Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Electronics engineering technician to automation engineering technician

An electronics engineering technician already meets 72% of what the automation engineering technician role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From electronics engineering technician
72 % overlap
Strong match
To automation engineering technician
37 You already bring
7 Still to learn
57 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

37/ 100

1 How much of what an automation engineering technician is expected to do is already part of an electronics engineering 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 automation engineering technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An automation engineering technician role treats 26 of its required skills as things an electronics engineering technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • adjust engineering designs
  • align components
  • assemble mechatronic units
  • assemble sensors
  • assist scientific research
  • automation technology

What stands in the way is 7 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 37 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An automation engineering technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an electronics engineering technician background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held assemble sensors handling and moving
  • already held install automation components working with computers
  • already held install mechatronic equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
  • already held assemble mechatronic units handling and moving
  • already held firmware information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held test mechatronic units constructing

All 37 carried skills, including the 26 the automation engineering technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 20 missing skills fall into 9 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 information and communication technologies (icts) 2 required
  • still to learn automatic control system required
  • still to learn microprocessors required
02 working with computers 1 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn set up machine controls required
  • optional, not held assemble hardware components optional
  • optional, not held customise software for drive system optional
  • optional, not held install software optional
  • optional, not held program a CNC controller optional
  • optional, not held set up automotive robot optional
03 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn computer engineering required
  • optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
  • optional, not held marine technology optional
  • optional, not held programmable logic controller optional
04 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn monitor automated machines required
  • optional, not held maintain control systems for automated equipment optional
  • optional, not held provide power connection from bus bars optional
05 business, administration and law 1 required
  • still to learn quality standards required
06 handling and moving 1 required
  • still to learn assemble machines required

3 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an automation engineering technician 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 37 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held adjust engineering designs skill
  • already held align components skill
  • already held assemble mechatronic units skill
  • already held assemble sensors skill
  • already held assist scientific research skill
  • already held automation technology knowledge
  • already held control engineering knowledge
  • already held design drawings knowledge
  • already held electrical engineering knowledge
  • already held fasten components skill
  • already held inspect quality of products skill
  • already held install automation components skill
  • already held install mechatronic equipment skill
  • already held interpret circuit diagrams skill
  • already held liaise with engineers skill
  • already held maintain robotic equipment skill
  • already held mechanical engineering knowledge
  • already held mechatronics knowledge
  • already held perform test run skill
  • already held prepare production prototypes skill
  • already held read engineering drawings skill
  • already held record test data skill
  • already held robotic components knowledge
  • already held robotics knowledge
  • already held test mechatronic units skill
  • already held test sensors skill
  • already held CAD software knowledge
  • already held CAE software knowledge
  • already held apply technical communication skills skill
  • already held firmware knowledge
  • already held integrate new products in manufacturing skill
  • already held keep records of work progress skill
  • already held program firmware skill
  • already held resolve equipment malfunctions skill
  • already held sensors knowledge
  • already held use CAM software skill
  • already held write technical reports skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 assisting and caring 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held follow standards for machinery safety optional
08 information skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held replace machines optional
09 management skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held follow work schedule optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held follow standards for machinery safety optional
  • optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
  • optional, not held maintain control systems for automated equipment optional
  • optional, not held provide power connection from bus bars optional
  • optional, not held assemble hardware components optional
  • optional, not held customise software for drive system optional
  • optional, not held follow work schedule optional
  • optional, not held install software optional
  • optional, not held marine technology optional
  • optional, not held program a CNC controller optional
  • optional, not held programmable logic controller optional
  • optional, not held replace machines optional
  • optional, not held set up automotive robot optional
53 held skills the automation engineering technician role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role analyse big data skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse test data skill
  • not needed by the target role apply soldering techniques skill
  • not needed by the target role assemble electronic units skill
  • not needed by the target role battery formation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role battery management systems knowledge
  • not needed by the target role business intelligence knowledge
  • not needed by the target role calibrate electronic instruments skill
  • not needed by the target role cloud technologies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role conduct performance tests skill
  • not needed by the target role configure electronic equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role consumer electronics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role data mining knowledge
  • not needed by the target role data storage knowledge
  • 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 electronic test procedures knowledge
  • not needed by the target role electronics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ensure finished product meet requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role information extraction knowledge
  • not needed by the target role information structure knowledge
  • not needed by the target role inspect electronics supplies skill
  • not needed by the target role install electrical and electronic equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role integrated circuits knowledge
  • not needed by the target role interpret electronic design specifications skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain electronic systems skill
  • not needed by the target role manage data skill
  • not needed by the target role manage quantitative data skill
  • not needed by the target role medical devices knowledge
  • not needed by the target role meet deadlines skill
  • not needed by the target role microelectronics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role monitor machine operations skill
  • not needed by the target role operate precision machinery skill
  • not needed by the target role pack electronic equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role perform data mining skill
  • not needed by the target role power electronics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role printed circuit boards knowledge
  • not needed by the target role read assembly drawings skill
  • not needed by the target role repair electronic components skill
  • not needed by the target role send faulty equipment back to assembly line skill

13 further entries not listed here

7 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 automatic control system required
  • still to learn computer engineering required
  • still to learn microprocessors required
  • still to learn quality standards required
  • optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
  • optional, not held marine technology optional
  • optional, not held programmable logic controller optional
Index

Other moves recorded from electronics engineering technician

Full index of moves from electronics engineering technician

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an electronics engineering technician become an automation engineering technician?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. An electronics engineering technician already covers 72% of what an automation engineering technician is expected to do: 37 skills carry over, 26 of which the automation engineering technician role treats as required.

What skills does an electronics engineering technician need to become an automation engineering technician?

7 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is assemble machines.

How hard is the move from electronics engineering technician to automation engineering technician?

Its learning distance is 37 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.