Ergonomist to industrial designer
An ergonomist already meets 51% of what the industrial designer role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
58.1/ 100
1 How much of what an industrial designer is expected to do is already part of an ergonomist’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 industrial designer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An industrial designer role treats 14 of its required skills as things an ergonomist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- aesthetics
- conduct research on trends in design
- copyright legislation
- design principles
- determine suitability of materials
- draft design specifications
What stands in the way is 6 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 27 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An industrial designer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an ergonomist background worth leading with.
- already held write manuals communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held adapt to new design materials information skills
- already held consult with design team communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held industrial design arts and humanities
- already held conduct research on trends in design information skills
- already held ergonomics services
All 27 carried skills, including the 14 the industrial designer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 40 missing skills fall into 11 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 perform ideation activities required
- still to learn liaise with engineers required
- still to learn present artistic design proposals required
- optional, not held attend design meetings optional
- optional, not held design package optional
- optional, not held develop jewellery designs optional
- optional, not held prospect new customers optional
- optional, not held think creatively about jewellery optional
- optional, not held collaborate with engineers optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- still to learn perform market research required
- optional, not held calculate design costs optional
- optional, not held analyse production processes for improvement optional
- optional, not held calculate materials to build equipment optional
- optional, not held determine production feasibility optional
- optional, not held monitor production developments optional
- optional, not held perform physical stress tests on models optional
- still to learn meet deadlines required
- optional, not held coordinate manufacturing production activities optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- optional, not held plan event marketing for promotional campaigns optional
- still to learn design management required
- optional, not held cost management optional
- optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
- optional, not held types of glazing optional
- optional, not held types of toy materials optional
- optional, not held hydraulics optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held types of packaging materials optional
- optional, not held use CAE software optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held use specialised design software optional
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an industrial designer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 perform ideation activities practise this
- 02 design management study this
- 03 liaise with engineers 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 27 skills that carry over
- already held aesthetics knowledge
- already held conduct research on trends in design skill
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- already held design principles knowledge
- already held determine suitability of materials skill
- already held draft design specifications skill
- already held draw design sketches skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held ergonomics knowledge
- already held follow a brief skill
- already held industrial design knowledge
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held 3D modelling knowledge
- already held adapt existing designs to changed circumstances skill
- already held adapt to new design materials skill
- already held apply 3D imaging techniques skill
- already held build a product's physical model skill
- already held consult with design team skill
- already held create a product's virtual model skill
- already held design prototypes skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held prepare production prototypes skill
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held write manuals skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held ceramic ware optional
- optional, not held jewellery processes optional
- optional, not held CAM software optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- optional, not held produce sustainable products optional
- optional, not held build jewellery models optional
- optional, not held pneumatics optional
34 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held CAM software optional
- optional, not held attend design meetings optional
- optional, not held build jewellery models optional
- optional, not held calculate design costs optional
- optional, not held ceramic ware optional
- optional, not held cost management optional
- optional, not held design package optional
- optional, not held develop jewellery designs optional
- optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
- optional, not held jewellery processes optional
- optional, not held prospect new customers optional
- optional, not held think creatively about jewellery optional
- optional, not held types of glazing optional
- optional, not held types of toy materials optional
- optional, not held use CAE software optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- optional, not held analyse production processes for improvement optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held calculate materials to build equipment optional
- optional, not held collaborate with engineers optional
- optional, not held coordinate manufacturing production activities optional
- optional, not held determine production feasibility optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held hydraulics optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held monitor production developments optional
- optional, not held perform physical stress tests on models optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- optional, not held plan event marketing for promotional campaigns optional
- optional, not held pneumatics optional
- optional, not held produce sustainable products optional
- optional, not held types of packaging materials optional
- optional, not held use specialised design software optional
6 held skills the industrial designer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assess ergonomics of the workplace skill
- not needed by the target role gather feedback from employees skill
- not needed by the target role human anatomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role occupational health knowledge
- not needed by the target role occupational physiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role teach ergonomics in work place skill
13 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 design management required
- optional, not held CAM software optional
- optional, not held ceramic ware optional
- optional, not held cost management optional
- optional, not held human-robot collaboration optional
- optional, not held jewellery processes optional
- optional, not held types of glazing optional
- optional, not held types of toy materials optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- optional, not held hydraulics optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held pneumatics optional
- optional, not held types of packaging materials optional
Common questions about this move
Can an ergonomist become an industrial designer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An ergonomist already covers 51% of what an industrial designer is expected to do: 27 skills carry over, 14 of which the industrial designer role treats as required.
What skills does an ergonomist need to become an industrial designer?
6 required skills are missing, plus 34 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is perform ideation activities.
How hard is the move from ergonomist to industrial designer?
Its learning distance is 58.1 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.