Industrial engineer to product development engineering drafter
An industrial engineer already meets 52% of what the product development engineering drafter role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
48.5/ 100
1 How much of what a product development engineering drafter is expected to do is already part of an industrial 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 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 8 of its required skills as things an industrial engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- CAD software
- design drawings
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- mathematics
- read engineering drawings
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 18 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 industrial engineer background worth leading with.
- already held industrial research and development engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held industrial engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held 3D modelling natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held design principles arts and humanities
- already held design drawings engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held mechanical engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 18 carried skills, including the 8 the product development engineering drafter role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 8 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 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
- still to learn manual draughting techniques required
- still to learn circular economy required
- still to learn define part requirements required
2 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 define part requirements practise 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 18 skills that carry over
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held design drawings knowledge
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held read engineering drawings skill
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held 3D modelling knowledge
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held design principles knowledge
- already held electrical engineering knowledge
- already held electronics knowledge
- already held industrial engineering knowledge
- already held industrial research and development knowledge
- already held liaise with engineers skill
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
- already held mechanical engineering knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
- optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
- 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 product data management optional
59 held skills the product development engineering drafter role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on manufacturing problems skill
- not needed by the target role aerospace engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse production processes for improvement skill
- not needed by the target role apply advanced manufacturing skill
- not needed by the target role approve engineering design skill
- not needed by the target role automation technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role automotive engineering skill
- not needed by the target role build machines skill
- not needed by the target role chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role computer engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role continuous improvement philosophies knowledge
- not needed by the target role control production skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate engineering teams skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate manufacturing production activities skill
- not needed by the target role design automation components skill
- not needed by the target role design prototypes skill
- not needed by the target role determine production capacity skill
- not needed by the target role develop product design skill
- not needed by the target role develop production line skill
- not needed by the target role electromechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role examine engineering principles skill
- not needed by the target role execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- not needed by the target role industrial tools knowledge
- not needed by the target role instrumentation engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role instrumentation equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role integrate new products in manufacturing skill
- not needed by the target role keep up with digital transformation of industrial processes skill
- not needed by the target role lead process optimisation skill
- not needed by the target role lean manufacturing knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain industrial equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with suppliers skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage production systems skill
- not needed by the target role material mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechatronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role microelectromechanical systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role microelectronics knowledge
19 further entries not listed here
4 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 circular economy required
- still to learn manual draughting techniques required
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
Other moves recorded from industrial engineer
- production engineer 67% covered · moderate
- container equipment design engineer 60% covered · moderate
- industrial tool design engineer 58% covered · moderate
- surface engineer 57% covered · moderate
- manufacturing engineer 56% covered · moderate
- rolling stock engineer 55% covered · moderate
- packing machinery engineer 55% covered · moderate
- rotating equipment engineer 55% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can an industrial engineer become a product development engineering drafter?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An industrial engineer already covers 52% of what a product development engineering drafter is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 8 of which the product development engineering drafter role treats as required.
What skills does an industrial engineer need to become a product development engineering drafter?
8 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is define part requirements.
How hard is the move from industrial engineer to product development engineering drafter?
Its learning distance is 48.5 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.