Automotive engineer to satellite engineer
An automotive engineer already meets 61% of what the satellite engineer role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
47/ 100
1 How much of what a satellite 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 satellite engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A satellite engineer role treats 11 of its required skills as things an automotive engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adjust engineering designs
- approve engineering design
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- industrial engineering
- manufacturing processes
What stands in the way is 9 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 satellite 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 synthetic natural environment natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held apply advanced manufacturing management skills
- already held model based system engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held manage product testing management skills
- already held guidance, navigation and control engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held build a product's physical model handling and moving
All 32 carried skills, including the 11 the satellite engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 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 geostationary satellites required
- still to learn global navigation satellite system performance parameters required
- still to learn types of satellites required
- still to learn launching of satellites into orbit required
- still to learn unmanned air systems required
- still to learn aerospace engineering required
- optional, not held aerodynamics optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- optional, not held material mechanics optional
- still to learn log transmitter readings required
- optional, not held research satellite launch sites optional
- optional, not held oversee assembly operations optional
- still to learn troubleshoot required
- still to learn monitor satellites required
- optional, not held scientific computing optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a satellite engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 monitor satellites practise this
- 02 geostationary satellites study this
- 03 global navigation satellite system performance parameters 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 adjust engineering designs skill
- already held approve engineering design skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held industrial engineering knowledge
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held production processes knowledge
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held CAE software knowledge
- already held analyse production processes for improvement skill
- already held apply advanced manufacturing skill
- already held build a product's physical model skill
- already held conduct performance tests skill
- already held control production skill
- already held create a product's virtual model skill
- already held defense system knowledge
- already held design principles knowledge
- already held design prototypes skill
- already held develop test procedures skill
- already held draft design specifications skill
- already held execute feasibility study skill
- already held guidance, navigation and control knowledge
- already held manage product testing skill
- already held mechanical engineering knowledge
- already held model based system engineering knowledge
- already held record test data skill
- already held synthetic natural environment knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use CAM software skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held plan space satellite missions optional
- optional, not held develop computer vision system optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held plan space satellite missions optional
- optional, not held research satellite launch sites optional
- optional, not held aerodynamics optional
- optional, not held develop computer vision system optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- optional, not held material mechanics optional
- optional, not held oversee assembly operations optional
- optional, not held scientific computing optional
23 held skills the satellite engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role European vehicle type-approval legislation knowledge
- 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 assess financial viability skill
- not needed by the target role automotive engineering skill
- not needed by the target role compare alternative vehicles skill
- not needed by the target role design electromechanical systems skill
- not needed by the target role disassemble equipment 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 electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role green automotive technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role hybrid vehicle architecture 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 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 reverse engineering knowledge
- 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
10 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 geostationary satellites required
- still to learn global navigation satellite system performance parameters required
- still to learn types of satellites required
- still to learn unmanned air systems required
- still to learn aerospace engineering required
- still to learn launching of satellites into orbit required
- optional, not held aerodynamics optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- optional, not held material mechanics optional
- optional, not held scientific computing optional
Common questions about this move
Can an automotive engineer become a satellite engineer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An automotive engineer already covers 61% of what a satellite engineer is expected to do: 32 skills carry over, 11 of which the satellite engineer role treats as required.
What skills does an automotive engineer need to become a satellite engineer?
9 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by natural sciences, mathematics and statistics. The single most important is monitor satellites.
How hard is the move from automotive engineer to satellite engineer?
Its learning distance is 47 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.