Zoology technician to botanical technician
A zoology technician already meets 69% of what the botanical technician role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
37.4/ 100
1 How much of what a botanical technician is expected to do is already part of a zoology 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 botanical technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A botanical technician role treats 16 of its required skills as things a zoology technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse experimental laboratory data
- apply safety procedures in laboratory
- apply scientific methods
- assist in the production of laboratory documentation
- biology
- calibrate laboratory equipment
What stands in the way is 3 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 26 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A botanical technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a zoology technician background worth leading with.
- already held use laboratory equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held laboratory equipment natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held maintain freelance database working with computers
- already held preserve samples handling and moving
- already held assist in the production of laboratory documentation information skills
- already held analyse cell cultures information skills
All 26 carried skills, including the 16 the botanical technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 missing skills fall into 7 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 botany required
- still to learn plant species required
- still to learn characteristics of plants required
- optional, not held variety of botanicals optional
- optional, not held aquatic species optional
- optional, not held ecology optional
- optional, not held aeroponics optional
- optional, not held horticulture principles optional
- optional, not held hydroponics optional
- optional, not held plant care products optional
- optional, not held reforestation optional
- optional, not held maintain plant health optional
- optional, not held nurse plants optional
- optional, not held handling chemical products for soil and plants optional
- optional, not held analyse environmental data optional
- optional, not held conduct ecological surveys optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with environmental legislation optional
- optional, not held biosecurity optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a botanical 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 · The rest of the record
All 26 skills that carry over
- already held analyse experimental laboratory data skill
- already held apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
- already held apply scientific methods skill
- already held assist in the production of laboratory documentation skill
- already held biology knowledge
- already held calibrate laboratory equipment skill
- already held collect biological data skill
- already held laboratory equipment knowledge
- already held laboratory techniques knowledge
- already held maintain laboratory equipment skill
- already held manage inventory skill
- already held perform laboratory tests skill
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held scientific research methodology knowledge
- already held use laboratory equipment skill
- already held write technical reports skill
- already held analyse cell cultures skill
- already held chemistry knowledge
- already held environmental legislation knowledge
- already held hazardous waste storage knowledge
- already held keep task records skill
- already held label samples skill
- already held maintain freelance database skill
- already held prepare visual data skill
- already held preserve samples skill
- already held write research proposals skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held create soil and plant improvement programmes optional
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held aeroponics optional
- optional, not held analyse environmental data optional
- optional, not held conduct ecological surveys optional
- optional, not held create soil and plant improvement programmes optional
- optional, not held horticulture principles optional
- optional, not held hydroponics optional
- optional, not held maintain plant health optional
- optional, not held nurse plants optional
- optional, not held plant care products optional
- optional, not held reforestation optional
- optional, not held variety of botanicals optional
- optional, not held aquatic species optional
- optional, not held biosecurity optional
- optional, not held ecology optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with environmental legislation optional
- optional, not held handling chemical products for soil and plants optional
13 held skills the botanical technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse blood samples skill
- not needed by the target role animal behaviour knowledge
- not needed by the target role animal biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role animal food products knowledge
- not needed by the target role animal welfare legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role applied zoology knowledge
- not needed by the target role cryopreservation knowledge
- not needed by the target role evolutionary biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect animal welfare management skill
- not needed by the target role life sciences knowledge
- not needed by the target role microbiology-bacteriology knowledge
- not needed by the target role pollution legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role watershed development knowledge
12 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 botany required
- still to learn plant species required
- still to learn characteristics of plants required
- optional, not held aeroponics optional
- optional, not held horticulture principles optional
- optional, not held hydroponics optional
- optional, not held plant care products optional
- optional, not held reforestation optional
- optional, not held variety of botanicals optional
- optional, not held aquatic species optional
- optional, not held biosecurity optional
- optional, not held ecology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a zoology technician become a botanical technician?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A zoology technician already covers 69% of what a botanical technician is expected to do: 26 skills carry over, 16 of which the botanical technician role treats as required.
What skills does a zoology technician need to become a botanical technician?
3 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. The single most important is botany.
How hard is the move from zoology technician to botanical technician?
Its learning distance is 37.4 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.