Aerospace engineer to flight test engineer
An 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.
47.3/ 100
1 How much of what a flight test engineer is expected to do is already part of an aerospace 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 flight test engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A flight test engineer role treats 12 of its required skills as things an aerospace engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- 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 an 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 may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 6 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 operate two-way radio systems required
- still to learn 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
- still to learn aircraft flight control systems required
- still to learn aviation meteorology required
- optional, not held visual flight rules optional
- still to learn analyse test data required
- optional, not held perform routine flight operations checks optional
- optional, not held inspect aircraft manufacturing optional
- still to learn common aviation safety regulations required
- still to learn 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 study this
- 02 aviation meteorology study this
- 03 common aviation safety regulations 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 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.
- still to learn aircraft flight control systems required
- still to learn aviation meteorology required
- still to learn 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
Common questions about this move
Can an aerospace engineer become a flight test engineer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An aerospace engineer already covers 57% of what a flight test engineer is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 12 of which the flight test engineer role treats as required.
What skills does an aerospace engineer need to become a flight test engineer?
7 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with machinery and specialised equipment. The single most important is aircraft flight control systems.
How hard is the move from aerospace engineer to flight test engineer?
Its learning distance is 47.3 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.