Automated optical inspection operator to printed circuit board test technician
An automated optical inspection operator already meets 62% of what the printed circuit board test technician role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
46.3/ 100
1 How much of what a printed circuit board test technician is expected to do is already part of an automated optical inspection operator’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 printed circuit board test technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A printed circuit board test technician role treats 15 of its required skills as things an automated optical inspection operator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- communicate test results to other departments
- electronic equipment standards
- electronics
- ensure conformity to specifications
- inspect quality of products
- instrument performance elements
What stands in the way is 11 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 32 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A printed circuit board test technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an automated optical inspection operator background worth leading with.
- already held automated optical inspection health and welfare
- already held operate automated optical inspection machine working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held through-hole technology engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held IPC standards engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held surface-mount technology engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held research equipment needs communication, collaboration and creativity
All 32 carried skills, including the 15 the printed circuit board test technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 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 perform in-circuit test required
- still to learn test printed circuit boards required
- still to learn check for solder defects required
- still to learn perform test run required
- optional, not held apply soldering techniques optional
- optional, not held test hardware optional
- still to learn abide by regulations on banned materials required
- still to learn process customer requests based on the REACh Regulation 1907 2006 required
- still to learn ensure material compliance required
- still to learn measure electrical characteristics required
- still to learn troubleshoot required
- optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
- still to learn printed circuit boards testing methods required
- optional, not held hardware testing methods optional
- still to learn in-circuit test required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a printed circuit board test technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 abide by regulations on banned materials practise this
- 02 ensure material compliance practise this
- 03 in-circuit test 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 32 skills that carry over
- already held communicate test results to other departments skill
- already held electronic equipment standards knowledge
- already held electronics knowledge
- already held ensure conformity to specifications skill
- already held inspect quality of products skill
- already held instrument performance elements knowledge
- already held integrated circuits knowledge
- already held interpret circuit diagrams skill
- already held meet deadlines skill
- already held printed circuit boards knowledge
- already held quality assurance procedures knowledge
- already held read assembly drawings skill
- already held read standard blueprints skill
- already held report defective manufacturing materials skill
- already held send faulty equipment back to assembly line skill
- already held IPC standards knowledge
- already held automated optical inspection knowledge
- already held keep records of work progress skill
- already held liaise with engineers skill
- already held maintain test equipment skill
- already held microelectronics knowledge
- already held monitor machine operations skill
- already held operate automated optical inspection machine skill
- already held remove defective products skill
- already held research equipment needs skill
- already held resolve equipment malfunctions skill
- already held semiconductors knowledge
- already held surface-mount technology knowledge
- already held through-hole technology knowledge
- already held waste removal regulations knowledge
- already held write inspection reports skill
- already held write records for repairs skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held quality standards optional
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply soldering techniques optional
- optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
- optional, not held hardware testing methods optional
- optional, not held quality standards optional
- optional, not held test hardware optional
3 held skills the printed circuit board test technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse images skill
- not needed by the target role check system parameters against reference values skill
- not needed by the target role optical engineering knowledge
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 in-circuit test required
- still to learn printed circuit boards testing methods required
- optional, not held hardware testing methods optional
- optional, not held quality standards optional
Other moves recorded from automated optical inspection operator
- electronic equipment inspector 58% covered · moderate
- precision device inspector 53% covered · moderate
- surface-mount technology machine operator 48% covered · substantial
- computer hardware test technician 45% covered · substantial
Full index of moves from automated optical inspection operator
Common questions about this move
Can an automated optical inspection operator become a printed circuit board test technician?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An automated optical inspection operator already covers 62% of what a printed circuit board test technician is expected to do: 32 skills carry over, 15 of which the printed circuit board test technician role treats as required.
What skills does an automated optical inspection operator need to become a printed circuit board test technician?
11 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by constructing. The single most important is abide by regulations on banned materials.
How hard is the move from automated optical inspection operator to printed circuit board test technician?
Its learning distance is 46.3 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.