Specialised doctor to veterinary scientist
A specialised doctor already meets 60% of what the veterinary scientist role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.
55.7/ 100
1 How much of what a veterinary scientist is expected to do is already part of a specialised doctor’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 veterinary scientist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A veterinary scientist role treats 29 of its required skills as things a specialised doctor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply for research funding
- apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities
- communicate with a non-scientific audience
- conduct research across disciplines
- demonstrate disciplinary expertise
- develop professional network with researchers and scientists
What stands in the way is 17 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 31 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A veterinary scientist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a specialised doctor background worth leading with.
- already held manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data information skills
- already held think abstractly communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held communicate with a non-scientific audience communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held integrate gender dimension in research information skills
- already held promote the participation of citizens in scientific and research activities information skills
- already held apply for research funding information skills
All 31 carried skills, including the 29 the veterinary scientist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 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 apply specialised veterinary knowledge required
- still to learn apply animal hygiene practices required
- still to learn assess animal behaviour required
- still to learn collect samples from animals required
- still to learn perform veterinary diagnosis required
- still to learn provide anaesthetics to animals required
- still to learn maintain veterinary clinical records required
- still to learn manage animal biosecurity required
- still to learn perform laboratory testing on samples of animals required
- still to learn conduct qualitative research required
- still to learn conduct quantitative research required
- optional, not held take advantage of learning opportunities in veterinary science optional
- still to learn veterinary terminology required
- still to learn fundamental veterinary sciences required
- optional, not held signs of animal illness optional
- optional, not held veterinary clinical sciences optional
- optional, not held zoonotic diseases optional
- still to learn apply safe work practices in a veterinary setting required
- still to learn manage the use of vaccines required
- still to learn communicate specialised veterinary information required
- optional, not held collaborate with animal related professionals optional
- optional, not held maintain relationships with animal welfare establishments optional
- still to learn anatomy of animals required
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a veterinary scientist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply specialised veterinary knowledge practise this
- 02 anatomy of animals study this
- 03 apply animal hygiene practices practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 31 skills that carry over
- already held apply for research funding skill
- already held apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities skill
- already held communicate with a non-scientific audience skill
- already held conduct research across disciplines skill
- already held demonstrate disciplinary expertise skill
- already held develop professional network with researchers and scientists skill
- already held disseminate results to the scientific community skill
- already held draft scientific or academic papers and technical documentation skill
- already held evaluate research activities skill
- already held increase the impact of science on policy and society skill
- already held integrate gender dimension in research skill
- already held interact professionally in research and professional environments skill
- already held manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data skill
- already held manage intellectual property rights skill
- already held manage open publications skill
- already held manage personal professional development skill
- already held manage research data skill
- already held mentor individuals skill
- already held operate open source software skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held promote open innovation in research skill
- already held promote the participation of citizens in scientific and research activities skill
- already held promote the transfer of knowledge skill
- already held publish academic research skill
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held synthesise information skill
- already held think abstractly skill
- already held write scientific publications skill
- already held apply blended learning skill
- already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held scientific literature optional
- optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held collaborate with animal related professionals optional
- optional, not held maintain relationships with animal welfare establishments optional
- optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
- optional, not held signs of animal illness optional
- optional, not held take advantage of learning opportunities in veterinary science optional
- optional, not held veterinary clinical sciences optional
- optional, not held zoonotic diseases optional
- optional, not held scientific literature optional
147 held skills the veterinary scientist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role Interpret diagnostic procedures for vascular surgery skill
- not needed by the target role address side effects of menopause skill
- not needed by the target role administer immunotherapy skill
- not needed by the target role advise on poisoning incidents skill
- not needed by the target role advise on pregnancies at risk skill
- not needed by the target role advise patients on infectious diseases when travelling skill
- not needed by the target role allergology knowledge
- not needed by the target role anaesthetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse X-ray imagery skill
- not needed by the target role assess physical conditions of clients skill
- not needed by the target role assist in epilepsy surgery skill
- not needed by the target role assist in kidney transplant skill
- not needed by the target role biological chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role biological haematology knowledge
- not needed by the target role browse, search and filter data, information and digital content skill
- not needed by the target role cancer risks knowledge
- not needed by the target role cardiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role child psychiatry knowledge
- not needed by the target role clinical biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role clinical neurophysiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicable diseases knowledge
- not needed by the target role community medicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct cancer screening tests skill
- not needed by the target role conduct health related research skill
- not needed by the target role conduct patch testing skill
- not needed by the target role conduct polysomnography skill
- not needed by the target role conduct preoperative investigations skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research on reproductive medicine skill
- not needed by the target role counsel patients on fertility treatments skill
- not needed by the target role delegate emergency care skill
- not needed by the target role demonstrate technical skills during neurological surgery skill
- not needed by the target role dermapathology knowledge
- not needed by the target role dermato-venereology knowledge
- not needed by the target role dermatology knowledge
- not needed by the target role determine eye disease progression skill
- not needed by the target role develop long-term treatment course for disorders in the glandular system skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose brain death skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose diseases of ear, nose, and throat skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose diseases of the vascular system skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose disorders of the urogenital system skill
107 further entries 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 anatomy of animals required
- still to learn veterinary terminology required
- still to learn fundamental veterinary sciences required
- optional, not held signs of animal illness optional
- optional, not held veterinary clinical sciences optional
- optional, not held zoonotic diseases optional
- optional, not held scientific literature optional
Other moves recorded from specialised doctor
- religion scientific researcher 69% covered · moderate
- thanatology researcher 65% covered · moderate
- philosopher 63% covered · moderate
- palaeontologist 62% covered · moderate
- seismologist 62% covered · moderate
- linguist 61% covered · moderate
- cosmetic chemist 61% covered · moderate
- meteorologist 61% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can a specialised doctor become a veterinary scientist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A specialised doctor already covers 60% of what a veterinary scientist is expected to do: 31 skills carry over, 29 of which the veterinary scientist role treats as required.
What skills does a specialised doctor need to become a veterinary scientist?
17 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is apply specialised veterinary knowledge.
How hard is the move from specialised doctor to veterinary scientist?
Its learning distance is 55.7 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.