Engine designer to product development engineering drafter
An engine designer already meets 21% of what the product development engineering drafter role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
73.6/ 100
1 How much of what a product development engineering drafter is expected to do is already part of an engine designer’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 product development engineering drafter role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A product development engineering drafter role treats 4 of its required skills as things an engine designer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- CAD software
- define part requirements
- design drawings
- use CAD software
What stands in the way is 12 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 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A product development engineering drafter role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an engine designer background worth leading with.
- already held define part requirements information skills
- already held 3D modelling natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held design drawings engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held CAD software information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held use CAD software working with computers
- already held adjust engineering designs communication, collaboration and creativity
All 6 carried skills, including the 4 the product development engineering drafter role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 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.
- still to learn engineering processes required
- still to learn circular economy required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- still to learn technical drawings required
- optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held industrial research and development optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- still to learn create technical plans required
- still to learn provide technical documentation required
- still to learn use CADD software required
- still to learn use technical drawing software required
- still to learn use manual draughting techniques required
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draft design specifications optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held draw design sketches optional
- optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
- still to learn manual draughting techniques required
- optional, not held design principles optional
- still to learn read engineering drawings required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a product development engineering drafter role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 engineering processes study this
- 02 circular economy study this
- 03 create technical plans 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 6 skills that carry over
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held define part requirements skill
- already held design drawings knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held 3D modelling knowledge
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn mathematics required
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
- optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
- optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draft design specifications optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held draw design sketches optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held industrial research and development optional
- optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
19 held skills the product development engineering drafter role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt to new design materials skill
- not needed by the target role approve engineering design skill
- not needed by the target role attend design meetings skill
- not needed by the target role calculate design costs skill
- not needed by the target role calculate materials to build equipment skill
- not needed by the target role collaborate with designers skill
- not needed by the target role collaborate with engineers skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research on trends in design skill
- not needed by the target role design process skill
- not needed by the target role ecological principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role evaluate engine performance skill
- not needed by the target role motor vehicle parts drawings knowledge
- not needed by the target role office software knowledge
- not needed by the target role packaging engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role packaging processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role stay up-to-date with vehicle trends skill
- not needed by the target role use specialised design software skill
- not needed by the target role vehicle electrical systems knowledge
15 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 engineering processes required
- still to learn circular economy required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- still to learn manual draughting techniques required
- still to learn mathematics required
- still to learn technical drawings required
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held industrial research and development optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
Common questions about this move
Can an engine designer become a product development engineering drafter?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An engine designer already covers 21% of what a product development engineering drafter is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 4 of which the product development engineering drafter role treats as required.
What skills does an engine designer need to become a product development engineering drafter?
12 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is engineering processes.
How hard is the move from engine designer to product development engineering drafter?
Its learning distance is 73.6 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.