Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Soil surveying technician to hydrographic surveying technician

A soil surveying technician already meets 36% of what the hydrographic surveying technician role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From soil surveying technician
36 % overlap
Distant match
To hydrographic surveying technician
12 You already bring
11 Still to learn
45 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

67.8/ 100

1 How much of what a hydrographic surveying technician is expected to do is already part of a soil surveying 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 hydrographic surveying technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A hydrographic surveying technician role treats 10 of its required skills as things a soil surveying technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • adjust surveying equipment
  • cartography
  • mathematics
  • operate surveying instruments
  • prepare surveying report
  • record survey data

What stands in the way is 11 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 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A hydrographic surveying technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a soil surveying technician background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held adjust surveying equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
  • already held prepare surveying report information skills
  • already held surveying methods engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held operate surveying instruments working with machinery and specialised equipment
  • already held record survey data information skills
  • already held surveying engineering, manufacturing and construction

All 12 carried skills, including the 10 the hydrographic surveying technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 33 missing skills fall into 6 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 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 6 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn morphology required
  • still to learn bathymetry required
  • still to learn hydrography required
  • still to learn geodesy required
  • still to learn geomatics required
  • still to learn survey techniques required
  • optional, not held geographic information systems optional
  • optional, not held oceanography optional
02 information skills 4 required, 8 supplementary
  • still to learn conduct underwater surveys required
  • still to learn document survey operations required
  • still to learn collect mapping data required
  • still to learn perform surveying calculations required
  • optional, not held collect geological data optional
  • optional, not held interpret geophysical data optional
  • optional, not held analyse scientific data optional
  • optional, not held apply scientific methods optional
  • optional, not held collect data using GPS optional
  • optional, not held conduct research before survey optional
  • optional, not held create GIS reports optional
  • optional, not held process collected survey data optional
03 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn assist hydrographic surveys required
  • optional, not held operate marine machinery systems optional
  • optional, not held operate marine communication systems optional
04 working with computers 5 supplementary
  • optional, not held develop geological databases optional
  • optional, not held use geographic information systems optional
  • optional, not held apply digital mapping optional
  • optional, not held create thematic maps optional
  • optional, not held use CAD software optional
05 communication, collaboration and creativity 4 supplementary
  • optional, not held prepare geological map sections optional
  • optional, not held provide information on geological characteristics optional
  • optional, not held assist scientific research optional
  • optional, not held write technical reports optional
06 services 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held vessel safety equipment optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a hydrographic surveying 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 12 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held adjust surveying equipment skill
  • already held cartography knowledge
  • already held mathematics knowledge
  • already held operate surveying instruments skill
  • already held prepare surveying report skill
  • already held record survey data skill
  • already held surveying knowledge
  • already held surveying methods knowledge
  • already held topography knowledge
  • already held write work-related reports skill
  • already held geography knowledge
  • already held geology knowledge
22 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held collect geological data optional
  • optional, not held develop geological databases optional
  • optional, not held geographic information systems optional
  • optional, not held interpret geophysical data optional
  • optional, not held operate marine machinery systems optional
  • optional, not held prepare geological map sections optional
  • optional, not held provide information on geological characteristics optional
  • optional, not held use geographic information systems optional
  • optional, not held vessel safety equipment optional
  • optional, not held analyse scientific data optional
  • optional, not held apply digital mapping optional
  • optional, not held apply scientific methods optional
  • optional, not held assist scientific research optional
  • optional, not held collect data using GPS optional
  • optional, not held conduct research before survey optional
  • optional, not held create GIS reports optional
  • optional, not held create thematic maps optional
  • optional, not held oceanography optional
  • optional, not held operate marine communication systems optional
  • optional, not held process collected survey data optional
  • optional, not held use CAD software optional
  • optional, not held write technical reports optional
25 held skills the hydrographic surveying technician role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise on nature conservation skill
  • not needed by the target role agroforestry knowledge
  • not needed by the target role agronomy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
  • not needed by the target role biology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role civil engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role collect samples skill
  • not needed by the target role collect samples for analysis skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct field work skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct land surveys skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct soil sample tests skill
  • not needed by the target role ecology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role engineering processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ensure compliance with safety legislation skill
  • not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role gather experimental data skill
  • not needed by the target role laboratory techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role monitor geotechnical structures skill
  • not needed by the target role perform laboratory tests skill
  • not needed by the target role perform scientific research skill
  • not needed by the target role pollution prevention knowledge
  • not needed by the target role soil mechanics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role soil science knowledge
  • not needed by the target role soil structure knowledge
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 morphology required
  • still to learn bathymetry required
  • still to learn hydrography required
  • still to learn geodesy required
  • still to learn geomatics required
  • still to learn survey techniques required
  • optional, not held geographic information systems optional
  • optional, not held vessel safety equipment optional
  • optional, not held oceanography optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a soil surveying technician become a hydrographic surveying technician?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A soil surveying technician already covers 36% of what a hydrographic surveying technician is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 10 of which the hydrographic surveying technician role treats as required.

What skills does a soil surveying technician need to become a hydrographic surveying technician?

11 required skills are missing, plus 22 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. The single most important is morphology.

How hard is the move from soil surveying technician to hydrographic surveying technician?

Its learning distance is 67.8 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.