RecordMove

Medical laboratory assistant to chemistry technician

A medical laboratory assistant already meets 22% of what the chemistry technician role asks for. The move turns on 19 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional

From medical laboratory assistant

Distant match

To chemistry technician

10 You already bring

19 Still to learn

63 Skills in the target role2

Learning distance A rebuild

81.9/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 How much of what a chemistry technician is expected to do is already part of a medical laboratory assistant’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 chemistry technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A chemistry technician role treats 8 of its required skills as things a medical laboratory assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

apply safety procedures in laboratory
laboratory techniques
maintain laboratory equipment
mix chemicals
perform laboratory tests
test chemical samples

What stands in the way is 19 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 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A chemistry technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a medical laboratory assistant background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held mix chemicals handling and moving
already held work with chemicals handling and moving
already held use chemical analysis equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
already held maintain laboratory equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
already held test chemical samples information skills
already held apply safety procedures in laboratory assisting and caring

All 10 carried skills, including the 8 the chemistry technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 53 missing skills fall into 13 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.

Skill to pick up Tier

01 information skills 4 required, 9 supplementary

still to learn analyse chemical substances required
still to learn manage chemical processes inspection required
still to learn manage chemical testing procedures required
still to learn process data required

optional, not held analyse samples of food and beverages optional
optional, not held conduct chemical testing on basic metals optional
optional, not held analyse scientific data optional
optional, not held archive scientific documentation optional
optional, not held conduct quality control analysis optional
optional, not held develop scientific research protocols optional
optional, not held document analysis results optional
optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
optional, not held test chemical auxiliaries optional

02 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 required, 3 supplementary

still to learn assist scientific research required
still to learn contact scientists required
still to learn improve chemical processes required
still to learn write work-related reports required

optional, not held advise on manufacturing problems optional
optional, not held develop chemical products optional
optional, not held write scientific publications optional

03 handling and moving 3 required, 3 supplementary

still to learn transfer chemicals required
still to learn handle chemicals required
still to learn prepare chemical samples required

optional, not held apply liquid chromatography optional
optional, not held collect samples optional
optional, not held organize chemical reagents optional

04 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 2 required, 6 supplementary

still to learn chemical products required
still to learn basic chemicals required

optional, not held computational chemistry optional
optional, not held gel permeation chromatography optional
optional, not held high-performance liquid chromatography optional
optional, not held mass spectrometry optional
optional, not held chemical preservation optional
optional, not held chemistry optional

05 engineering, manufacturing and construction 2 required, 3 supplementary

still to learn chemical processes required
still to learn green chemistry required

optional, not held risks associated to physical, chemical, biological hazards in food and beverages optional
optional, not held gas chromatography optional
optional, not held nuclear energy optional

06 working with machinery and specialised equipment 2 required, 2 supplementary

still to learn monitor chemical process condition required
still to learn perform chemical experiments required

optional, not held conduct laboratory chemical research on metals optional
optional, not held measure chemical substance viscosity optional

7 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a chemistry technician 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 10 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
already held laboratory techniques knowledge
already held maintain laboratory equipment skill
already held mix chemicals skill
already held perform laboratory tests skill
already held test chemical samples skill
already held use chemical analysis equipment skill
already held work with chemicals skill
already held operate scientific measuring equipment skill
already held work safely with chemicals skill

The 7 learning areas not shown above

Skill to pick up Tier

07 assisting and caring 1 required, 1 supplementary

still to learn regulate chemical reaction required

optional, not held follow nuclear plant safety precautions optional

08 services 1 required

still to learn health and safety regulations required

09 health and welfare 2 supplementary

optional, not held radiological procedures optional
optional, not held radiology optional

10 working with computers 2 supplementary

optional, not held use chromatography software optional
optional, not held use microsoft office optional

