Natural resources consultant to environmental expert
A natural resources consultant already meets 24% of what the environmental expert role asks for. The move turns on 23 required skills not yet in the profile.
79.8/ 100
1 How much of what an environmental expert is expected to do is already part of a natural resources consultant’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 environmental expert role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An environmental expert role treats 7 of its required skills as things a natural resources consultant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on environmental remediation
- assess environmental impact
- carry out environmental audits
- develop environmental policy
- ecosystem management
- environmental legislation
What stands in the way is 23 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 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An environmental expert role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a natural resources consultant background worth leading with.
- already held coastal management natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held manage land resources permits information skills
- already held ecosystem management business, administration and law
- already held advise on environmental remediation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held carry out environmental audits assisting and caring
- already held develop environmental policy management skills
All 12 carried skills, including the 7 the environmental expert role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 37 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 provide training in sustainable tourism development and management required
- still to learn advise on carbon emissions reduction required
- still to learn advise on chemical use reduction required
- still to learn advise on pollution prevention required
- still to learn create solutions to problems required
- still to learn report on environmental issues required
- optional, not held carry out training in environmental matters optional
- optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
- optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
- optional, not held promote environmental awareness optional
- optional, not held write scientific publications optional
- still to learn analyse environmental data required
- still to learn investigate pollution required
- still to learn measure pollution required
- still to learn perform environmental investigations required
- still to learn report pollution incidents required
- still to learn conduct environmental surveys required
- optional, not held apply scientific methods optional
- optional, not held perform scientific research optional
- still to learn green building standards required
- still to learn alternative energy required
- still to learn environmental management standards required
- still to learn pollution prevention required
- still to learn resource-efficient technologies required
- optional, not held environmental design optional
- optional, not held marine energy optional
- optional, not held watershed development optional
- still to learn alternative fuels required
- still to learn environmental threats required
- still to learn collect samples for analysis required
- optional, not held work with chemicals optional
- still to learn develop environmental remediation strategies required
- optional, not held assess environmental plans against financial costs optional
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an environmental expert role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 alternative fuels study this
- 02 analyse environmental data practise this
- 03 environmental threats 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 12 skills that carry over
- already held advise on environmental remediation skill
- already held assess environmental impact skill
- already held carry out environmental audits skill
- already held develop environmental policy skill
- already held ecosystem management knowledge
- already held environmental legislation knowledge
- already held environmental policy knowledge
- already held coastal management knowledge
- already held environmental engineering knowledge
- already held habitat restoration knowledge
- already held manage land resources permits skill
- already held monitor manufacturing impact skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn pollution legislation required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held inspect industrial equipment optional
- optional, not held environmental economics optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held environmental design optional
- optional, not held environmental economics optional
- optional, not held marine energy optional
- optional, not held watershed development optional
- optional, not held apply scientific methods optional
- optional, not held assess environmental plans against financial costs optional
- optional, not held carry out training in environmental matters optional
- optional, not held inspect industrial equipment optional
- optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
- optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
- optional, not held perform scientific research optional
- optional, not held promote environmental awareness optional
- optional, not held work with chemicals optional
- optional, not held write scientific publications optional
27 held skills the environmental expert role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role administer treatments to fish skill
- not needed by the target role advise on nature conservation skill
- not needed by the target role analyse ecological data skill
- not needed by the target role analyse fish samples for diagnosis skill
- not needed by the target role animal species knowledge
- not needed by the target role biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role botany knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct ecological research skill
- not needed by the target role conduct environmental site assessments skill
- not needed by the target role conserve natural resources skill
- not needed by the target role corporate social responsibility knowledge
- not needed by the target role ecology knowledge
- not needed by the target role educate people about nature skill
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
- not needed by the target role fisheries management knowledge
- not needed by the target role hydrology knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
- not needed by the target role manage environmental impact skill
- not needed by the target role manage forests skill
- not needed by the target role manage habitats skill
- not needed by the target role monitor nature conservation skill
- not needed by the target role natural areas maintenance knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role promote sustainability skill
- not needed by the target role reforestation knowledge
- not needed by the target role use consulting techniques skill
- not needed by the target role wildlife knowledge
13 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 alternative fuels required
- still to learn environmental threats required
- still to learn green building standards required
- still to learn pollution legislation required
- still to learn alternative energy required
- still to learn environmental management standards required
- still to learn pollution prevention required
- still to learn resource-efficient technologies required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held environmental design optional
- optional, not held environmental economics optional
- optional, not held marine energy optional
- optional, not held watershed development optional
Other moves recorded from natural resources consultant
Common questions about this move
Can a natural resources consultant become an environmental expert?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A natural resources consultant already covers 24% of what an environmental expert is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 7 of which the environmental expert role treats as required.
What skills does a natural resources consultant need to become an environmental expert?
23 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is alternative fuels.
How hard is the move from natural resources consultant to environmental expert?
Its learning distance is 79.8 out of 100, which is the career change 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.