Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Radiation protection technician to hazardous waste technician

A radiation protection technician already meets 48% of what the hazardous waste technician role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From radiation protection technician
48 % overlap
Partial match
To hazardous waste technician
22 You already bring
7 Still to learn
53 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

58.2/ 100

1 How much of what a hazardous waste technician is expected to do is already part of a radiation protection 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 hazardous waste technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A hazardous waste technician role treats 10 of its required skills as things a radiation protection technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • assess contamination
  • avoid contamination
  • contamination exposure regulations
  • dispose of hazardous waste
  • hazardous materials transportation
  • hazardous waste storage

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

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 22 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A hazardous waste technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a radiation protection technician background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held remove contaminated materials handling and moving
  • already held develop radiation protection strategies management skills
  • already held inspect compliance with hazardous waste regulations information skills
  • already held instruct employees on radiation protection communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held hazardous materials transportation services
  • already held remove contaminants handling and moving

All 22 carried skills, including the 10 the hazardous waste technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 31 missing skills fall into 11 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 services 3 required
  • still to learn characteristics of waste required
  • still to learn waste and scrap products required
  • still to learn waste management required
02 handling and moving 2 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn assess waste type required
  • still to learn store contaminated materials required
  • optional, not held clean up spilled oil optional
  • optional, not held drain hazardous liquids optional
  • optional, not held collect industrial waste optional
  • optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
  • optional, not held sort waste optional
03 assisting and caring 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn follow standards for machinery safety required
  • still to learn ensure compliance with waste legislative regulations required
  • optional, not held respond to nuclear emergencies optional
  • optional, not held issue licences optional
04 information skills 6 supplementary
  • optional, not held maintain waste collection records optional
  • optional, not held report pollution incidents optional
  • optional, not held test samples for pollutants optional
  • optional, not held document analysis results optional
  • optional, not held maintain recycling records optional
  • optional, not held read maps optional
05 engineering, manufacturing and construction 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held decontamination techniques optional
  • optional, not held heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration parts optional
  • optional, not held hydraulics optional
06 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held educate on hazardous waste optional
  • optional, not held advise on waste management procedures optional

5 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a hazardous waste technician 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

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 22 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held assess contamination skill
  • already held avoid contamination skill
  • already held contamination exposure regulations knowledge
  • already held dispose of hazardous waste skill
  • already held hazardous materials transportation knowledge
  • already held hazardous waste storage knowledge
  • already held hazardous waste treatment knowledge
  • already held hazardous waste types knowledge
  • already held remove contaminants skill
  • already held remove contaminated materials skill
  • already held develop hazardous waste management strategies skill
  • already held develop radiation protection strategies skill
  • already held ensure compliance with radiation protection regulations skill
  • already held follow nuclear plant safety precautions skill
  • already held inspect compliance with hazardous waste regulations skill
  • already held instruct employees on radiation protection skill
  • already held monitor disposal of radioactive substances skill
  • already held monitor radiation levels skill
  • already held pollution prevention knowledge
  • already held radiation protection knowledge
  • already held radioactive contamination knowledge
  • already held wear appropriate protective gear skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held radiochemistry optional
  • optional, not held pneumatics optional
08 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held pollution legislation optional
09 constructing 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held test electrical equipment optional
10 management skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held establish waste collection routes optional
11 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held operate recycling processing equipment optional
24 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held clean up spilled oil optional
  • optional, not held decontamination techniques optional
  • optional, not held drain hazardous liquids optional
  • optional, not held educate on hazardous waste optional
  • optional, not held establish waste collection routes optional
  • optional, not held maintain waste collection records optional
  • optional, not held pollution legislation optional
  • optional, not held radiochemistry optional
  • optional, not held report pollution incidents optional
  • optional, not held respond to nuclear emergencies optional
  • optional, not held test samples for pollutants optional
  • optional, not held advise on waste management procedures optional
  • optional, not held collect industrial waste optional
  • optional, not held collect samples for analysis optional
  • optional, not held document analysis results optional
  • optional, not held heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration parts optional
  • optional, not held hydraulics optional
  • optional, not held issue licences optional
  • optional, not held maintain recycling records optional
  • optional, not held operate recycling processing equipment optional
  • optional, not held pneumatics optional
  • optional, not held read maps optional
  • optional, not held sort waste optional
  • optional, not held test electrical equipment optional
13 held skills the hazardous waste technician role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise on pollution prevention skill
  • not needed by the target role assist people in contaminated areas skill
  • not needed by the target role calculate exposure to radiation skill
  • not needed by the target role document survey operations skill
  • not needed by the target role health, safety and hygiene legislation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role investigate contamination skill
  • not needed by the target role metrology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role monitor nuclear power plant systems skill
  • not needed by the target role nuclear reprocessing knowledge
  • not needed by the target role perform demarcation skill
  • not needed by the target role perform risk analysis skill
  • not needed by the target role test safety strategies skill
  • not needed by the target role use personal protection equipment skill
9 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn characteristics of waste required
  • still to learn waste and scrap products required
  • still to learn waste management required
  • optional, not held decontamination techniques optional
  • optional, not held pollution legislation optional
  • optional, not held radiochemistry optional
  • optional, not held heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration parts optional
  • optional, not held hydraulics optional
  • optional, not held pneumatics optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a radiation protection technician become a hazardous waste technician?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A radiation protection technician already covers 48% of what a hazardous waste technician is expected to do: 22 skills carry over, 10 of which the hazardous waste technician role treats as required.

What skills does a radiation protection technician need to become a hazardous waste technician?

7 required skills are missing, plus 24 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by services. The single most important is assess waste type.

How hard is the move from radiation protection technician to hazardous waste technician?

Its learning distance is 58.2 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.