Automotive engineer to equipment engineer
An automotive engineer already meets 55% of what the equipment engineer role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
46.2/ 100
1 How much of what an equipment engineer is expected to do is already part of an automotive 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 equipment engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An equipment engineer role treats 9 of its required skills as things an automotive engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assess financial viability
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- execute feasibility study
- manufacturing processes
- perform scientific research
What stands in the way is 6 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 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An equipment engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an automotive engineer background worth leading with.
- already held apply advanced manufacturing management skills
- already held manage product testing management skills
- already held control production management skills
- already held execute feasibility study information skills
- already held production processes engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held design principles arts and humanities
All 19 carried skills, including the 9 the equipment engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 18 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 interpret technical requirements required
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- optional, not held analyse test data optional
- optional, not held estimate duration of work optional
- still to learn define technical requirements required
- still to learn manage engineering project required
- optional, not held ensure equipment availability optional
- still to learn project management required
- optional, not held product data management optional
- still to learn mathematics required
- optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
- optional, not held computer engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held robotic components optional
- optional, not held robotics optional
- optional, not held maintain equipment optional
- optional, not held use testing equipment optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an equipment engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 interpret technical requirements practise this
- 02 project management study this
- 03 define technical requirements 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 19 skills that carry over
- already held assess financial viability skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held execute feasibility study skill
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held production processes knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held analyse production processes for improvement skill
- already held apply advanced manufacturing skill
- already held control production skill
- already held design principles knowledge
- already held design prototypes skill
- already held electronics knowledge
- already held manage product testing skill
- already held mechanical engineering knowledge
- already held record test data skill
- already held use CAD software skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held inspect industrial equipment optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
- optional, not held analyse test data optional
- optional, not held computer engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment availability optional
- optional, not held estimate duration of work optional
- optional, not held inspect industrial equipment optional
- optional, not held maintain equipment optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
- optional, not held robotic components optional
- optional, not held robotics optional
- optional, not held use testing equipment optional
36 held skills the equipment engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role CAE software knowledge
- not needed by the target role European vehicle type-approval legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role adjust engineering designs skill
- not needed by the target role advanced driver assistant systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role anticipate change in car technology skill
- not needed by the target role apply reverse engineering skill
- not needed by the target role approve engineering design skill
- not needed by the target role automotive engineering skill
- not needed by the target role build a product's physical model skill
- not needed by the target role compare alternative vehicles skill
- not needed by the target role conduct performance tests 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 electromechanical systems skill
- not needed by the target role develop test procedures skill
- not needed by the target role disassemble equipment skill
- not needed by the target role draft design specifications skill
- not needed by the target role electrical testing methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role electromechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role green automotive technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role guidance, navigation and control knowledge
- not needed by the target role hybrid vehicle architecture knowledge
- not needed by the target role industrial engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role information structure knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanics of motor vehicles knowledge
- not needed by the target role model based system engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform market research skill
- not needed by the target role precision mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare production prototypes skill
- not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role reverse engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role synthetic natural environment knowledge
- not needed by the target role use CAM software skill
- not needed by the target role use automotive diagnostic equipment skill
- not needed by the target role vehicle type-approval knowledge
- not needed by the target role vehicle-to-everything technologies knowledge
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 project management required
- still to learn mathematics required
- optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
- optional, not held computer engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
- optional, not held robotic components optional
- optional, not held robotics optional
Common questions about this move
Can an automotive engineer become an equipment engineer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An automotive engineer already covers 55% of what an equipment engineer is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 9 of which the equipment engineer role treats as required.
What skills does an automotive engineer need to become an equipment engineer?
6 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is interpret technical requirements.
How hard is the move from automotive engineer to equipment engineer?
Its learning distance is 46.2 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.