Electronics engineer to printed circuit board designer
An electronics engineer already meets 52% of what the printed circuit board designer role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
46.4/ 100
1 How much of what a printed circuit board designer is expected to do is already part of an electronics 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 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 9 of its required skills as things an electronics engineer 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 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 12 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 engineer background worth leading with.
- already held design circuit boards communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held create technical plans management skills
- already held design prototypes communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held design drawings engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held manufacturing processes engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held CAD software information and communication technologies (icts)
All 12 carried skills, including the 9 the printed circuit board designer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 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 interpret circuit diagrams required
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- optional, not held monitor manufacturing quality standards optional
- still to learn draft design specifications required
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held use manual draughting techniques optional
- still to learn printed circuit boards required
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- still to learn test printed circuit boards required
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment maintenance optional
- optional, not held plan manufacturing processes optional
2 further areas 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 interpret circuit diagrams practise this
- 02 test printed circuit boards practise this
- 03 draft design specifications 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 12 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 mathematics knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held design prototypes skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
- optional, not held use CADD software optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment maintenance optional
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
- optional, not held monitor manufacturing quality standards optional
- optional, not held plan manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held use CADD software optional
- optional, not held use manual draughting techniques optional
46 held skills the printed circuit board designer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role abide by regulations on banned materials skill
- not needed by the target role adjust engineering designs skill
- not needed by the target role approve engineering design skill
- not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
- not needed by the target role assess supplier risks skill
- not needed by the target role battery design knowledge
- not needed by the target role battery management systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role consumer electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role create software design skill
- not needed by the target role design electrical systems skill
- not needed by the target role design electronic systems skill
- not needed by the target role design integrated circuits skill
- not needed by the target role design microelectromechanical systems skill
- not needed by the target role design microelectronics skill
- not needed by the target role design principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role design user interface skill
- not needed by the target role develop electronic test procedures skill
- not needed by the target role electrical testing methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role electricity principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role electromagnetism knowledge
- not needed by the target role electromagnets knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronic test procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure material compliance skill
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental threats knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute feasibility study skill
- not needed by the target role industrial research and development knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role model based system engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role perform scientific research skill
- not needed by the target role perform test run skill
- not needed by the target role physics knowledge
- not needed by the target role process customer requests based on the REACh Regulation 1907 2006 skill
- not needed by the target role product data management knowledge
- not needed by the target role programmable logic controller knowledge
- not needed by the target role project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role regulations on substances knowledge
6 further entries not listed here
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 printed circuit boards required
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
Common questions about this move
Can an electronics engineer become a printed circuit board designer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An electronics engineer already covers 52% of what a printed circuit board designer is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 9 of which the printed circuit board designer role treats as required.
What skills does an electronics engineer need to become a printed circuit board designer?
5 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is interpret circuit diagrams.
How hard is the move from electronics engineer to printed circuit board designer?
Its learning distance is 46.4 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.