Air traffic safety technician to second officer
An air traffic safety technician already meets 39% of what the second officer role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.
65.8/ 100
1 How much of what a second officer is expected to do is already part of an air traffic safety 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 second officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A second officer role treats 12 of its required skills as things an air traffic safety technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- address aircraft mechanical issues
- air transport law
- aircraft flight control systems
- airport safety regulations
- aviation meteorology
- common aviation safety regulations
What stands in the way is 16 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 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A second officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an air traffic safety technician background worth leading with.
- already held perform aircraft maintenance working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held address aircraft mechanical issues working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held airport safety regulations services
- already held operate cockpit control panels working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held ensure aircraft compliance with regulation assisting and caring
- already held electrical systems used in transportation engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 12 carried skills, including the 12 the second officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 24 missing skills fall into 8 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 ensure compliance with airport security measures required
- still to learn ensure public safety and security required
- still to learn comply with checklists required
- still to learn deal with challenging work conditions required
- still to learn ensure ongoing compliance with regulations required
- still to learn undertake procedures to meet aircraft flight requirements required
- optional, not held apply airport standards and regulations optional
- still to learn carry out navigational calculations required
- still to learn inspect aircraft required
- still to learn perform routine flight operations checks required
- still to learn interpret visual literacy required
- still to learn read 3D displays required
- still to learn ensure smooth on board operations required
- still to learn handle stressful situations in the work place required
- optional, not held consider economic criteria in decision making optional
- optional, not held make independent operating decisions optional
- still to learn geographic areas required
- optional, not held geostationary satellites optional
- optional, not held launching of satellites into orbit optional
- still to learn follow verbal instructions required
- optional, not held respond to changing navigation circumstances optional
- still to learn airport planning required
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a second officer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 airport planning study this
- 02 carry out navigational calculations practise this
- 03 ensure compliance with airport security measures 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 12 skills that carry over
- already held address aircraft mechanical issues skill
- already held air transport law knowledge
- already held aircraft flight control systems knowledge
- already held airport safety regulations knowledge
- already held aviation meteorology knowledge
- already held common aviation safety regulations knowledge
- already held electrical systems used in transportation knowledge
- already held electronics knowledge
- already held ensure aircraft compliance with regulation skill
- already held operate cockpit control panels skill
- already held perform aircraft maintenance skill
- already held use meteorological information skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held have computer literacy optional
- optional, not held undertake procedures to meet helicopter flight requirements optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply airport standards and regulations optional
- optional, not held geostationary satellites optional
- optional, not held respond to changing navigation circumstances optional
- optional, not held undertake procedures to meet helicopter flight requirements optional
- optional, not held consider economic criteria in decision making optional
- optional, not held have computer literacy optional
- optional, not held launching of satellites into orbit optional
- optional, not held make independent operating decisions optional
43 held skills the second officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise aircraft in hazardous conditions skill
- not needed by the target role air traffic control operations knowledge
- not needed by the target role air traffic management knowledge
- not needed by the target role aircraft mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role airport electrical systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role assess operating cost skill
- not needed by the target role assist in the conducting of flight checks skill
- not needed by the target role carry out preventive airport maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role comply with air traffic control operations skill
- not needed by the target role conduct airport safety inspections skill
- not needed by the target role conduct safe aircraft marshalling skill
- not needed by the target role deal with air traffic issues skill
- not needed by the target role debug software skill
- not needed by the target role design control systems skill
- not needed by the target role design electrical systems skill
- not needed by the target role design electronic systems skill
- not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure safety in international aviation skill
- not needed by the target role follow airport safety procedures skill
- not needed by the target role follow industry codes of practice for aviation safety skill
- not needed by the target role global navigation satellite system performance parameters knowledge
- not needed by the target role implement airside safety procedures skill
- not needed by the target role implement safety management systems skill
- not needed by the target role implement the airside safety auditing system skill
- not needed by the target role inspect aircraft for airworthiness skill
- not needed by the target role install electrical and electronic equipment skill
- not needed by the target role install software skill
- not needed by the target role maintain electronic equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage air navigation services skill
- not needed by the target role monitor customer safety on apron skill
- not needed by the target role operate radar equipment skill
- not needed by the target role oversee quality control skill
- not needed by the target role perform necessary checks before moving aircraft onto stand skill
- not needed by the target role safety engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role surveillance radars knowledge
- not needed by the target role technical drawings knowledge
- not needed by the target role test circuitry skill
- not needed by the target role test electrical equipment skill
- not needed by the target role types of aircraft knowledge
- not needed by the target role undertake navigation safety actions skill
3 further entries not listed here
4 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 airport planning required
- still to learn geographic areas required
- optional, not held geostationary satellites optional
- optional, not held launching of satellites into orbit optional
Other moves recorded from air traffic safety technician
Common questions about this move
Can an air traffic safety technician become a second officer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An air traffic safety technician already covers 39% of what a second officer is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 12 of which the second officer role treats as required.
What skills does an air traffic safety technician need to become a second officer?
16 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is airport planning.
How hard is the move from air traffic safety technician to second officer?
Its learning distance is 65.8 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.