Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Industrial engineering technician to product development engineering technician

An industrial engineering technician already meets 61% of what the product development engineering technician role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From industrial engineering technician
61 % overlap
Strong match
To product development engineering technician
18 You already bring
4 Still to learn
34 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

39.7/ 100

1 How much of what a product development engineering technician is expected to do is already part of an industrial engineering technician’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 technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A product development engineering technician role treats 10 of its required skills as things an industrial engineering technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • CAD software
  • adjust engineering designs
  • analyse test data
  • collaborate with engineers
  • create solutions to problems
  • engineering principles

What stands in the way is 4 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

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 technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an industrial engineering technician background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held assess operating cost information skills
  • already held blueprints engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held use computer-aided engineering systems working with computers
  • already held collaborate with engineers communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held analyse production processes for improvement information skills
  • already held analyse test data information skills

All 18 carried skills, including the 10 the product development engineering technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 16 missing skills fall into 4 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn develop product design required
  • still to learn advise on machinery malfunctions required
  • optional, not held collaborate with designers optional
  • optional, not held write inspection reports optional
  • optional, not held write stress-strain analysis reports optional
02 engineering, manufacturing and construction 1 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn material mechanics required
  • optional, not held circular economy optional
  • optional, not held industrial research and development optional
  • optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
  • optional, not held production processes optional
03 information skills 1 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn inspect quality of products required
  • optional, not held assess integrated domotics systems optional
  • optional, not held analyse stress resistance of materials optional
  • optional, not held analyse stress resistance of products optional
04 management skills 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held ensure equipment availability optional
  • optional, not held plan manufacturing processes optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a product development engineering technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 18 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held CAD software knowledge
  • already held adjust engineering designs skill
  • already held analyse test data skill
  • already held collaborate with engineers skill
  • already held create solutions to problems skill
  • already held engineering principles knowledge
  • already held engineering processes knowledge
  • already held mechanics knowledge
  • already held troubleshoot skill
  • already held use CAD software skill
  • already held analyse production processes for improvement skill
  • already held assess operating cost skill
  • already held blueprints knowledge
  • already held perform test run skill
  • already held read standard blueprints skill
  • already held record test data skill
  • already held use computer-aided engineering systems skill
  • already held use testing equipment skill
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held assess integrated domotics systems optional
  • optional, not held collaborate with designers optional
  • optional, not held analyse stress resistance of materials optional
  • optional, not held analyse stress resistance of products optional
  • optional, not held circular economy optional
  • optional, not held ensure equipment availability optional
  • optional, not held industrial research and development optional
  • optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
  • optional, not held plan manufacturing processes optional
  • optional, not held production processes optional
  • optional, not held write inspection reports optional
  • optional, not held write stress-strain analysis reports optional
16 held skills the product development engineering technician role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role CAE software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role advise on manufacturing problems skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct routine machinery checks skill
  • not needed by the target role create technical plans skill
  • not needed by the target role define part requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role industrial engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role manage supplies skill
  • not needed by the target role mathematics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role operate soldering equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role operate welding equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role order supplies skill
  • not needed by the target role oversee quality control skill
  • not needed by the target role perform maintenance on installed equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role read engineering drawings skill
  • not needed by the target role resolve equipment malfunctions skill
  • not needed by the target role secure working area skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn material mechanics required
  • optional, not held circular economy optional
  • optional, not held industrial research and development optional
  • optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
  • optional, not held production processes optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an industrial engineering technician become a product development engineering technician?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. An industrial engineering technician already covers 61% of what a product development engineering technician is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 10 of which the product development engineering technician role treats as required.

What skills does an industrial engineering technician need to become a product development engineering technician?

4 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is develop product design.

How hard is the move from industrial engineering technician to product development engineering technician?

Its learning distance is 39.7 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.