Industrial tool design engineer to tooling engineer
An industrial tool design engineer already meets 68% of what the tooling engineer role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
39.5/ 100
1 How much of what a tooling engineer is expected to do is already part of an industrial tool design 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 22 of its required skills as things an industrial tool design engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- CAD software
- adjust engineering designs
- approve engineering design
- build a product's physical model
- create a product's virtual model
- determine production feasibility
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 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 an industrial tool design 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 build a product's physical model handling and moving
- already held use computer-aided engineering systems working with computers
All 30 carried skills, including the 22 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 ICT software specifications required
- still to learn CAE software required
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- optional, not held analyse production processes for improvement optional
- optional, not held perform market research optional
- still to learn quality and cycle time optimisation required
- optional, not held electromechanics optional
- still to learn multimedia systems required
- still to learn physics required
- 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
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 CAE software study this
- 03 execute analytical mathematical calculations 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 adjust engineering designs skill
- already held approve engineering design skill
- already held build a product's physical model 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 estimate duration of work skill
- already held industrial engineering knowledge
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held mechanics knowledge
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held production processes knowledge
- already held provide cost benefit analysis reports skill
- 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
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- 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 set up the controller of a machine optional
- optional, not held use CAM software optional
- optional, not held operate precision measuring equipment optional
16 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 set up the controller of a machine optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- optional, not held use CAM software optional
12 held skills the tooling engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on safety improvements skill
- not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
- not needed by the target role define part requirements skill
- not needed by the target role design drawings knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute feasibility study skill
- not needed by the target role identify customer's needs skill
- not needed by the target role industrial tools knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect industrial equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain industrial equipment skill
- not needed by the target role mechanical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role troubleshoot skill
- not needed by the target role use specialised design software skill
6 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 CAE software required
- still to learn multimedia systems required
- still to learn physics required
- still to learn quality and cycle time optimisation required
- optional, not held electromechanics optional
Other moves recorded from industrial tool design engineer
Common questions about this move
Can an industrial tool design engineer become a tooling engineer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An industrial tool design engineer already covers 68% of what a tooling engineer is expected to do: 30 skills carry over, 22 of which the tooling engineer role treats as required.
What skills does an industrial tool design engineer need to become a tooling engineer?
6 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is ICT software specifications.
How hard is the move from industrial tool design engineer to tooling engineer?
Its learning distance is 39.5 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.