Thanatology researcher to anthropologist
A thanatology researcher already meets 68% of what the anthropologist role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
46.5/ 100
1 How much of what an anthropologist is expected to do is already part of a thanatology researcher’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 anthropologist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An anthropologist role treats 33 of its required skills as things a thanatology researcher already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- anthropology
- apply for research funding
- apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities
- apply scientific methods
- communicate with a non-scientific audience
- conduct research across disciplines
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 41 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An anthropologist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a thanatology researcher background worth leading with.
- already held forensic anthropology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held research human behaviour information skills
- already held archaeology arts and humanities
- already held philosophy arts and humanities
- already held anthropology social sciences, journalism and information
- already held sociology social sciences, journalism and information
All 41 carried skills, including the 33 the anthropologist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 32 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 interpret pedigree charts required
- still to learn observe human behaviour required
- still to learn study cultures required
- optional, not held conduct participatory research optional
- optional, not held identify archaeological finds optional
- optional, not held consult information sources optional
- optional, not held search historical sources in archives optional
- optional, not held study human societies optional
- still to learn economic anthropology required
- still to learn participant observation required
- optional, not held African studies optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held politics optional
- still to learn cultural geography required
- still to learn geography required
- still to learn interview people required
- optional, not held teach anthropology optional
- optional, not held advise legislators optional
- optional, not held interview focus groups optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
- still to learn research design required
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held cultural history optional
- optional, not held osteology optional
- optional, not held paleography optional
- optional, not held history optional
- optional, not held linguistics optional
- optional, not held religious studies optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an anthropologist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 cultural geography study this
- 02 economic anthropology study this
- 03 interview people 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 41 skills that carry over
- already held anthropology knowledge
- already held apply for research funding skill
- already held apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities skill
- already held apply scientific methods 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 research human behaviour skill
- already held scientific research methodology knowledge
- 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 archaeology knowledge
- already held biology knowledge
- already held develop scientific theories skill
- already held forensic anthropology knowledge
- already held philosophy knowledge
- already held sociology knowledge
- already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held Ancient Greek optional
- optional, not held Latin optional
- optional, not held Sanskrit optional
- optional, not held work on excavation site optional
23 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held conduct participatory research optional
- optional, not held cultural history optional
- optional, not held identify archaeological finds optional
- optional, not held osteology optional
- optional, not held paleography optional
- optional, not held teach anthropology optional
- optional, not held African studies optional
- optional, not held Ancient Greek optional
- optional, not held Latin optional
- optional, not held Sanskrit optional
- optional, not held advise legislators optional
- optional, not held consult information sources optional
- optional, not held history optional
- optional, not held interview focus groups optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held linguistics optional
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held politics optional
- optional, not held religious studies optional
- optional, not held search historical sources in archives optional
- optional, not held study human societies optional
- optional, not held work on excavation site optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
17 held skills the anthropologist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role conduct health related research skill
- not needed by the target role conduct psychological assessement skill
- not needed by the target role conduct psychological research skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research interview skill
- not needed by the target role do historical research skill
- not needed by the target role ethics knowledge
- not needed by the target role evaluate forensic data skill
- not needed by the target role gather data skill
- not needed by the target role human physiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify customer's needs skill
- not needed by the target role identify research topics skill
- not needed by the target role lead a team skill
- not needed by the target role phenomenology knowledge
- not needed by the target role plan research process skill
- not needed by the target role psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role social sciences knowledge
- not needed by the target role thanatology knowledge
18 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 cultural geography required
- still to learn economic anthropology required
- still to learn geography required
- still to learn participant observation required
- still to learn research design required
- optional, not held cultural history optional
- optional, not held osteology optional
- optional, not held paleography optional
- optional, not held African studies optional
- optional, not held Ancient Greek optional
- optional, not held Latin optional
- optional, not held Sanskrit optional
- optional, not held history optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held linguistics optional
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held politics optional
- optional, not held religious studies optional
Other moves recorded from thanatology researcher
Common questions about this move
Can a thanatology researcher become an anthropologist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A thanatology researcher already covers 68% of what an anthropologist is expected to do: 41 skills carry over, 33 of which the anthropologist role treats as required.
What skills does a thanatology researcher need to become an anthropologist?
9 required skills are missing, plus 23 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is cultural geography.
How hard is the move from thanatology researcher to anthropologist?
Its learning distance is 46.5 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.