Electronics drafter to printed circuit board designer
An electronics drafter already meets 74% of what the printed circuit board designer role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
27.2/ 100
1 How much of what a printed circuit board designer is expected to do is already part of an electronics 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 printed circuit board designer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A printed circuit board designer role treats 11 of its required skills as things an electronics drafter already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- CAD software
- create technical plans
- design circuit boards
- design drawings
- electricity
- electronics
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 · What you already bring
Of the 20 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A printed circuit board designer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an electronics drafter background worth leading with.
- already held design circuit boards communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held printed circuit boards information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held manual draughting techniques arts and humanities
- already held use manual draughting techniques communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held plan manufacturing processes management skills
- already held develop assembly instructions communication, collaboration and creativity
All 20 carried skills, including the 11 the printed circuit board designer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 9 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.
- still to learn draft design specifications required
- optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- optional, not held monitor manufacturing quality standards optional
- still to learn test printed circuit boards required
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment maintenance optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a printed circuit board designer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 test printed circuit boards practise this
- 02 draft design specifications practise this
- 03 execute analytical mathematical calculations practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 20 skills that carry over
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held create technical plans skill
- already held design circuit boards skill
- already held design drawings knowledge
- already held electricity knowledge
- already held electronics knowledge
- already held interpret circuit diagrams skill
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held printed circuit boards knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held create a product's virtual model skill
- already held design prototypes skill
- already held develop assembly instructions skill
- already held draw blueprints skill
- already held electrical engineering knowledge
- already held manual draughting techniques knowledge
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
- already held plan manufacturing processes skill
- already held use manual draughting techniques skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held use CADD software optional
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment maintenance optional
- optional, not held monitor manufacturing quality standards optional
- optional, not held use CADD software optional
21 held skills the printed circuit board designer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role consumer electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role customise drafts skill
- not needed by the target role design electronic systems skill
- not needed by the target role design hardware skill
- not needed by the target role design microelectronics skill
- not needed by the target role design sensors skill
- not needed by the target role draft bill of materials skill
- not needed by the target role electronic components knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronic equipment standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role integrated circuits knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep records of work progress skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with engineers skill
- not needed by the target role power electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare assembly drawings skill
- not needed by the target role review drafts skill
- not needed by the target role technical drawings knowledge
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
- not needed by the target role types of electronics knowledge
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
Common questions about this move
Can an electronics drafter become a printed circuit board designer?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. An electronics drafter already covers 74% of what a printed circuit board designer is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 11 of which the printed circuit board designer role treats as required.
What skills does an electronics drafter need to become a printed circuit board designer?
3 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is test printed circuit boards.
How hard is the move from electronics drafter to printed circuit board designer?
Its learning distance is 27.2 out of 100, which is the adjacent 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.