Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Automotive engineering drafter to product development engineering drafter

An automotive engineering drafter already meets 69% of what the product development engineering drafter role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From automotive engineering drafter
69 % overlap
Strong match
To product development engineering drafter
20 You already bring
3 Still to learn
34 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

32.7/ 100

1 How much of what a product development engineering drafter is expected to do is already part of an automotive engineering drafter’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 product development engineering drafter role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A product development engineering drafter role treats 13 of its required skills as things an automotive engineering drafter already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • CAD software
  • create technical plans
  • design drawings
  • engineering principles
  • engineering processes
  • manual draughting techniques

What stands in the way is 3 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 20 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A product development engineering drafter role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an automotive engineering drafter background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held use CADD software working with computers
  • already held manual draughting techniques arts and humanities
  • already held use manual draughting techniques communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held develop assembly instructions communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held product data management business, administration and law
  • already held draw blueprints communication, collaboration and creativity

All 20 carried skills, including the 13 the product development engineering drafter role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 14 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required, 6 supplementary
  • still to learn circular economy required
  • optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
  • optional, not held electrical engineering optional
  • optional, not held electronics optional
  • optional, not held industrial engineering optional
  • optional, not held industrial research and development optional
  • optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
02 information skills 1 required
  • still to learn define part requirements required
03 management skills 1 required
  • still to learn provide technical documentation required
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held draft design specifications optional
  • optional, not held draw design sketches optional
05 arts and humanities 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held design principles optional
06 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held design management optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a product development engineering drafter role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 20 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held CAD software knowledge
  • already held create technical plans skill
  • already held design drawings knowledge
  • already held engineering principles knowledge
  • already held engineering processes knowledge
  • already held manual draughting techniques knowledge
  • already held mathematics knowledge
  • already held read engineering drawings skill
  • already held technical drawings knowledge
  • already held use CAD software skill
  • already held use CADD software skill
  • already held use manual draughting techniques skill
  • already held use technical drawing software skill
  • already held 3D modelling knowledge
  • already held adjust engineering designs skill
  • already held create a product's virtual model skill
  • already held develop assembly instructions skill
  • already held draw blueprints skill
  • already held liaise with engineers skill
  • already held product data management knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 handling and moving 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held design management optional
  • optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
  • optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
  • optional, not held design principles optional
  • optional, not held draft design specifications optional
  • optional, not held draw design sketches optional
  • optional, not held electrical engineering optional
  • optional, not held electronics optional
  • optional, not held industrial engineering optional
  • optional, not held industrial research and development optional
  • optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
16 held skills the product development engineering drafter role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role CAE software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ICT software specifications knowledge
  • not needed by the target role archive documentation related to work skill
  • not needed by the target role defense system knowledge
  • not needed by the target role electromechanics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
  • 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 material mechanics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role mechanics of motor vehicles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role physics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role render 3D images skill
  • not needed by the target role synthetic natural environment knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use computer-aided engineering systems skill
  • not needed by the target role use spreadsheets software skill
9 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn circular economy required
  • optional, not held design management optional
  • optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
  • optional, not held design principles optional
  • optional, not held electrical engineering optional
  • optional, not held electronics optional
  • optional, not held industrial engineering optional
  • optional, not held industrial research and development optional
  • optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an automotive engineering drafter become a product development engineering drafter?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. An automotive engineering drafter already covers 69% of what a product development engineering drafter is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 13 of which the product development engineering drafter role treats as required.

What skills does an automotive engineering drafter need to become a product development engineering drafter?

3 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is define part requirements.

How hard is the move from automotive engineering drafter to product development engineering drafter?

Its learning distance is 32.7 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.