Scientific laboratory technician to material testing technician
A scientific laboratory technician already meets 45% of what the material testing technician role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
52.2/ 100
1 How much of what a material testing technician is expected to do is already part of a scientific laboratory 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 material testing technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A material testing technician role treats 6 of its required skills as things a scientific laboratory technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply safety procedures in laboratory
- operate scientific measuring equipment
- perform laboratory tests
- record test data
- report test findings
- wear appropriate protective gear
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 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A material testing technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a scientific laboratory technician background worth leading with.
- already held apply safety procedures in laboratory assisting and caring
- already held assist scientific research communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held report test findings information skills
- already held operate scientific measuring equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held biology natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held perform laboratory tests working with machinery and specialised equipment
All 13 carried skills, including the 6 the material testing technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 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 materials engineering required
- optional, not held rubber technology optional
- still to learn use testing equipment required
- optional, not held use non-destructive testing equipment optional
- still to learn quality standards required
- still to learn maintain test equipment required
- still to learn collect samples required
- still to learn advanced materials required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a material testing technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 advanced materials study this
- 02 collect samples practise this
- 03 health, safety and hygiene legislation 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 13 skills that carry over
- already held apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
- already held operate scientific measuring equipment skill
- already held perform laboratory tests skill
- already held record test data skill
- already held report test findings skill
- already held wear appropriate protective gear skill
- already held analyse test data skill
- already held assist scientific research skill
- already held biology knowledge
- already held chemistry knowledge
- already held collect samples for analysis skill
- already held label samples skill
- already held physics knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn health, safety and hygiene legislation required
- optional, not held conduct soil sample tests optional
- optional, not held analyse stress resistance of materials optional
- optional, not held conduct field work optional
- optional, not held develop material testing procedures optional
- optional, not held build business relationships optional
- optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
- optional, not held provide technical expertise optional
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held conduct soil sample tests optional
- optional, not held rubber technology optional
- optional, not held use non-destructive testing equipment optional
- optional, not held analyse stress resistance of materials optional
- optional, not held build business relationships optional
- optional, not held conduct field work optional
- optional, not held develop material testing procedures optional
- optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
- optional, not held provide technical expertise optional
69 held skills the material testing technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse blood samples skill
- not needed by the target role analyse cell cultures skill
- not needed by the target role analyse experimental laboratory data skill
- not needed by the target role analyse samples of food and beverages skill
- not needed by the target role answer patients' questions skill
- not needed by the target role archive healthcare users' records skill
- not needed by the target role archive scientific documentation skill
- not needed by the target role assist in the production of laboratory documentation skill
- not needed by the target role automated analysers in the medical laboratory knowledge
- not needed by the target role biological chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role blood collection on babies knowledge
- not needed by the target role blood donation knowledge
- not needed by the target role blood transfusion knowledge
- not needed by the target role blood type classification knowledge
- not needed by the target role calibrate laboratory equipment skill
- not needed by the target role carry out quality control in microbiology laboratories skill
- not needed by the target role check material resources skill
- not needed by the target role check the received biological samples skill
- not needed by the target role clinical biochemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role clinical cytology knowledge
- not needed by the target role collect biological samples from patients skill
- not needed by the target role communicate in healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role conduct routine blood testing skill
- not needed by the target role cryopreservation knowledge
- not needed by the target role data protection knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop scientific research protocols skill
- not needed by the target role dispose medical waste skill
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
- not needed by the target role examine cell specimens microscopically skill
- not needed by the target role examine samples in dermatology skill
- not needed by the target role execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- not needed by the target role explain the molecular basis of a disease to patients skill
- not needed by the target role fine-needle aspiration knowledge
- not needed by the target role histopathology knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify patients' medical records skill
- not needed by the target role immunology knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret electromyograms skill
- not needed by the target role interpret hematological test results skill
- not needed by the target role interpret medical results skill
- not needed by the target role label blood samples skill
29 further entries not listed here
5 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 advanced materials required
- still to learn health, safety and hygiene legislation required
- still to learn materials engineering required
- still to learn quality standards required
- optional, not held rubber technology optional
Other moves recorded from scientific laboratory technician
Common questions about this move
Can a scientific laboratory technician become a material testing technician?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A scientific laboratory technician already covers 45% of what a material testing technician is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 6 of which the material testing technician role treats as required.
What skills does a scientific laboratory technician need to become a material testing technician?
7 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is advanced materials.
How hard is the move from scientific laboratory technician to material testing technician?
Its learning distance is 52.2 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.