aerospace engineertoflight test engineer
A aerospace engineer already meets 57% of what the flight test engineer role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
57%
47.3/ 100
1 Share of the flight test engineer role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the aerospace engineer 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 this move works
A flight test engineer role treats 12 of its required skills as things a aerospace engineer already does. These are the ones it depends on most.
- adjust engineering designs
- approve engineering design
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- ensure aircraft compliance with regulation
- industrial engineering
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 17 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A flight test engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a aerospace engineer background worth leading with.
- already held plan test flights management skills
- already held aerospace engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held aerodynamics engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held ensure aircraft compliance with regulation assisting and caring
- already held industrial engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held production processes engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 17 carried skills, including the 12 the flight test engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you would need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 6 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.
- required, not held operate two-way radio systems required
- required, not held operate radio navigation instruments required
- optional, not held perform flight manoeuvres optional
- optional, not held perform take off and landing optional
- optional, not held operate cockpit control panels optional
- required, not held aircraft flight control systems required
- required, not held aviation meteorology required
- optional, not held visual flight rules optional
- required, not held analyse test data required
- optional, not held perform routine flight operations checks optional
- optional, not held inspect aircraft manufacturing optional
- required, not held common aviation safety regulations required
- required, not held oversee aircraft sensor and recording systems required
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held instrumentation engineering optional
- optional, not held instrumentation equipment optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a flight test engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 aircraft flight control systems knowledge · sector specific
- 02 aviation meteorology knowledge · sector specific
- 03 common aviation safety regulations knowledge · sector specific
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 17 skills that carry over
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held approve engineering design skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held ensure aircraft compliance with regulation skill
- already held industrial engineering knowledge
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held plan test flights skill
- already held production processes knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held aerodynamics knowledge
- already held aerospace engineering knowledge
- already held conduct performance tests skill
- already held mechanical engineering knowledge
- already held record test data skill
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held perform flight manoeuvres optional
- optional, not held perform routine flight operations checks optional
- optional, not held perform take off and landing optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held inspect aircraft manufacturing optional
- optional, not held instrumentation engineering optional
- optional, not held instrumentation equipment optional
- optional, not held operate cockpit control panels optional
- optional, not held visual flight rules optional
30 held skills the flight test engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role CAE software knowledge
- not needed by the target role aircraft mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse production processes for improvement skill
- not needed by the target role apply advanced manufacturing skill
- not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
- not needed by the target role build a product's physical model skill
- not needed by the target role computer simulation knowledge
- not needed by the target role control production skill
- not needed by the target role create a product's virtual model skill
- not needed by the target role defense system knowledge
- not needed by the target role design principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role design prototypes skill
- not needed by the target role develop test procedures skill
- not needed by the target role draft design specifications skill
- not needed by the target role execute feasibility study skill
- not needed by the target role fluid mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role guidance, navigation and control knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage product testing skill
- not needed by the target role material mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role mathematical modelling knowledge
- not needed by the target role oversee assembly operations skill
- not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role safety engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role state estimation knowledge
- not needed by the target role stealth technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role synthetic natural environment knowledge
- not needed by the target role troubleshoot skill
- not needed by the target role unmanned air systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role use CAD software skill
- not needed by the target role use CAM software skill
8 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- required, not held aircraft flight control systems required
- required, not held aviation meteorology required
- required, not held common aviation safety regulations required
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held instrumentation engineering optional
- optional, not held instrumentation equipment optional
- optional, not held visual flight rules optional
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.