Drainage engineer to water engineer
A drainage engineer already meets 61% of what the water engineer role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
52.8/ 100
1 How much of what a water engineer is expected to do is already part of a drainage 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 water engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A water engineer role treats 19 of its required skills as things a drainage engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adjust engineering designs
- advise on irrigation projects
- approve engineering design
- create designs for pipeline engineering
- detect flaws in pipeline infrastructure
- develop flood remediation strategies
What stands in the way is 5 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 36 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A water engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a drainage engineer background worth leading with.
- already held design drainage well systems communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held advise on irrigation projects communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held develop flood remediation strategies management skills
- already held develop irrigation strategies management skills
- already held create designs for pipeline engineering communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held flood remediation equipment services
All 36 carried skills, including the 19 the water engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 37 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 conserve water resource required
- still to learn analyse community needs required
- optional, not held design piers optional
- optional, not held design sprinkler systems optional
- optional, not held design weirs optional
- optional, not held advise on soil and water protection optional
- optional, not held design dams optional
- optional, not held develop sewerage networks optional
- optional, not held advise on environmental remediation optional
- optional, not held develop water purification methods optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- still to learn interpret scientific data to assess water quality required
- optional, not held measure water quality parameters optional
- optional, not held perform pipeline routing studies optional
- optional, not held perform water chemistry analysis optional
- optional, not held compute irrigation pressure optional
- optional, not held manage water quality testing optional
- optional, not held monitor water quality optional
- optional, not held perform water testing procedures optional
- still to learn lead a team in water management required
- optional, not held develop water supply schedule optional
- optional, not held supervise sewerage systems construction optional
- optional, not held supervise waste disposal optional
- optional, not held supervise waste water treatments optional
- optional, not held develop environmental remediation strategies optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment maintenance optional
- still to learn landscape design required
- optional, not held watershed development optional
- optional, not held maintain irrigation controllers optional
- optional, not held manage desalination control system optional
- optional, not held perform water treatment procedures optional
- optional, not held use water disinfection equipment optional
- optional, not held inspect pipelines optional
- optional, not held install irrigation systems optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a water engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 conserve water resource practise this
- 02 lead a team in water management practise this
- 03 landscape design 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 36 skills that carry over
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held advise on irrigation projects skill
- already held approve engineering design skill
- already held create designs for pipeline engineering skill
- already held detect flaws in pipeline infrastructure skill
- already held develop flood remediation strategies skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held ensure compliance with environmental legislation skill
- already held ensure compliance with safety legislation skill
- already held flood remediation equipment knowledge
- already held hydraulic fluid knowledge
- already held hydraulics knowledge
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held types of pipelines knowledge
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held water policies knowledge
- already held water reuse knowledge
- already held advise on pollution prevention skill
- already held analyse route possibilities in pipeline projects skill
- already held conserve natural resources skill
- already held consider the impact of material characteristics on pipeline flows skill
- already held design drainage well systems skill
- already held develop irrigation strategies skill
- already held ensure regulatory compliance in pipeline infrastructures skill
- already held environmental engineering knowledge
- already held follow up pipeline integrity management priorities skill
- already held identify risk of flooding skill
- already held irrigation systems knowledge
- already held mitigate environmental impact of pipeline projects skill
- already held monitor legislation developments skill
- already held perform follow-up on pipeline route services skill
- already held pollution prevention knowledge
- already held prepare timelines for pipeline development projects skill
- already held survey sites for pipeline installation skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held water chemistry analysis optional
- optional, not held ecosystems optional
- optional, not held livestock optional
32 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held design piers optional
- optional, not held design sprinkler systems optional
- optional, not held design weirs optional
- optional, not held advise on soil and water protection optional
- optional, not held design dams optional
- optional, not held develop sewerage networks optional
- optional, not held develop water supply schedule optional
- optional, not held inspect pipelines optional
- optional, not held livestock optional
- optional, not held maintain irrigation controllers optional
- optional, not held manage desalination control system optional
- optional, not held measure water quality parameters optional
- optional, not held perform pipeline routing studies optional
- optional, not held perform water chemistry analysis optional
- optional, not held perform water treatment procedures optional
- optional, not held supervise sewerage systems construction optional
- optional, not held supervise waste disposal optional
- optional, not held supervise waste water treatments optional
- optional, not held use water disinfection equipment optional
- optional, not held water chemistry analysis optional
- optional, not held watershed development optional
- optional, not held advise on environmental remediation optional
- optional, not held compute irrigation pressure optional
- optional, not held develop environmental remediation strategies optional
- optional, not held develop water purification methods optional
- optional, not held ecosystems optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment maintenance optional
- optional, not held install irrigation systems optional
- optional, not held manage water quality testing optional
- optional, not held monitor water quality optional
- optional, not held perform water testing procedures optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
1 held skills the water engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role hydrology knowledge
5 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 landscape design required
- optional, not held livestock optional
- optional, not held water chemistry analysis optional
- optional, not held watershed development optional
- optional, not held ecosystems optional
Common questions about this move
Can a drainage engineer become a water engineer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A drainage engineer already covers 61% of what a water engineer is expected to do: 36 skills carry over, 19 of which the water engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a drainage engineer need to become a water engineer?
5 required skills are missing, plus 32 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is conserve water resource.
How hard is the move from drainage engineer to water engineer?
Its learning distance is 52.8 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.