Avionics inspector to aircraft engine tester
An avionics inspector already meets 64% of what the aircraft engine tester role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
40.1/ 100
1 How much of what an aircraft engine tester is expected to do is already part of an avionics inspector’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 aircraft engine tester role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An aircraft engine tester role treats 12 of its required skills as things an avionics inspector already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- aircraft mechanics
- common aviation safety regulations
- conduct performance tests
- create solutions to problems
- electromechanics
- engineering processes
What stands in the way is 7 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 22 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An aircraft engine tester role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an avionics inspector background worth leading with.
- already held inspect aircraft for airworthiness information skills
- already held aircraft mechanics engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held send faulty equipment back to assembly line handling and moving
- already held manage maintenance operations management skills
- already held common aviation safety regulations business, administration and law
- already held lead inspections information skills
All 22 carried skills, including the 12 the aircraft engine tester role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 12 missing skills fall into 4 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 diagnose defective engines required
- still to learn evaluate engine performance required
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- still to learn record test data required
- optional, not held write records for repairs optional
- still to learn operation of different engines required
- still to learn engine components required
- still to learn operate precision measuring equipment required
- optional, not held disassemble engines optional
- optional, not held re-assemble engines optional
- optional, not held operate lifting equipment optional
- optional, not held position engine on test stand optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an aircraft engine tester role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 diagnose defective engines practise this
- 02 evaluate engine performance practise this
- 03 operation of different engines 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 22 skills that carry over
- already held aircraft mechanics knowledge
- already held common aviation safety regulations knowledge
- already held conduct performance tests skill
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held electromechanics knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held mechanics knowledge
- already held perform test run skill
- already held read engineering drawings skill
- already held read standard blueprints skill
- already held use technical documentation skill
- already held use testing equipment skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held inspect aircraft for airworthiness skill
- already held lead inspections skill
- already held liaise with engineers skill
- already held maintain test equipment skill
- already held manage maintenance operations skill
- already held quality assurance procedures knowledge
- already held send faulty equipment back to assembly line skill
- already held supervise staff skill
- already held supervise work skill
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held disassemble engines optional
- optional, not held position engine on test stand optional
- optional, not held re-assemble engines optional
- optional, not held write records for repairs optional
- optional, not held operate lifting equipment optional
14 held skills the aircraft engine tester role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role act as contact person during equipment incident skill
- not needed by the target role aircraft flight control systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role calibrate electronic instruments skill
- not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role electricity knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect quality of products skill
- not needed by the target role interpret electrical diagrams skill
- not needed by the target role issue licences skill
- not needed by the target role manage health and safety standards skill
- not needed by the target role operate electronic measuring instruments skill
- not needed by the target role prepare audit activities skill
- not needed by the target role test electronic units skill
- not needed by the target role write inspection reports skill
2 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 operation of different engines required
- still to learn engine components required
Common questions about this move
Can an avionics inspector become an aircraft engine tester?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An avionics inspector already covers 64% of what an aircraft engine tester is expected to do: 22 skills carry over, 12 of which the aircraft engine tester role treats as required.
What skills does an avionics inspector need to become an aircraft engine tester?
7 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is diagnose defective engines.
How hard is the move from avionics inspector to aircraft engine tester?
Its learning distance is 40.1 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.