11 business, administration and law 1 supplementary

optional, not held quality standards optional

12 constructing 1 supplementary

optional, not held maintain chemical mixers optional

13 management skills 1 supplementary

optional, not held apply organisational techniques optional

34 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to pick up Tier

optional, not held analyse samples of food and beverages optional
optional, not held apply liquid chromatography optional
optional, not held collect samples optional
optional, not held computational chemistry optional
optional, not held conduct chemical testing on basic metals optional
optional, not held conduct laboratory chemical research on metals optional
optional, not held follow nuclear plant safety precautions optional
optional, not held gel permeation chromatography optional
optional, not held high-performance liquid chromatography optional
optional, not held maintain chemical mixers optional
optional, not held mass spectrometry optional
optional, not held measure chemical substance viscosity optional
optional, not held organize chemical reagents optional
optional, not held radiological procedures optional
optional, not held radiology optional
optional, not held risks associated to physical, chemical, biological hazards in food and beverages optional
optional, not held use chromatography software optional
optional, not held advise on manufacturing problems optional
optional, not held analyse scientific data optional
optional, not held apply organisational techniques optional
optional, not held archive scientific documentation optional
optional, not held chemical preservation optional
optional, not held chemistry optional
optional, not held conduct quality control analysis optional
optional, not held develop chemical products optional
optional, not held develop scientific research protocols optional
optional, not held document analysis results optional
optional, not held gas chromatography optional
optional, not held nuclear energy optional
optional, not held perform risk analysis optional
optional, not held quality standards optional
optional, not held test chemical auxiliaries optional
optional, not held use microsoft office optional
optional, not held write scientific publications optional

62 held skills the chemistry technician role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role analyse blood samples skill
not needed by the target role analyse cell cultures skill
not needed by the target role archive healthcare users' records skill
not needed by the target role assist in the production of laboratory documentation skill
not needed by the target role automated analysers in the medical laboratory knowledge
not needed by the target role biological chemistry knowledge
not needed by the target role blood collection on babies knowledge
not needed by the target role blood donation knowledge
not needed by the target role blood transfusion knowledge
not needed by the target role blood type classification knowledge
not needed by the target role calibrate laboratory equipment skill
not needed by the target role carry out flow cytometry skill
not needed by the target role carry out quality control in microbiology laboratories skill
not needed by the target role check the received biological samples skill
not needed by the target role clinical biochemistry knowledge
not needed by the target role clinical cytology knowledge
not needed by the target role collect biological samples from patients skill
not needed by the target role communicate in healthcare skill
not needed by the target role conduct cancer screening tests skill
not needed by the target role conduct routine blood testing skill
not needed by the target role cryopreservation knowledge
not needed by the target role data protection knowledge
not needed by the target role densiometry knowledge
not needed by the target role dermapathology knowledge
not needed by the target role dispose medical waste skill
not needed by the target role electroencephalography knowledge
not needed by the target role examine cell specimens microscopically skill
not needed by the target role examine samples in dermatology skill
not needed by the target role explain the molecular basis of a disease to patients skill
not needed by the target role fine-needle aspiration knowledge
not needed by the target role histopathology knowledge
not needed by the target role identify patients' medical records skill
not needed by the target role immunology knowledge
not needed by the target role interpret hematological test results skill
not needed by the target role interpret medical results skill
not needed by the target role interpret urology diagnostic tests skill
not needed by the target role label blood samples skill
not needed by the target role maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
not needed by the target role maintain medical laboratory equipment skill
not needed by the target role microbiology-bacteriology knowledge

22 further entries not listed here

17 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 pick up Tier

still to learn chemical processes required
still to learn chemical products required
still to learn green chemistry required
still to learn basic chemicals required
still to learn health and safety regulations required
optional, not held computational chemistry optional
optional, not held gel permeation chromatography optional
optional, not held high-performance liquid chromatography optional
optional, not held mass spectrometry optional
optional, not held radiological procedures optional
optional, not held radiology optional
optional, not held risks associated to physical, chemical, biological hazards in food and beverages optional
optional, not held chemical preservation optional
optional, not held chemistry optional
optional, not held gas chromatography optional
optional, not held nuclear energy optional
optional, not held quality standards optional

Index

Other moves recorded from medical laboratory assistant

Full index of moves from medical laboratory assistant

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a medical laboratory assistant become a chemistry technician?

Yes, and it is a career change move. A medical laboratory assistant already covers 22% of what a chemistry technician is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 8 of which the chemistry technician role treats as required.

What skills does a medical laboratory assistant need to become a chemistry technician?

19 required skills are missing, plus 34 optional ones. They fall into 13 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is analyse chemical substances.

How hard is the move from medical laboratory assistant to chemistry technician?

Its learning distance is 81.9 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

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.