Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

copy editortolexicographer

A copy editor already meets 40% of what the lexicographer role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.

From copy editor
40%
Overlap1
To lexicographer
8 Skills carried over
5 Required, not held
57 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

40%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

57/ 100

1 Share of the lexicographer role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the copy editor profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A lexicographer role treats 6 of its required skills as things a copy editor already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • apply grammar and spelling rules
  • consult information sources
  • copyright legislation
  • follow work schedule
  • grammar
  • spelling

What stands in the way is 5 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 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A lexicographer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a copy editor background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held use dictionaries information skills
  • already held consult with editor communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held spelling arts and humanities
  • already held consult information sources information skills
  • already held grammar arts and humanities
  • already held apply grammar and spelling rules communication, collaboration and creativity

All 8 carried skills, including the 6 the lexicographer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 20 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 arts and humanities 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held linguistics required
  • required, not held practical lexicography required
  • optional, not held typology optional
  • optional, not held theoretical lexicography optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 3 supplementary
  • required, not held create definitions required
  • optional, not held edit dictionary entries optional
  • optional, not held translate foreign language optional
  • optional, not held translate language concepts optional
03 working with computers 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held search databases required
  • optional, not held use word processing software optional
04 education 1 required
  • required, not held scientific research methodology required
05 information skills 4 supplementary
  • optional, not held create semantic trees optional
  • optional, not held do historical research optional
  • optional, not held identify new words optional
  • optional, not held develop technical glossaries optional
06 management skills 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held manage budgets optional
  • optional, not held supervise staff optional
  • optional, not held supervise work optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a lexicographer 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 8 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held apply grammar and spelling rules skill
  • already held consult information sources skill
  • already held copyright legislation knowledge
  • already held follow work schedule skill
  • already held grammar knowledge
  • already held spelling knowledge
  • already held consult with editor skill
  • already held use dictionaries skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to acquire Tier
07 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held project management principles optional
08 social sciences, journalism and information 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held search engines optional
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held edit dictionary entries optional
  • optional, not held typology optional
  • optional, not held create semantic trees optional
  • optional, not held do historical research optional
  • optional, not held identify new words optional
  • optional, not held search engines optional
  • optional, not held develop technical glossaries optional
  • optional, not held manage budgets optional
  • optional, not held project management principles optional
  • optional, not held supervise staff optional
  • optional, not held supervise work optional
  • optional, not held theoretical lexicography optional
  • optional, not held translate foreign language optional
  • optional, not held translate language concepts optional
  • optional, not held use word processing software optional
20 held skills the lexicographer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role adapt to artists' creative demands skill
  • not needed by the target role apply desktop publishing techniques skill
  • not needed by the target role desktop publishing knowledge
  • not needed by the target role digital journalism knowledge
  • not needed by the target role editorial standards knowledge
  • not needed by the target role follow a brief skill
  • not needed by the target role follow ethical code of conduct of journalists skill
  • not needed by the target role follow newspaper house style skill
  • not needed by the target role literature knowledge
  • not needed by the target role office software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role proofread text skill
  • not needed by the target role read manuscripts skill
  • not needed by the target role review unpublished articles skill
  • not needed by the target role rewrite articles skill
  • not needed by the target role rewrite manuscripts skill
  • not needed by the target role suggest revision of manuscripts skill
  • not needed by the target role track changes in text editing skill
  • not needed by the target role typography knowledge
  • not needed by the target role write headlines skill
  • not needed by the target role writing techniques knowledge
7 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 acquire Tier
  • required, not held linguistics required
  • required, not held practical lexicography required
  • required, not held scientific research methodology required
  • optional, not held typology optional
  • optional, not held search engines optional
  • optional, not held project management principles optional
  • optional, not held theoretical lexicography optional
Index

Other moves recorded from copy editor

Full index of moves from copy editor

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.