Pharmacologist to toxicologist
A pharmacologist already meets 74% of what the toxicologist role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
41.5/ 100
1 How much of what a toxicologist is expected to do is already part of a pharmacologist’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 toxicologist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A toxicologist role treats 39 of its required skills as things a pharmacologist 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 safety procedures in laboratory
- cancer risks
- communicate with a non-scientific audience
- conduct research across disciplines
What stands in the way is 11 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 60 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A toxicologist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a pharmacologist background worth leading with.
- already held conduct experiments on animals information skills
- already held provide specialist pharmaceutical advice communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held cancer risks health and welfare
- already held contribute to registration of pharmaceutical products information skills
- already held manage adverse reactions to drugs assisting and caring
- already held analyse blood samples information skills
All 60 carried skills, including the 39 the toxicologist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 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 gather experimental data required
- still to learn perform toxicological studies required
- optional, not held analyse environmental data optional
- optional, not held conduct research on fauna optional
- optional, not held conduct research on flora optional
- optional, not held test samples for pollutants optional
- optional, not held prepare compliance documents optional
- still to learn calibrate laboratory equipment required
- still to learn perform chemical experiments required
- still to learn use chemical analysis equipment required
- still to learn advise on poisoning incidents required
- still to learn advise on chemical use reduction required
- optional, not held perform lectures optional
- optional, not held advise on legislative acts optional
- optional, not held assist police investigations optional
- optional, not held prepare lesson content optional
- optional, not held provide technical expertise optional
- optional, not held report on environmental issues optional
- optional, not held troubleshoot cosmetics formula issues optional
- still to learn identify poisons required
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- still to learn analytical chemistry required
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a toxicologist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 advise on poisoning incidents practise this
- 02 identify poisons practise this
- 03 advise on chemical use reduction 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 60 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 safety procedures in laboratory skill
- already held cancer risks knowledge
- 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 laboratory techniques knowledge
- already held life sciences knowledge
- already held maintain laboratory equipment 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 mix chemicals skill
- already held operate open source software skill
- already held perform laboratory tests 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 literature knowledge
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held synthesise information skill
- already held think abstractly skill
- already held toxicology knowledge
- already held work safely with chemicals skill
- already held write scientific publications skill
- already held analyse blood samples skill
- already held analyse cell cultures skill
- already held apply blended learning skill
- already held archive scientific documentation skill
- already held assess environmental impact skill
- already held assist in clinical trials skill
- already held biological chemistry knowledge
- already held biology knowledge
- already held conduct experiments on animals skill
- already held contribute to registration of pharmaceutical products skill
- already held control production skill
- already held develop pharmaceutical drugs skill
- already held develop scientific research protocols skill
- already held develop scientific theories skill
- already held manage adverse reactions to drugs skill
- already held multidisciplinary research knowledge
- already held pharmacology knowledge
- already held provide specialist pharmaceutical advice skill
- already held recommend product improvements skill
- already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
- already held write research proposals skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held develop patient treatment strategies optional
- optional, not held public health optional
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held analyse environmental data optional
- optional, not held conduct research on fauna optional
- optional, not held conduct research on flora optional
- optional, not held perform lectures optional
- optional, not held test samples for pollutants optional
- optional, not held advise on legislative acts optional
- optional, not held assist police investigations optional
- optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
- optional, not held develop patient treatment strategies optional
- optional, not held prepare compliance documents optional
- optional, not held prepare lesson content optional
- optional, not held provide technical expertise optional
- optional, not held public health optional
- optional, not held report on environmental issues optional
- optional, not held troubleshoot cosmetics formula issues optional
29 held skills the toxicologist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse medication's impact on brain skill
- not needed by the target role chemical preservation knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicable diseases knowledge
- not needed by the target role computational chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop vaccines skill
- not needed by the target role general medicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role genomics knowledge
- not needed by the target role improve safety of medicines skill
- not needed by the target role industrial research and development knowledge
- not needed by the target role manufacture medicines skill
- not needed by the target role medical mycology knowledge
- not needed by the target role medicines knowledge
- not needed by the target role microbiology-bacteriology knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor patients during clinical tests skill
- not needed by the target role nuclear medicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform diagnostic testing for allergies skill
- not needed by the target role pharmaceutical chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmaceutical drug development knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmaceutical industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmaceutical legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmaceutical manufacturing quality systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmaceutical technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmacovigilance legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role phytotherapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role professional documentation in health care knowledge
- not needed by the target role record test data skill
- not needed by the target role research design knowledge
- not needed by the target role run laboratory simulations skill
- not needed by the target role wear appropriate protective gear skill
3 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 analytical chemistry required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held public health optional
Common questions about this move
Can a pharmacologist become a toxicologist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A pharmacologist already covers 74% of what a toxicologist is expected to do: 60 skills carry over, 39 of which the toxicologist role treats as required.
What skills does a pharmacologist need to become a toxicologist?
11 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is advise on poisoning incidents.
How hard is the move from pharmacologist to toxicologist?
Its learning distance is 41.5 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.