Physics technician to bacteriology technician
A physics technician already meets 34% of what the bacteriology technician role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
68.1/ 100
1 How much of what a bacteriology technician is expected to do is already part of a physics technician’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 bacteriology technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A bacteriology technician role treats 9 of its required skills as things a physics technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse experimental laboratory data
- apply safety procedures in laboratory
- apply scientific methods
- calibrate laboratory equipment
- collect samples for analysis
- laboratory techniques
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 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A bacteriology technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a physics technician background worth leading with.
- already held analyse experimental laboratory data information skills
- already held maintain laboratory equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held calibrate laboratory equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held apply safety procedures in laboratory assisting and caring
- already held laboratory techniques natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held perform laboratory tests working with machinery and specialised equipment
All 9 carried skills, including the 9 the bacteriology technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 30 missing skills fall into 9 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 laboratory equipment required
- still to learn microbiology-bacteriology required
- still to learn stem cells required
- still to learn biology required
- still to learn molecular biology required
- optional, not held biological chemistry optional
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held parasitology optional
- optional, not held clinical cytology optional
- optional, not held life sciences optional
- still to learn assist in the production of laboratory documentation required
- still to learn collect biological data required
- still to learn perform scientific research required
- optional, not held analyse cell cultures optional
- optional, not held keep task records optional
- still to learn write technical reports required
- optional, not held assist in clinical trials optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
- still to learn use laboratory equipment required
- optional, not held perform fertility laboratory procedures optional
- still to learn manage inventory required
- optional, not held communicable diseases optional
- optional, not held immunology optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical industry optional
- optional, not held virology optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a bacteriology technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 assist in the production of laboratory documentation practise this
- 02 laboratory equipment study this
- 03 manage inventory 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 9 skills that carry over
- already held analyse experimental laboratory data skill
- already held apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
- already held apply scientific methods skill
- already held calibrate laboratory equipment skill
- already held collect samples for analysis skill
- already held laboratory techniques knowledge
- already held maintain laboratory equipment skill
- already held perform laboratory tests skill
- already held scientific research methodology knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held label samples optional
- optional, not held preserve samples optional
- optional, not held maintain freelance database optional
- optional, not held prepare visual data optional
- optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held analyse cell cultures optional
- optional, not held biological chemistry optional
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held label samples optional
- optional, not held parasitology optional
- optional, not held perform fertility laboratory procedures optional
- optional, not held assist in clinical trials optional
- optional, not held clinical cytology optional
- optional, not held communicable diseases optional
- optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
- optional, not held immunology optional
- optional, not held keep task records optional
- optional, not held life sciences optional
- optional, not held maintain freelance database optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical industry optional
- optional, not held prepare visual data optional
- optional, not held preserve samples optional
- optional, not held virology optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
24 held skills the bacteriology technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role acoustics knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse scientific data skill
- not needed by the target role apply statistical analysis techniques skill
- not needed by the target role assist scientific research skill
- not needed by the target role astronomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with external laboratories skill
- not needed by the target role densiometry knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- not needed by the target role gather experimental data skill
- not needed by the target role geology knowledge
- not needed by the target role geophysics knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret geophysical data skill
- not needed by the target role mathematics knowledge
- not needed by the target role observe matter skill
- not needed by the target role operate remote sensing equipment skill
- not needed by the target role operate telescopes skill
- not needed by the target role physics knowledge
- not needed by the target role quantum computing knowledge
- not needed by the target role quantum mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role report analysis results skill
- not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role thermodynamics knowledge
- not needed by the target role use measurement instruments skill
- not needed by the target role write scientific publications skill
15 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 laboratory equipment required
- still to learn microbiology-bacteriology required
- still to learn stem cells required
- still to learn biology required
- still to learn molecular biology required
- optional, not held biological chemistry optional
- optional, not held botany optional
- optional, not held parasitology optional
- optional, not held clinical cytology optional
- optional, not held communicable diseases optional
- optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
- optional, not held immunology optional
- optional, not held life sciences optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical industry optional
- optional, not held virology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a physics technician become a bacteriology technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A physics technician already covers 34% of what a bacteriology technician is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 9 of which the bacteriology technician role treats as required.
What skills does a physics technician need to become a bacteriology technician?
11 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. The single most important is assist in the production of laboratory documentation.
How hard is the move from physics technician to bacteriology technician?
Its learning distance is 68.1 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.