Medical device engineer to astronomer
A medical device engineer already meets 66% of what the astronomer role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
46.1/ 100
1 How much of what an astronomer is expected to do is already part of a medical device engineer’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 astronomer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An astronomer role treats 32 of its required skills as things a medical device engineer 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
- communicate with a non-scientific audience
- conduct research across disciplines
- demonstrate disciplinary expertise
- develop professional network with researchers and scientists
What stands in the way is 9 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 34 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An astronomer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a medical device engineer background worth leading with.
- already held operate scientific measuring equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held physics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data information skills
- already held think abstractly communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held communicate with a non-scientific audience communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held integrate gender dimension in research information skills
All 34 carried skills, including the 32 the astronomer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 31 missing skills fall into 8 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 apply scientific methods required
- still to learn apply statistical analysis techniques required
- still to learn carry out scientific research in observatory required
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- still to learn gather experimental data required
- optional, not held define celestial bodies optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held analyse telescope images optional
- optional, not held archive scientific documentation optional
- still to learn astronomy required
- still to learn statistics required
- optional, not held computational physics optional
- optional, not held mathematical physics optional
- optional, not held quantum technology optional
- optional, not held aeronomy optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
- optional, not held optics optional
- optional, not held types of optical instruments optional
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- still to learn scientific literature required
- optional, not held perform lectures optional
- optional, not held apply teaching strategies optional
- optional, not held design scientific equipment optional
- optional, not held teach astronomy optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
- optional, not held optoelectronics optional
- optional, not held optomechanical engineering optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an astronomer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply scientific methods practise this
- 02 apply statistical analysis techniques practise this
- 03 astronomy study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 34 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 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 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 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 mathematics knowledge
- already held mentor individuals skill
- already held operate open source software skill
- already held operate scientific measuring equipment skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held physics knowledge
- 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 speak different languages skill
- already held synthesise information skill
- already held think abstractly skill
- already held write scientific publications skill
- already held apply blended learning skill
- already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held quantum computing optional
- optional, not held scientific modelling optional
- optional, not held operate telescopes optional
22 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held computational physics optional
- optional, not held define celestial bodies optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held mathematical physics optional
- optional, not held perform lectures optional
- optional, not held quantum computing optional
- optional, not held quantum technology optional
- optional, not held aeronomy optional
- optional, not held analyse telescope images optional
- optional, not held apply teaching strategies optional
- optional, not held archive scientific documentation optional
- optional, not held design scientific equipment optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
- optional, not held operate telescopes optional
- optional, not held optics optional
- optional, not held optoelectronics optional
- optional, not held optomechanical engineering optional
- optional, not held scientific modelling optional
- optional, not held teach astronomy optional
- optional, not held types of optical instruments optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
67 held skills the astronomer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role CAE software knowledge
- not needed by the target role adjust engineering designs skill
- not needed by the target role analytical methods in biomedical sciences knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills skill
- not needed by the target role approve engineering design skill
- not needed by the target role biomedical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role biomedical science knowledge
- not needed by the target role biomedical techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role biotechnology knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role conduct literature research skill
- not needed by the target role conduct quality control analysis skill
- not needed by the target role conduct training on biomedical equipment skill
- not needed by the target role control engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate engineering teams skill
- not needed by the target role create technical plans skill
- not needed by the target role define manufacturing quality criteria skill
- not needed by the target role design drawings knowledge
- not needed by the target role design firmware skill
- not needed by the target role design medical devices skill
- not needed by the target role design prototypes skill
- not needed by the target role develop medical device test procedures skill
- not needed by the target role develop product design skill
- not needed by the target role diagnostic radiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role draft bill of materials skill
- not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role electromechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role firmware knowledge
- not needed by the target role health informatics knowledge
- not needed by the target role human anatomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain safe engineering watches skill
- not needed by the target role manipulate medical devices materials skill
- not needed by the target role manufacture medical devices skill
- not needed by the target role mechanical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechatronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role medical device regulations knowledge
27 further entries not listed here
16 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 astronomy required
- still to learn scientific literature required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- still to learn statistics required
- optional, not held computational physics optional
- optional, not held mathematical physics optional
- optional, not held quantum computing optional
- optional, not held quantum technology optional
- optional, not held aeronomy optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
- optional, not held optics optional
- optional, not held optoelectronics optional
- optional, not held optomechanical engineering optional
- optional, not held scientific modelling optional
- optional, not held types of optical instruments optional
Common questions about this move
Can a medical device engineer become an astronomer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A medical device engineer already covers 66% of what an astronomer is expected to do: 34 skills carry over, 32 of which the astronomer role treats as required.
What skills does a medical device engineer need to become an astronomer?
9 required skills are missing, plus 22 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is apply scientific methods.
How hard is the move from medical device engineer to astronomer?
Its learning distance is 46.1 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.