Polygraph examiner to genealogist
A polygraph examiner already meets 23% of what the genealogist role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
69.8/ 100
1 How much of what a genealogist is expected to do is already part of a polygraph examiner’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 genealogist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A genealogist role treats 3 of its required skills as things a polygraph examiner already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- conduct research interview
- investigation research methods
- write work-related reports
What stands in the way is 9 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 5 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A genealogist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a polygraph examiner background worth leading with.
- already held investigation research methods services
- already held document interviews information skills
- already held interview techniques social sciences, journalism and information
- already held conduct research interview communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held write work-related reports communication, collaboration and creativity
All 5 carried skills, including the 3 the genealogist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 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 research family histories required
- still to learn analyse legislation required
- still to learn analyse recorded sources required
- still to learn conduct qualitative research required
- still to learn consult information sources required
- still to learn inspect data required
- still to learn interpret pedigree charts required
- still to learn genealogy required
- optional, not held history optional
- optional, not held transcription methods optional
- still to learn genomics required
- optional, not held interview people optional
- optional, not held suggest revision of manuscripts optional
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held family law optional
- optional, not held research design optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a genealogist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 5 skills that carry over
- already held conduct research interview skill
- already held investigation research methods knowledge
- already held write work-related reports skill
- already held document interviews skill
- already held interview techniques knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held social sciences optional
- optional, not held search databases optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held interview people optional
- optional, not held suggest revision of manuscripts optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held family law optional
- optional, not held history optional
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- optional, not held research design optional
- optional, not held search databases optional
- optional, not held social sciences optional
- optional, not held transcription methods optional
23 held skills the genealogist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse legal evidence skill
- not needed by the target role assess character skill
- not needed by the target role assist police investigations skill
- not needed by the target role comply with legal regulations skill
- not needed by the target role create criminal profiles skill
- not needed by the target role criminal law knowledge
- not needed by the target role criminology knowledge
- not needed by the target role deal with aggressive behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role forensic intelligence knowledge
- not needed by the target role human physiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role interrogate individuals skill
- not needed by the target role maintain professional administration skill
- not needed by the target role manage tests skill
- not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role observe human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role present evidence skill
- not needed by the target role profile people skill
- not needed by the target role promote human rights skill
- not needed by the target role provide testimony in court hearings skill
- not needed by the target role psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role psychophysiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role report analysis results skill
- not needed by the target role use technology for forensics skill
8 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 genealogy required
- still to learn genomics required
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held family law optional
- optional, not held history optional
- optional, not held research design optional
- optional, not held social sciences optional
- optional, not held transcription methods optional
Common questions about this move
Can a polygraph examiner become a genealogist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A polygraph examiner already covers 23% of what a genealogist is expected to do: 5 skills carry over, 3 of which the genealogist role treats as required.
What skills does a polygraph examiner need to become a genealogist?
9 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is genealogy.
How hard is the move from polygraph examiner to genealogist?
Its learning distance is 69.8 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.