratory procedures optional
- still to learn laboratory equipment required
- still to learn stem cells required
- optional, not held biological chemistry optional
- optional, not held parasitology optional
- optional, not held clinical cytology optional
- optional, not held life sciences optional
- still to learn analyse experimental laboratory data required
- still to learn assist in the production of laboratory documentation required
- optional, not held analyse cell cultures optional
- optional, not held keep task records optional
- still to learn collect samples for analysis required
- optional, not held label samples optional
- optional, not held preserve samples optional
- still to learn write technical reports required
- optional, not held assist in clinical trials optional
- still to learn apply safety procedures in laboratory required
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a bacteriology technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 analyse experimental laboratory data practise this
- 02 apply safety procedures in laboratory practise this
- 03 assist in the production of laboratory documentation 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 10 skills that carry over
- already held apply scientific methods skill
- already held biology knowledge
- already held collect biological data skill
- already held laboratory techniques knowledge
- already held microbiology-bacteriology knowledge
- already held molecular biology knowledge
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held scientific research methodology knowledge
- already held botany knowledge
- already held write research proposals skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn manage inventory required
- optional, not held communicable diseases optional
- optional, not held immunology optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical industry optional
- optional, not held virology optional
- optional, not held maintain freelance database optional
- optional, not held prepare visual data optional
- optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held analyse cell cultures optional
- optional, not held biological chemistry optional
- optional, not held label samples optional
- optional, not held parasitology optional
- optional, not held perform fertility laboratory procedures optional
- optional, not held assist in clinical trials optional
- optional, not held clinical cytology optional
- optional, not held communicable diseases optional
- optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
- optional, not held immunology optional
- optional, not held keep task records optional
- optional, not held life sciences optional
- optional, not held maintain freelance database optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical industry optional
- optional, not held prepare visual data optional
- optional, not held preserve samples optional
- optional, not held virology optional
34 held skills the bacteriology technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on nature conservation skill
- not needed by the target role analyse fish samples for diagnosis skill
- not needed by the target role biotechnology knowledge
- not needed by the target role chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role coastal management knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct ecological research skill
- not needed by the target role conduct ecological surveys skill
- not needed by the target role conduct fish mortality studies skill
- not needed by the target role conduct fish populations studies skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research on fauna skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research on flora skill
- not needed by the target role control aquatic production environment skill
- not needed by the target role develop aquaculture strategies skill
- not needed by the target role ecology knowledge
- not needed by the target role ecosystem management knowledge
- not needed by the target role fish anatomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role fish biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role fish identification and classification knowledge
- not needed by the target role gather experimental data skill
- not needed by the target role habitat restoration knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect fish stock skill
- not needed by the target role marine biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor fish health status skill
- not needed by the target role monitor water quality skill
- not needed by the target role oceanography knowledge
- not needed by the target role organism taxonomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform data analysis skill
- not needed by the target role perform field research skill
- not needed by the target role physics knowledge
- not needed by the target role physiology of animals knowledge
- not needed by the target role send samples to laboratory skill
- not needed by the target role treat fish diseases skill
- not needed by the target role wind energy knowledge
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports 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.
- still to learn laboratory equipment required
- still to learn stem cells required
- optional, not held biological chemistry optional
- optional, not held parasitology optional
- optional, not held clinical cytology optional
- optional, not held communicable diseases optional
- optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
- optional, not held immunology optional
- optional, not held life sciences optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical industry optional
- optional, not held virology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a marine biologist become a bacteriology technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A marine biologist already covers 33% of what a bacteriology technician is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 8 of which the bacteriology technician role treats as required.
What skills does a marine biologist need to become a bacteriology technician?
12 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with machinery and specialised equipment. The single most important is analyse experimental laboratory data.
How hard is the move from marine biologist to bacteriology technician?
Its learning distance is 69.1 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.