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

lyricisttocomposer

A lyricist already meets 27% of what the composer role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.

From lyricist
27%
Overlap1
To composer
7 Skills carried over
12 Required, not held
71.7 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

27%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

71.7/ 100

1 Share of the composer role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the lyricist 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 composer role treats 4 of its required skills as things a lyricist already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • create musical forms
  • study music
  • transcribe ideas into musical notation
  • write musical scores

What stands in the way is 12 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 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A composer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a lyricist background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held film music techniques arts and humanities
  • already held transcribe ideas into musical notation communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held create musical forms communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held write musical scores communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held study music information skills
  • already held record music communication, collaboration and creativity

All 7 carried skills, including the 4 the composer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 17 missing skills fall into 3 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 communication, collaboration and creativity 12 required, 3 supplementary
  • required, not held select elements for a composition required
  • required, not held complete final musical scores required
  • required, not held create musical structures required
  • required, not held define creative components required
  • required, not held describe artistic experience required
  • required, not held develop an artistic framework required
  • required, not held develop musical ideas required
  • required, not held evaluate musical ideas required
  • required, not held read musical score required
  • required, not held rewrite musical scores required
  • required, not held transpose music required
  • required, not held work out orchestral sketches required
  • optional, not held use digital instruments optional
  • optional, not held organise compositions optional
  • optional, not held play musical instruments optional
02 management skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held supervise music groups optional
03 working with computers 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held edit recorded sound optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a composer 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 7 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held create musical forms skill
  • already held study music skill
  • already held transcribe ideas into musical notation skill
  • already held write musical scores skill
  • already held film music techniques knowledge
  • already held music literature knowledge
  • already held record music skill
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held use digital instruments optional
  • optional, not held edit recorded sound optional
  • optional, not held organise compositions optional
  • optional, not held play musical instruments optional
  • optional, not held supervise music groups optional
18 held skills the composer 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 advise on music pedagogy skill
  • not needed by the target role attend music recording sessions skill
  • not needed by the target role compose music skill
  • not needed by the target role consult with sound editor skill
  • not needed by the target role copyright legislation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role create a rhyme scheme structure skill
  • not needed by the target role match lyrics to mood of melody skill
  • not needed by the target role musical genres knowledge
  • not needed by the target role musical notation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role musical theory knowledge
  • not needed by the target role practise singing skill
  • not needed by the target role sing skill
  • not needed by the target role study musical scores skill
  • not needed by the target role transcribe musical compositions skill
  • not needed by the target role work with composers skill
  • not needed by the target role write songs skill
  • not needed by the target role write to a deadline skill
Index

Other moves recorded from lyricist

Full index of moves from lyricist

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.