Fluid power engineer to tooling engineer
A fluid power engineer already meets 65% of what the tooling engineer role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
43/ 100
1 How much of what a tooling engineer is expected to do is already part of a fluid power 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 tooling engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A tooling engineer role treats 20 of its required skills as things a fluid power engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- CAD software
- CAE software
- adjust engineering designs
- approve engineering design
- create a product's virtual model
- determine production feasibility
What stands in the way is 8 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 30 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A tooling engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a fluid power engineer background worth leading with.
- already held determine production capacity information skills
- already held reverse engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held determine production feasibility information skills
- already held monitor production developments information skills
- already held use computer-aided engineering systems working with computers
- already held plan manufacturing processes management skills
All 30 carried skills, including the 20 the tooling engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 10 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 industrial engineering required
- still to learn manufacturing processes required
- still to learn production processes required
- optional, not held electromechanics optional
- still to learn estimate duration of work required
- optional, not held analyse production processes for improvement optional
- optional, not held perform market research optional
- still to learn multimedia systems required
- still to learn build a product's physical model required
- still to learn ICT software specifications required
- still to learn physics required
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a tooling engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 ICT software specifications study this
- 02 build a product's physical model practise this
- 03 estimate duration of work 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 30 skills that carry over
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held CAE software knowledge
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held approve engineering design skill
- already held create a product's virtual model skill
- already held determine production feasibility skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held mechanics knowledge
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held provide cost benefit analysis reports skill
- already held quality and cycle time optimisation knowledge
- already held read engineering drawings skill
- already held reverse engineering knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use computer-aided engineering systems skill
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held 3D modelling knowledge
- already held advise on machinery malfunctions skill
- already held design prototypes skill
- already held determine production capacity skill
- already held manage supplies skill
- already held material mechanics knowledge
- already held monitor production developments skill
- already held plan manufacturing processes skill
- already held set up the controller of a machine skill
- already held use CAM software skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held advise customers on new equipment optional
- optional, not held attend trade fairs optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
- optional, not held render 3D images optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with environmental legislation optional
- optional, not held manage health and safety standards optional
- optional, not held plan allocation of space optional
- optional, not held set production facilities standards optional
- optional, not held operate precision measuring equipment optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held plan allocation of space optional
- optional, not held advise customers on new equipment optional
- optional, not held analyse production processes for improvement optional
- optional, not held attend trade fairs optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held electromechanics optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with environmental legislation optional
- optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
- optional, not held manage health and safety standards optional
- optional, not held operate precision measuring equipment optional
- optional, not held perform market research optional
- optional, not held render 3D images optional
- optional, not held set production facilities standards optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
10 held skills the tooling engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role blueprints knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute feasibility study skill
- not needed by the target role fluid mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role hydraulic fluid knowledge
- not needed by the target role hydraulics knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role pneumatics knowledge
- not needed by the target role principles of mechanical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role read standard blueprints skill
- not needed by the target role troubleshoot skill
7 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 ICT software specifications required
- still to learn industrial engineering required
- still to learn manufacturing processes required
- still to learn multimedia systems required
- still to learn physics required
- still to learn production processes required
- optional, not held electromechanics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a fluid power engineer become a tooling engineer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A fluid power engineer already covers 65% of what a tooling engineer is expected to do: 30 skills carry over, 20 of which the tooling engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a fluid power engineer need to become a tooling engineer?
8 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is ICT software specifications.
How hard is the move from fluid power engineer to tooling engineer?
Its learning distance is 43 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.