Metrologist to palaeontologist
A metrologist already meets 68% of what the palaeontologist role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
46.2/ 100
1 How much of what a palaeontologist is expected to do is already part of a metrologist’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 palaeontologist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A palaeontologist role treats 31 of its required skills as things a metrologist 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
- apply scientific methods
- communicate with a non-scientific audience
- conduct research across disciplines
- demonstrate disciplinary expertise
What stands in the way is 7 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 35 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A palaeontologist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a metrologist background worth leading with.
- already held operate scientific measuring equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held biology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held apply scientific methods information skills
- 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
All 35 carried skills, including the 31 the palaeontologist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 31 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 geographic information systems required
- still to learn geological time scale required
- still to learn geology required
- still to learn paleontology required
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held habitat restoration optional
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held geography optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- still to learn scientific literature required
- still to learn scientific modelling required
- still to learn use geographic information systems required
- optional, not held conduct geochemical research optional
- optional, not held identify fossils optional
- optional, not held analyse experimental laboratory data optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held examine geochemical samples optional
- optional, not held interpret geophysical data optional
- optional, not held apply statistical analysis techniques optional
- optional, not held conduct field work optional
- optional, not held gather experimental data optional
- optional, not held oversee excavation optional
- optional, not held record test data optional
- optional, not held assemble fossils optional
- optional, not held excavate fossils optional
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a palaeontologist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 geographic information systems study this
- 02 use geographic information systems practise this
- 03 geological time scale 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 35 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 apply scientific methods 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 mentor individuals skill
- already held operate open source software skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held perform scientific research skill
- 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 scientific research methodology knowledge
- 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 biology knowledge
- already held operate scientific measuring equipment skill
- already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held locate fossils optional
- optional, not held perform laboratory tests optional
- optional, not held paleography optional
- optional, not held work ergonomically optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
24 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assemble fossils optional
- optional, not held conduct geochemical research optional
- optional, not held excavate fossils optional
- optional, not held identify fossils optional
- optional, not held locate fossils optional
- optional, not held analyse experimental laboratory data optional
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held examine geochemical samples optional
- optional, not held habitat restoration optional
- optional, not held interpret geophysical data optional
- optional, not held paleography optional
- optional, not held apply statistical analysis techniques optional
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
- optional, not held conduct field work optional
- optional, not held gather experimental data optional
- optional, not held geography optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
- optional, not held oversee excavation optional
- optional, not held perform laboratory tests optional
- optional, not held record test data optional
- optional, not held work ergonomically optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
30 held skills the palaeontologist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role algebra knowledge
- not needed by the target role assemble measuring equipment skill
- not needed by the target role calibrate electronic instruments skill
- not needed by the target role calibrate laboratory equipment skill
- not needed by the target role calibrate mechatronic instruments skill
- not needed by the target role calibrate precision instrument skill
- not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
- not needed by the target role develop calibration procedures skill
- not needed by the target role develop measuring equipment skill
- not needed by the target role develop preventive maintenance procedures for instruments skill
- not needed by the target role electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role geometry knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect material skill
- not needed by the target role instrumentation engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role laboratory techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain laboratory equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain technical equipment skill
- not needed by the target role meteorology knowledge
- not needed by the target role metrology knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate precision measuring equipment skill
- not needed by the target role operate surveying instruments skill
- not needed by the target role order equipment skill
- not needed by the target role perform test run skill
- not needed by the target role physics knowledge
- not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role read standard blueprints skill
- not needed by the target role study the relationships between quantities skill
- not needed by the target role troubleshoot skill
- not needed by the target role use testing equipment skill
- not needed by the target role write calibration report skill
12 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 geographic information systems required
- still to learn geological time scale required
- still to learn geology required
- still to learn paleontology required
- still to learn scientific literature required
- still to learn scientific modelling required
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held habitat restoration optional
- optional, not held paleography optional
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held geography optional
- optional, not held geophysics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a metrologist become a palaeontologist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A metrologist already covers 68% of what a palaeontologist is expected to do: 35 skills carry over, 31 of which the palaeontologist role treats as required.
What skills does a metrologist need to become a palaeontologist?
7 required skills are missing, plus 24 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. The single most important is geographic information systems.
How hard is the move from metrologist to palaeontologist?
Its learning distance is 46.2 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.