Police officer to infantry soldier
A police officer already meets 43% of what the infantry soldier role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
53.7/ 100
1 How much of what an infantry soldier is expected to do is already part of a police officer’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 infantry soldier role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An infantry soldier role treats 5 of its required skills as things a police officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ensure compliance with types of weapons
- ensure public safety and security
- execute working instructions
- identify security threats
- use different communication channels
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 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An infantry soldier role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a police officer background worth leading with.
- already held control crowd assisting and caring
- already held detain offenders assisting and caring
- already held restrain individuals assisting and caring
- already held legal use-of-force business, administration and law
- already held patrol areas assisting and caring
- already held practice vigilance assisting and caring
All 14 carried skills, including the 5 the infantry soldier role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 18 missing skills fall into 7 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 handle surveillance equipment required
- still to learn perform military operations required
- still to learn provide humanitarian aid required
- optional, not held provide first aid optional
- still to learn military combat techniques required
- still to learn military drill required
- optional, not held military code optional
- optional, not held military weaponry optional
- still to learn camouflage required
- still to learn surveillance methods required
- optional, not held perform covert investigations optional
- optional, not held read maps optional
- optional, not held undertake inspections optional
- optional, not held assist in ship maintenance optional
- optional, not held execute vehicle maintenance optional
- optional, not held operate armoured fighting vehicles optional
- optional, not held operate radio equipment optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an infantry soldier role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 camouflage study this
- 02 handle surveillance equipment practise this
- 03 military combat techniques 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 14 skills that carry over
- already held ensure compliance with types of weapons skill
- already held ensure public safety and security skill
- already held execute working instructions skill
- already held identify security threats skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held control crowd skill
- already held detain offenders skill
- already held law enforcement knowledge
- already held legal use-of-force knowledge
- already held patrol areas skill
- already held practice vigilance skill
- already held respond to enquiries skill
- already held restrain individuals skill
- already held use personal protection equipment skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held first aid optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held perform covert investigations optional
- optional, not held assist in ship maintenance optional
- optional, not held execute vehicle maintenance optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held military code optional
- optional, not held military weaponry optional
- optional, not held operate armoured fighting vehicles optional
- optional, not held operate radio equipment optional
- optional, not held provide first aid optional
- optional, not held read maps optional
- optional, not held undertake inspections optional
41 held skills the infantry soldier role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse legal evidence skill
- not needed by the target role analyse road traffic patterns skill
- not needed by the target role anticipate foreseeable problems on the road skill
- not needed by the target role apply first response skill
- not needed by the target role apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role assess railway operations skill
- not needed by the target role check diving equipment skill
- not needed by the target role check official documents skill
- not needed by the target role comply with legal regulations skill
- not needed by the target role comply with the principles of self-defence skill
- not needed by the target role conduct drug abuse tests skill
- not needed by the target role conduct frisk skill
- not needed by the target role diving operation requirements knowledge
- not needed by the target role educate public on road safety skill
- not needed by the target role ensure law application skill
- not needed by the target role examine crime scenes skill
- not needed by the target role first response knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle case evidence skill
- not needed by the target role hear witness accounts skill
- not needed by the target role illegal substances knowledge
- not needed by the target role instruct public skill
- not needed by the target role investigate forgery cases skill
- not needed by the target role investigate road accidents skill
- not needed by the target role investigation research methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role issue fines skill
- not needed by the target role maintain diving equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain order at scenes of accidents skill
- not needed by the target role manage major incidents skill
- not needed by the target role manage theft prevention skill
- not needed by the target role perform drug investigations skill
- not needed by the target role perform underwater investigations skill
- not needed by the target role physical characteristics of railways knowledge
- not needed by the target role present evidence skill
- not needed by the target role provide care for horses skill
- not needed by the target role railway law knowledge
- not needed by the target role regulate traffic skill
- not needed by the target role ride horses skill
- not needed by the target role road traffic laws knowledge
- not needed by the target role safe horseback riding principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role train animals for professional purposes skill
1 further entry not listed here
7 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 camouflage required
- still to learn military combat techniques required
- still to learn military drill required
- still to learn surveillance methods required
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held military code optional
- optional, not held military weaponry optional
Other moves recorded from police officer
- police trainer 68% covered · moderate
- police inspector 63% covered · moderate
- police detective 63% covered · moderate
- prison officer 58% covered · moderate
- juvenile correctional officer 54% covered · moderate
- civil enforcement officer 51% covered · moderate
- immigration officer 47% covered · moderate
- court bailiff 42% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can a police officer become an infantry soldier?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A police officer already covers 43% of what an infantry soldier is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 5 of which the infantry soldier role treats as required.
What skills does a police officer need to become an infantry soldier?
7 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is camouflage.
How hard is the move from police officer to infantry soldier?
Its learning distance is 53.7 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.