Physics technician to physicist
A physics technician already meets 29% of what the physicist role asks for. The move turns on 36 required skills not yet in the profile.
80.6/ 100
1 How much of what a physicist 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 physicist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A physicist role treats 14 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 scientific methods
- apply statistical analysis techniques
- execute analytical mathematical calculations
- gather experimental data
- laboratory techniques
What stands in the way is 36 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 28 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A physicist 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 quantum mechanics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held observe matter information skills
- already held densiometry health and welfare
- already held operate telescopes working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held operate remote sensing equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held astronomy natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 28 carried skills, including the 14 the physicist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 66 missing skills fall into 12 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 manage intellectual property rights required
- still to learn communicate mathematical information required
- still to learn communicate with a non-scientific audience required
- still to learn develop professional network with researchers and scientists required
- still to learn disseminate results to the scientific community required
- still to learn draft scientific or academic papers and technical documentation required
- still to learn evaluate research activities required
- still to learn increase the impact of science on policy and society required
- still to learn interact professionally in research and professional environments required
- still to learn mentor individuals required
- still to learn promote the transfer of knowledge required
- still to learn publish academic research required
- still to learn speak different languages required
- still to learn think abstractly required
- optional, not held perform lectures optional
- optional, not held provide information on geological characteristics optional
- optional, not held apply blended learning optional
- optional, not held apply teaching strategies optional
- optional, not held design scientific equipment optional
- optional, not held teach in academic or vocational contexts optional
- optional, not held teach physics optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
- still to learn apply for research funding required
- still to learn apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities required
- still to learn conduct research across disciplines required
- still to learn demonstrate disciplinary expertise required
- still to learn integrate gender dimension in research required
- still to learn manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data required
- still to learn manage research data required
- still to learn perform scientific research required
- still to learn promote open innovation in research required
- still to learn promote the participation of citizens in scientific and research activities required
- still to learn synthesise information required
- optional, not held assist with geophysical surveys optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held analyse telescope images optional
- still to learn computational physics required
- still to learn quantum technology required
- still to learn mathematical modelling required
- optional, not held forensic physics optional
- optional, not held computational mechanics optional
- optional, not held mathematical physics optional
- optional, not held nuclear physics optional
- optional, not held Monte Carlo simulation optional
- optional, not held biology optional
- optional, not held remote sensing techniques optional
- still to learn manage personal professional development required
- still to learn perform project management required
- still to learn operate open source software required
- still to learn manage open publications required
- still to learn spectroscopy required
- optional, not held continuum mechanics optional
- optional, not held petroleum optional
- optional, not held solid mechanics optional
- optional, not held aerodynamics optional
- optional, not held materials engineering optional
6 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a physicist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 computational physics study this
- 02 manage intellectual property rights practise this
- 03 operate open source software 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 28 skills that carry over
- already held analyse experimental laboratory data skill
- already held apply scientific methods skill
- already held apply statistical analysis techniques skill
- already held execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- already held gather experimental data skill
- already held laboratory techniques knowledge
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held perform laboratory tests skill
- already held physics knowledge
- already held quantum computing knowledge
- already held scientific research methodology knowledge
- already held statistics knowledge
- already held use measurement instruments skill
- already held write scientific publications skill
- already held acoustics knowledge
- already held astronomy knowledge
- already held calibrate laboratory equipment skill
- already held collect samples for analysis skill
- already held communicate with external laboratories skill
- already held densiometry knowledge
- already held geology knowledge
- already held geophysics knowledge
- already held interpret geophysical data skill
- already held observe matter skill
- already held operate remote sensing equipment skill
- already held operate telescopes skill
- already held quantum mechanics knowledge
- already held thermodynamics knowledge
The 6 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn scientific literature required
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- still to learn supercomputing required
- optional, not held computer simulation optional
- still to learn operate scientific measuring equipment required
- optional, not held general medicine optional
- optional, not held medical laboratory technology optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical technology optional
- optional, not held intellectual property law optional
- optional, not held economics optional
30 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held forensic physics optional
- optional, not held assist with geophysical surveys optional
- optional, not held computational mechanics optional
- optional, not held continuum mechanics optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held mathematical physics optional
- optional, not held nuclear physics optional
- optional, not held perform lectures optional
- optional, not held petroleum optional
- optional, not held provide information on geological characteristics optional
- optional, not held solid mechanics optional
- optional, not held Monte Carlo simulation optional
- optional, not held aerodynamics optional
- optional, not held analyse telescope images optional
- optional, not held apply blended learning optional
- optional, not held apply teaching strategies optional
- optional, not held biology optional
- optional, not held computer simulation optional
- optional, not held design scientific equipment optional
- optional, not held economics optional
- optional, not held general medicine optional
- optional, not held intellectual property law optional
- optional, not held materials engineering optional
- optional, not held medical laboratory technology optional
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical technology optional
- optional, not held remote sensing techniques optional
- optional, not held teach in academic or vocational contexts optional
- optional, not held teach physics optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
5 held skills the physicist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse scientific data skill
- not needed by the target role apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
- not needed by the target role assist scientific research skill
- not needed by the target role maintain laboratory equipment skill
- not needed by the target role report analysis results skill
25 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 computational physics required
- still to learn quantum technology required
- still to learn spectroscopy required
- still to learn supercomputing required
- still to learn mathematical modelling required
- still to learn scientific literature required
- optional, not held forensic physics optional
- optional, not held computational mechanics optional
- optional, not held continuum mechanics optional
- optional, not held mathematical physics optional
- optional, not held nuclear physics optional
- optional, not held petroleum optional
- optional, not held solid mechanics optional
- optional, not held Monte Carlo simulation optional
- optional, not held aerodynamics optional
- optional, not held biology optional
- optional, not held computer simulation optional
- optional, not held economics optional
- optional, not held general medicine optional
- optional, not held intellectual property law optional
- optional, not held materials engineering optional
- optional, not held medical laboratory technology optional
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held pharmaceutical technology optional
- optional, not held remote sensing techniques optional
Common questions about this move
Can a physics technician become a physicist?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A physics technician already covers 29% of what a physicist is expected to do: 28 skills carry over, 14 of which the physicist role treats as required.
What skills does a physics technician need to become a physicist?
36 required skills are missing, plus 30 optional ones. They fall into 12 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is computational physics.
How hard is the move from physics technician to physicist?
Its learning distance is 80.6 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.