Aerodynamics engineer to aerospace engineering drafter
An aerodynamics engineer already meets 54% of what the aerospace engineering drafter role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
49.1/ 100
1 How much of what an aerospace engineering drafter is expected to do is already part of an aerodynamics engineer’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 aerospace engineering drafter role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An aerospace engineering drafter role treats 13 of its required skills as things an aerodynamics engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- CAE software
- ICT software specifications
- aircraft mechanics
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- execute analytical mathematical calculations
What stands in the way is 5 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 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An aerospace engineering drafter role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an aerodynamics engineer background worth leading with.
- already held aircraft mechanics engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held material mechanics engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held multimedia systems arts and humanities
- already held ICT software specifications information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held CAE software information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held execute analytical mathematical calculations information skills
All 16 carried skills, including the 13 the aerospace engineering drafter role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 missing skills fall into 10 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 use CADD software required
- still to learn use computer-aided engineering systems required
- optional, not held use CAD software optional
- still to learn design drawings required
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held unmanned air systems optional
- optional, not held electromechanics optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- still to learn CADD software required
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- still to learn create technical plans 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 render 3D images optional
- optional, not held use manual draughting techniques optional
- optional, not held common aviation safety regulations optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an aerospace engineering drafter 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 · The rest of the record
All 16 skills that carry over
- already held CAE software knowledge
- already held ICT software specifications knowledge
- already held aircraft mechanics knowledge
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- already held liaise with engineers skill
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held mechanics knowledge
- already held multimedia systems knowledge
- already held read engineering drawings skill
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held material mechanics knowledge
- already held physics knowledge
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held archive documentation related to work optional
- optional, not held define part requirements optional
- optional, not held synthetic natural environment optional
- optional, not held 3D modelling optional
- optional, not held defense system optional
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held archive documentation related to work optional
- optional, not held common aviation safety regulations optional
- optional, not held defense system optional
- optional, not held define part requirements optional
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
- optional, not held synthetic natural environment optional
- optional, not held unmanned air systems optional
- optional, not held 3D modelling optional
- optional, not held CAD software 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 electromechanics optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
- optional, not held render 3D images optional
- optional, not held use CAD software optional
- optional, not held use manual draughting techniques optional
19 held skills the aerospace engineering drafter role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role aerodynamics knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse stress resistance of products skill
- not needed by the target role approve engineering design skill
- not needed by the target role bicycle mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role computer simulation knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct performance tests skill
- not needed by the target role determine production feasibility skill
- not needed by the target role engine components knowledge
- not needed by the target role evaluate engine performance skill
- not needed by the target role examine engineering principles skill
- not needed by the target role mechanical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanics of motor vehicles knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanics of trains knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanics of vessels knowledge
- not needed by the target role operation of different engines knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform scientific research skill
- not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
- not needed by the target role thermodynamics knowledge
- not needed by the target role use technical documentation skill
14 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 CADD software required
- still to learn design drawings required
- optional, not held common aviation safety regulations optional
- optional, not held defense system optional
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
- optional, not held synthetic natural environment optional
- optional, not held unmanned air systems optional
- optional, not held 3D modelling optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- optional, not held electromechanics optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
Common questions about this move
Can an aerodynamics engineer become an aerospace engineering drafter?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An aerodynamics engineer already covers 54% of what an aerospace engineering drafter is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 13 of which the aerospace engineering drafter role treats as required.
What skills does an aerodynamics engineer need to become an aerospace engineering drafter?
5 required skills are missing, plus 20 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with computers. The single most important is CADD software.
How hard is the move from aerodynamics engineer to aerospace engineering drafter?
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.