The skills are often dependent on each other; for example, to get 'Expert Engineer' you must first obtain: Basic Scientific Knowledge, Engineering Knowledge, Skilled Engineer and Adept Engineer skills.
Some skills require two different skills! You might want to look at the
fancy skill tree monstrosity that I've createdTACTICAL:
Basic Tactical Training (BTT, 8 points): Certified Officers start with this; allows operating Tactical consoles
-Skilled Battle Manuevering (SBM, 1 point): When operating Main Tactical Console, +4% Ship Evade
--Adept Battle Manuevering (ABM, 2 points): When operating Main Tactical Console, +7% Ship Evade
---Expert Battle Manuevering (EBM, 3 points): When operating Main Tactical Console, +11% Ship Evade
-Skilled Weaponry Operation (SWO, 1 point): +5% Hit with currently operated Weapon
--Adept Weaponry Operation (AWO, 2 points): +9% Hit with currently operated Weapon
---Expert Weaponry Operation (EWO, 3 points): +16% Hit with currently operated Weapon
--Understanding in Alien Weaponry Operation (UAW, 2 points): Allows operating a non-Human weapon with -10% Hit bonus
---Expertise in Alien Weaponry Operation (EAW, 2 points): +5% Hit with Alien Weapons
----Mastery in Alien Weaponry Operation (MAW, 3 points): +10% Hit with Alien Weapons
-Skilled Shield Modulation (SSM, 2 points): When operating Main Tactical Console, +10% to Shield Regen
--Expert Shield Modulation (ESM, 3 points): When operating Main Tactical Console, +20% to Shield Regen
--Efficient Shield Operations (ESO, 3 points): When operating Main Tactical Console, Shields absorb extra 10% of damage
--[Exp.Shield Modulation + Efficient Shield Operations]
---Shield Operations Mastery (SOM, 3 points): When operating Main Tactical Console, +25% to Shield Regen and Shields absorb extra 15% of damage
-[Skl.Combat Manuevering + Skl.Weaponry Operation]
--Unorthodox Combat Tactics (UCT, 3 points): When operating Main Tactical Console, +5% Ship Evade and +5% Hit to all Weapons
-Advanced Damage Control Operations (ADC, 2 points): When operating Main Tactical Console, repairs take 1 Combat Turn less
-Electronic Counter-Measures Training (ECM, 2 points): When operating Main Tactical Console, increases ECM Systems efficiency by 10%
--Electronic Counter-Counter-Measures Specialization (ECC, 3 points): When operating Science Console, reduces efficiency of enemy ECM by 20%
Total skill points in Tactical: 40(+8)
SCIENCES:
Basic Scientific Knowledge (BSK, 8 points): Certified Scientists start with this; allows operating Science Console and do Research
-Engineering Knowledge (EK, 1 point): Allows Manufacturing
--Skilled Engineer (SE, 2 points): Lowers Manufacturing time by 5%
---Adept Engineer (AE, 3 points): Lowers Manufacturing time by 10%
----Expert Engineer (EE, 4 points): Lowers Manufacturing time by 20%
--Repair and Replacement Operations (RAR, 2 points): Repairing disabled ship systems takes 20% less time
-Advanced Sciences (AS, 2 points): Extra knowledge on more esoteric and theoretical principles; required to unlock several other Science skills
--Theoretical Xeno-Linguistic Programming (TXL, 1 point): Gives 8% chance to produce elementary translation of the language of newly met species
---Advanced Xeno-Linguistic Programming (AXL, 2 points): Gives 16% chance to produce elementary translation of the language of newly met species
----Expert Xeno-Linguistic Programming (EXL, 3 points): Gives 24% chance to produce elementary translation of the language of newly met species
--Alien Technology (AT, 3 points): Reduces Research time by 10%
---Alien Weapons Technology Specialization (AWT, 2 points): Reduces Research time on Weapons by 20%
---Alien Electronics Technology Specialization (AET, 2 points): Reduces Research time on Systems and Shields by 20%
---Alien Propulsion Technology Specialization (APT, 2 points): Reduces Research time on Engines and Thrusters by 20%
-[Engineering Knowledge + Advanced Sciences]
--High Efficiency Propulsion Operations (HEP, 3 points): When operating Science Console, increases Propulsion Factor by 0.2
-Astro-Physics Specialization (APS, 2 points): When operating Science Console, reduces time required to do Planetary Scan by 0.1
-Sensors and Telemetry Specialization (STS, 2 points): When operating Science Console, extends Sensor Range by 1 sector
--Combat Sensors Calibration (CSC, 2 points): When operating Science Console, all Weapons get +3% Hit
-[Astro-Physics Knowledge + Sensors and Telemetry Specialization]
--Background Radiation Physics (BRP, 2 points): When operating Science Console, extends Sensor Range by 1 sector, but only for detection of celestial bodies
-Xeno-Biology Specialization (XBK, 2 points): When operating Science Console, reduces time required to Collect Bio-Data by 0.1
-Medbay Training (MT, 2 points): When in Medbay, reduces healing time of wounded/sick crewmembers by 10%
--Anatomy and Medicine Studies (AMS, 3 points): When in Medbay, reduces healing time of wounded/sick crewmembers by 30%
Total skill points in Sciences: 47(+8)