3D printing technician to product development engineering drafter
A 3D printing technician already meets 50% of what the product development engineering drafter role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
50.7/ 100
1 How much of what a product development engineering drafter 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 product development engineering drafter role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A product development engineering drafter role treats 9 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
- manual draughting techniques
- mathematics
- technical drawings
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 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A product development engineering drafter 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 industrial engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held draft design specifications communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held 3D modelling natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held create technical plans management skills
All 15 carried skills, including the 9 the product development engineering drafter role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 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 engineering processes required
- still to learn circular economy required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held industrial research and development optional
- still to learn define part requirements required
- still to learn read engineering drawings required
- still to learn provide technical documentation required
- still to learn use CADD software 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 draw design sketches optional
- optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a product development engineering drafter role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 define part requirements practise this
- 02 engineering processes study this
- 03 circular economy study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 15 skills that carry over
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held create technical plans skill
- already held design drawings knowledge
- already held manual draughting techniques knowledge
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use manual draughting techniques skill
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held 3D modelling knowledge
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held design principles knowledge
- already held draft design specifications skill
- already held industrial engineering knowledge
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
- optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
- 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 draw design sketches optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held industrial research and development optional
- optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
23 held skills the product development engineering drafter role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role 3D printing process knowledge
- not needed by the target role CADD software knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT software specifications knowledge
- 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 prototypes skill
- 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 identify customer's needs skill
- 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 monitor manufacturing quality standards skill
- 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
9 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 engineering processes required
- still to learn circular economy required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held industrial research and development optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
Common questions about this move
Can a 3D printing technician become a product development engineering drafter?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A 3D printing technician already covers 50% of what a product development engineering drafter is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 9 of which the product development engineering drafter role treats as required.
What skills does a 3D printing technician need to become a product development engineering drafter?
7 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is define part requirements.
How hard is the move from 3D printing technician to product development engineering drafter?
Its learning distance is 50.7 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.