Computer hardware test technician to printed circuit board test technician
A computer hardware test technician already meets 63% of what the printed circuit board test technician role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
45.7/ 100
1 How much of what a printed circuit board test technician is expected to do is already part of a computer hardware test technician’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 17 of its required skills as things a computer hardware test technician 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 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 29 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 a computer hardware test technician background worth leading with.
- already held perform in-circuit test constructing
- already held printed circuit boards testing methods information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held test printed circuit boards constructing
- already held test hardware constructing
- already held hardware testing methods information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held research equipment needs communication, collaboration and creativity
All 29 carried skills, including the 17 the printed circuit board test technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 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 in-circuit test required
- still to learn integrated circuits required
- optional, not held IPC standards optional
- optional, not held surface-mount technology optional
- optional, not held through-hole technology optional
- optional, not held semiconductors optional
- still to learn ensure material compliance required
- still to learn report defective manufacturing materials required
- optional, not held write records for repairs optional
- optional, not held monitor machine operations 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 troubleshoot required
- optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
- still to learn check for solder defects required
- optional, not held apply soldering techniques optional
- still to learn printed circuit boards required
2 further areas 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 29 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 interpret circuit diagrams skill
- already held measure electrical characteristics skill
- already held meet deadlines skill
- already held perform in-circuit test skill
- already held perform test run skill
- already held printed circuit boards testing methods knowledge
- already held quality assurance procedures knowledge
- already held read assembly drawings skill
- already held read standard blueprints skill
- already held send faulty equipment back to assembly line skill
- already held test printed circuit boards skill
- already held hardware testing methods 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 quality standards knowledge
- already held remove defective products skill
- already held research equipment needs skill
- already held resolve equipment malfunctions skill
- already held test hardware skill
- already held waste removal regulations knowledge
- already held write inspection reports skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held automated optical inspection optional
- optional, not held operate automated optical inspection machine optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held IPC standards optional
- optional, not held automated optical inspection optional
- optional, not held operate automated optical inspection machine optional
- optional, not held surface-mount technology optional
- optional, not held through-hole technology optional
- optional, not held write records for repairs optional
- optional, not held apply soldering techniques optional
- optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
- optional, not held monitor machine operations optional
- optional, not held semiconductors optional
16 held skills the printed circuit board test technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse test data skill
- not needed by the target role calibrate electronic instruments skill
- not needed by the target role check system parameters against reference values skill
- not needed by the target role conduct quality control analysis skill
- not needed by the target role consumer electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role electrical discharge knowledge
- not needed by the target role hardware architectures knowledge
- not needed by the target role hardware components knowledge
- not needed by the target role hardware materials knowledge
- not needed by the target role hardware platforms knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate precision measuring equipment skill
- not needed by the target role read engineering drawings skill
- not needed by the target role test wireless devices skill
- not needed by the target role use measurement instruments skill
- not needed by the target role use testing equipment skill
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 in-circuit test required
- still to learn integrated circuits required
- still to learn printed circuit boards required
- optional, not held IPC standards optional
- optional, not held automated optical inspection optional
- optional, not held surface-mount technology optional
- optional, not held through-hole technology optional
- optional, not held semiconductors optional
Other moves recorded from computer hardware test technician
Common questions about this move
Can a computer hardware test technician become a printed circuit board test technician?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A computer hardware test technician already covers 63% of what a printed circuit board test technician is expected to do: 29 skills carry over, 17 of which the printed circuit board test technician role treats as required.
What skills does a computer hardware test technician need to become a printed circuit board test technician?
9 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is abide by regulations on banned materials.
How hard is the move from computer hardware test technician to printed circuit board test technician?
Its learning distance is 45.7 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.