3D printing technician to printed circuit board designer
A 3D printing technician already meets 49% of what the printed circuit board designer role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
49.1/ 100
1 How much of what a printed circuit board designer is expected to do is already part of a 3D printing 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 printed circuit board designer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A printed circuit board designer role treats 7 of its required skills as things a 3D printing technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- CAD software
- create technical plans
- design drawings
- draft design specifications
- mathematics
- use CAD software
What stands in the way is 7 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 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A printed circuit board designer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a 3D printing technician background worth leading with.
- already held manual draughting techniques arts and humanities
- already held use manual draughting techniques communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held CADD software information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held draft design specifications communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held create technical plans management skills
- already held monitor manufacturing quality standards information skills
All 14 carried skills, including the 7 the printed circuit board designer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 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 electricity required
- still to learn electronics required
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- still to learn interpret circuit diagrams required
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- still to learn design circuit boards required
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- still to learn test printed circuit boards required
- still to learn printed circuit boards required
- optional, not held ensure equipment maintenance optional
- optional, not held plan manufacturing processes optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a printed circuit board designer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 interpret circuit diagrams practise this
- 02 test printed circuit boards practise this
- 03 design circuit boards practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 14 skills that carry over
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held create technical plans skill
- already held design drawings knowledge
- already held draft design specifications skill
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held CADD software knowledge
- already held design prototypes skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held manual draughting techniques knowledge
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
- already held monitor manufacturing quality standards skill
- already held use manual draughting techniques skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held use CADD software optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment maintenance optional
- optional, not held plan manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held use CADD software optional
24 held skills the printed circuit board designer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role 3D modelling knowledge
- not needed by the target role 3D printing process knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT software specifications knowledge
- not needed by the target role adjust engineering designs skill
- not needed by the target role advise client on technical possibilities skill
- not needed by the target role blueprints knowledge
- not needed by the target role calculate materials to build equipment skill
- not needed by the target role clean equipment skill
- not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
- not needed by the target role design principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role determine suitability of materials skill
- not needed by the target role digitization knowledge
- not needed by the target role industrial engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintenance of printing machines knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintenance operations knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate 3D computer graphics software skill
- not needed by the target role operate printing machinery skill
- not needed by the target role printing materials knowledge
- not needed by the target role printing on large scale machines knowledge
- not needed by the target role printing techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role product comprehension knowledge
- not needed by the target role prosthetic devices knowledge
- not needed by the target role technical drawings knowledge
5 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 electricity required
- still to learn electronics required
- still to learn printed circuit boards required
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
Common questions about this move
Can a 3D printing technician become a printed circuit board designer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A 3D printing technician already covers 49% of what a printed circuit board designer is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 7 of which the printed circuit board designer role treats as required.
What skills does a 3D printing technician need to become a printed circuit board designer?
7 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is interpret circuit diagrams.
How hard is the move from 3D printing technician to printed circuit board designer?
Its learning distance is 49.1 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.