Table 1Transition record

medical laboratory assistanttozoology technician

A medical laboratory assistant already meets 28% of what the zoology technician role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.

From medical laboratory assistant

28%

Overlap1

To zoology technician

10 Skills carried over

13 Required, not held

71.9 Difficulty2

Career overlap Distant match

28%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

71.9/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 Share of the zoology technician role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the medical laboratory assistant 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 zoology technician role treats 6 of its required skills as things a medical laboratory assistant already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

apply safety procedures in laboratory
assist in the production of laboratory documentation
calibrate laboratory equipment
laboratory techniques
maintain laboratory equipment
perform laboratory tests

What stands in the way is 13 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 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A zoology technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a medical laboratory assistant background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held assist in the production of laboratory documentation information skills
already held analyse blood samples information skills
already held analyse cell cultures information skills
already held cryopreservation natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
already held maintain laboratory equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
already held calibrate laboratory equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment

All 10 carried skills, including the 6 the zoology technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 29 missing skills fall into 12 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 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 4 required, 3 supplementary

required, not held applied zoology required
required, not held laboratory equipment required
required, not held animal biology required
required, not held biology required

optional, not held evolutionary biology optional
optional, not held chemistry optional
optional, not held life sciences optional

02 information skills 4 required, 2 supplementary

required, not held analyse experimental laboratory data required
required, not held apply scientific methods required
required, not held collect biological data required
required, not held perform scientific research required

optional, not held inspect animal welfare management optional
optional, not held keep task records optional

03 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 1 supplementary

required, not held write technical reports required

optional, not held write research proposals optional

04 agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary 1 required

required, not held animal behaviour required

05 education 1 required

required, not held scientific research methodology required

06 management skills 1 required

required, not held manage inventory required

6 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a zoology 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

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 10 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
already held assist in the production of laboratory documentation skill
already held calibrate laboratory equipment skill
already held laboratory techniques knowledge
already held maintain laboratory equipment skill
already held perform laboratory tests skill
already held analyse blood samples skill
already held analyse cell cultures skill
already held cryopreservation knowledge
already held microbiology-bacteriology knowledge

The 6 learning areas not shown above

Skill to acquire Tier

07 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 required

required, not held use laboratory equipment required

08 business, administration and law 3 supplementary

optional, not held pollution legislation optional
optional, not held animal welfare legislation optional
optional, not held environmental legislation optional

09 engineering, manufacturing and construction 2 supplementary

optional, not held animal food products optional
optional, not held watershed development optional

10 handling and moving 2 supplementary

optional, not held label samples optional
optional, not held preserve samples optional

11 working with computers 2 supplementary

optional, not held maintain freelance database optional
optional, not held prepare visual data optional

12 services 1 supplementary

optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional

16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to acquire Tier

optional, not held animal food products optional
optional, not held evolutionary biology optional
optional, not held inspect animal welfare management optional
optional, not held label samples optional
optional, not held pollution legislation optional
optional, not held watershed development optional
optional, not held animal welfare legislation optional
optional, not held chemistry optional
optional, not held environmental legislation optional
optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
optional, not held keep task records optional
optional, not held life sciences optional
optional, not held maintain freelance database optional
optional, not held prepare visual data optional
optional, not held preserve samples optional
optional, not held write research proposals optional

62 held skills the zoology technician role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role archive healthcare users' records skill
not needed by the target role automated analysers in the medical laboratory knowledge
not needed by the target role biological chemistry knowledge
not needed by the target role blood collection on babies knowledge
not needed by the target role blood donation knowledge
not needed by the target role blood transfusion knowledge
not needed by the target role blood type classification knowledge
not needed by the target role carry out flow cytometry skill
not needed by the target role carry out quality control in microbiology laboratories skill
not needed by the target role check the received biological samples skill
not needed by the target role clinical biochemistry knowledge
not needed by the target role clinical cytology knowledge
not needed by the target role collect biological samples from patients skill
not needed by the target role communicate in healthcare skill
not needed by the target role conduct cancer screening tests skill
not needed by the target role conduct routine blood testing skill
not needed by the target role data protection knowledge
not needed by the target role densiometry knowledge
not needed by the target role dermapathology knowledge
not needed by the target role dispose medical waste skill
not needed by the target role electroencephalography knowledge
not needed by the target role examine cell specimens microscopically skill
not needed by the target role examine samples in dermatology skill
not needed by the target role explain the molecular basis of a disease to patients skill
not needed by the target role fine-needle aspiration knowledge
not needed by the target role histopathology knowledge
not needed by the target role identify patients' medical records skill
not needed by the target role immunology knowledge
not needed by the target role interpret hematological test results skill
not needed by the target role interpret medical results skill
not needed by the target role interpret urology diagnostic tests skill
not needed by the target role label blood samples skill
not needed by the target role maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
not needed by the target role maintain medical laboratory equipment skill
not needed by the target role microscopic techniques knowledge
not needed by the target role mix chemicals skill
not needed by the target role monitor stock level skill
not needed by the target role operate scientific measuring equipment skill
not needed by the target role order supplies skill
not needed by the target role paediatric phlebotomy procedures knowledge

22 further entries not listed here

15 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 animal behaviour required
required, not held applied zoology required
required, not held laboratory equipment required
required, not held animal biology required
required, not held biology required
required, not held scientific research methodology required
optional, not held animal food products optional
optional, not held evolutionary biology optional
optional, not held pollution legislation optional
optional, not held watershed development optional
optional, not held animal welfare legislation optional
optional, not held chemistry optional
optional, not held environmental legislation optional
optional, not held hazardous waste storage optional
optional, not held life sciences optional

Index

Other moves recorded from medical laboratory assistant

Full index of moves from medical laboratory assistant

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.