Flight test engineer to aerospace engineer
A flight test engineer already meets 48% of what the aerospace engineer role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
55.4/ 100
1 How much of what an aerospace engineer is expected to do is already part of a flight test 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 aerospace engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An aerospace engineer role treats 12 of its required skills as things a flight test engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adjust engineering designs
- aerospace engineering
- approve engineering design
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- ensure aircraft compliance with regulation
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 · What you already bring
Of the 17 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An aerospace engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a flight test engineer background worth leading with.
- already held plan test flights management skills
- already held aerospace engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held aerodynamics engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held ensure aircraft compliance with regulation assisting and caring
- already held industrial engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held production processes engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 17 carried skills, including the 12 the aerospace engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 30 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 aircraft mechanics required
- still to learn safety engineering required
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held unmanned air systems optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- optional, not held material mechanics optional
- optional, not held state estimation optional
- still to learn assess financial viability required
- still to learn execute feasibility study required
- optional, not held analyse production processes for improvement optional
- optional, not held oversee assembly operations optional
- still to learn troubleshoot required
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held design prototypes optional
- optional, not held draft design specifications optional
- still to learn computer simulation required
- optional, not held CAE software optional
- still to learn quality standards required
- optional, not held apply advanced manufacturing optional
- optional, not held control production optional
- optional, not held develop test procedures optional
- optional, not held manage product testing optional
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an aerospace engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 aircraft mechanics study this
- 02 assess financial viability practise this
- 03 computer simulation study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 17 skills that carry over
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held aerospace engineering knowledge
- already held approve engineering design skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held ensure aircraft compliance with regulation skill
- already held industrial engineering knowledge
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held production processes knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held aerodynamics knowledge
- already held conduct performance tests skill
- already held mechanical engineering knowledge
- already held plan test flights skill
- already held record test data skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held synthetic natural environment optional
- optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
- optional, not held defense system optional
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
- optional, not held use CAD software optional
- optional, not held use CAM software optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
23 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held defense system optional
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
- optional, not held synthetic natural environment optional
- optional, not held unmanned air systems optional
- optional, not held CAE software optional
- optional, not held analyse production processes for improvement optional
- optional, not held apply advanced manufacturing optional
- optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
- optional, not held control production optional
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held design prototypes optional
- optional, not held develop test procedures optional
- optional, not held draft design specifications optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- optional, not held manage product testing optional
- optional, not held material mechanics optional
- optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
- optional, not held oversee assembly operations optional
- optional, not held state estimation optional
- optional, not held use CAD software optional
- optional, not held use CAM software optional
17 held skills the aerospace engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role aircraft flight control systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse test data skill
- not needed by the target role aviation meteorology knowledge
- not needed by the target role common aviation safety regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect aircraft manufacturing skill
- not needed by the target role instrumentation engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role instrumentation equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate cockpit control panels skill
- not needed by the target role operate radio navigation instruments skill
- not needed by the target role operate two-way radio systems skill
- not needed by the target role oversee aircraft sensor and recording systems skill
- not needed by the target role perform flight manoeuvres skill
- not needed by the target role perform routine flight operations checks skill
- not needed by the target role perform take off and landing skill
- not needed by the target role visual flight rules 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 aircraft mechanics required
- still to learn computer simulation required
- still to learn quality standards required
- still to learn safety engineering required
- optional, not held defense system optional
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
- optional, not held synthetic natural environment optional
- optional, not held unmanned air systems optional
- optional, not held CAE software optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- optional, not held material mechanics optional
- optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
- optional, not held state estimation optional
Common questions about this move
Can a flight test engineer become an aerospace engineer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A flight test engineer already covers 48% of what an aerospace engineer is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 12 of which the aerospace engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a flight test engineer need to become an aerospace engineer?
7 required skills are missing, plus 23 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is aircraft mechanics.
How hard is the move from flight test engineer to aerospace engineer?
Its learning distance is 55.4 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.