Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Electrical drafter to integrated circuit design engineer

An electrical drafter already meets 60% of what the integrated circuit design engineer role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From electrical drafter
60 % overlap
Strong match
To integrated circuit design engineer
24 You already bring
8 Still to learn
36 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

42.4/ 100

1 How much of what an integrated circuit design engineer is expected to do is already part of an electrical 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 integrated circuit design engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An integrated circuit design engineer role treats 9 of its required skills as things an electrical drafter already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • CAD software
  • create technical plans
  • customise drafts
  • design drawings
  • electricity
  • liaise with engineers

What stands in the way is 8 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 24 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An integrated circuit design engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an electrical drafter background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held customise drafts communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held review drafts communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held use manual draughting techniques communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held draft bill of materials information skills
  • already held plan manufacturing processes management skills
  • already held develop assembly instructions communication, collaboration and creativity

All 24 carried skills, including the 9 the integrated circuit design engineer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 12 missing skills fall into 3 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 6 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn electronic components required
  • still to learn integrated circuit types required
  • still to learn electronic equipment standards required
  • still to learn electronics required
  • still to learn integrated circuits required
  • still to learn semiconductors required
  • optional, not held LED lighting components optional
  • optional, not held battery management systems optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required
  • still to learn design electronic systems required
  • still to learn design integrated circuits required
03 constructing 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held monitor system performance optional
  • optional, not held test electronic units optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an integrated circuit design engineer 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 24 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held CAD software knowledge
  • already held create technical plans skill
  • already held customise drafts skill
  • already held design drawings knowledge
  • already held electricity knowledge
  • already held liaise with engineers skill
  • already held mathematics knowledge
  • already held use CAD software skill
  • already held use technical drawing software skill
  • already held apply technical communication skills skill
  • already held communicate with customers skill
  • already held create a product's virtual model skill
  • already held design prototypes skill
  • already held develop assembly instructions skill
  • already held draft bill of materials skill
  • already held draw blueprints skill
  • already held electrical engineering knowledge
  • already held engineering principles knowledge
  • already held keep records of work progress skill
  • already held manufacturing processes knowledge
  • already held plan manufacturing processes skill
  • already held review drafts skill
  • already held train employees skill
  • already held use manual draughting techniques skill
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held LED lighting components optional
  • optional, not held battery management systems optional
  • optional, not held monitor system performance optional
  • optional, not held test electronic units optional
16 held skills the integrated circuit design engineer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role CAE software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role abide by regulations on banned materials skill
  • not needed by the target role design electrical systems skill
  • not needed by the target role design electromechanical systems skill
  • not needed by the target role electrical equipment components knowledge
  • not needed by the target role electrical equipment regulations knowledge
  • not needed by the target role electrical wiring diagrams knowledge
  • not needed by the target role electricity principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role electromechanics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ensure material compliance skill
  • not needed by the target role interpret electrical diagrams skill
  • not needed by the target role manual draughting techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role model electrical system skill
  • not needed by the target role prepare assembly drawings skill
  • not needed by the target role process customer requests based on the REACh Regulation 1907 2006 skill
  • not needed by the target role technical drawings knowledge
8 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 electronic components required
  • still to learn integrated circuit types required
  • still to learn electronic equipment standards required
  • still to learn electronics required
  • still to learn integrated circuits required
  • still to learn semiconductors required
  • optional, not held LED lighting components optional
  • optional, not held battery management systems optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an electrical drafter become an integrated circuit design engineer?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. An electrical drafter already covers 60% of what an integrated circuit design engineer is expected to do: 24 skills carry over, 9 of which the integrated circuit design engineer role treats as required.

What skills does an electrical drafter need to become an integrated circuit design engineer?

8 required skills are missing, plus 4 optional ones. They fall into 3 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is electronic components.

How hard is the move from electrical drafter to integrated circuit design engineer?

Its learning distance is 42.4 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.