Installation engineer to research engineer
An installation engineer already meets 32% of what the research engineer role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
65.4/ 100
1 How much of what a research engineer is expected to do is already part of an installation 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 research engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A research engineer role treats 6 of its required skills as things an installation engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- perform scientific research
- project management
- technical drawings
- use technical drawing software
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 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A research engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an installation engineer background worth leading with.
- already held CAD software information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held project management business, administration and law
- already held use technical drawing software working with computers
- already held use CAD software working with computers
- already held technical drawings engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held engineering processes engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 9 carried skills, including the 6 the research engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 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 interpret technical requirements required
- still to learn execute feasibility study required
- still to learn gather experimental data required
- optional, not held conduct experiments on animals optional
- optional, not held use mathematical tools and equipment optional
- still to learn define technical requirements required
- still to learn manage engineering project required
- optional, not held apply advanced manufacturing optional
- optional, not held develop test procedures optional
- still to learn industrial research and development required
- optional, not held battery design optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held materials engineering optional
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- still to learn collect samples for analysis required
- optional, not held computational mechanics optional
- optional, not held bioeconomy optional
- optional, not held laboratory techniques optional
- optional, not held physics optional
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a research engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 interpret technical requirements practise this
- 02 collect samples for analysis practise this
- 03 define technical requirements 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 9 skills that carry over
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held perform project management skill
- already held use CAD software skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held adjust engineering designs optional
- optional, not held assist scientific research optional
- optional, not held write manuals optional
- optional, not held use non-destructive testing equipment optional
- optional, not held perform laboratory tests optional
- optional, not held run laboratory simulations optional
- optional, not held apply safety procedures in laboratory optional
- optional, not held scientific literature optional
- optional, not held cognitive computing optional
20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply safety procedures in laboratory optional
- optional, not held battery design optional
- optional, not held cognitive computing optional
- optional, not held computational mechanics optional
- optional, not held conduct experiments on animals optional
- optional, not held use non-destructive testing equipment optional
- optional, not held adjust engineering designs optional
- optional, not held apply advanced manufacturing optional
- optional, not held assist scientific research optional
- optional, not held bioeconomy optional
- optional, not held develop test procedures optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held laboratory techniques optional
- optional, not held materials engineering optional
- optional, not held perform laboratory tests optional
- optional, not held physics optional
- optional, not held run laboratory simulations optional
- optional, not held scientific literature optional
- optional, not held use mathematical tools and equipment optional
- optional, not held write manuals optional
30 held skills the research engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assess project resource needs skill
- not needed by the target role communication knowledge
- not needed by the target role components of air conditioning systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct performance tests skill
- not needed by the target role construction industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role construction methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role construction product regulation knowledge
- not needed by the target role continuous improvement philosophies knowledge
- not needed by the target role cost management knowledge
- not needed by the target role design process skill
- not needed by the target role domestic heating systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with construction project deadline skill
- not needed by the target role follow health and safety procedures in construction skill
- not needed by the target role heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration parts knowledge
- not needed by the target role industrial heating systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage health and safety standards skill
- not needed by the target role oversee construction project skill
- not needed by the target role perform risk analysis skill
- not needed by the target role project management principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide improvement strategies skill
- not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role react to events in time-critical environments skill
- not needed by the target role record test data skill
- not needed by the target role report test findings skill
- not needed by the target role supervise staff skill
- not needed by the target role troubleshoot skill
- not needed by the target role use safety equipment in construction skill
- not needed by the target role ventilation systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role work in a construction team skill
11 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 industrial research and development required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held battery design optional
- optional, not held cognitive computing optional
- optional, not held computational mechanics optional
- optional, not held bioeconomy optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held laboratory techniques optional
- optional, not held materials engineering optional
- optional, not held physics optional
- optional, not held scientific literature optional
Common questions about this move
Can an installation engineer become a research engineer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An installation engineer already covers 32% of what a research engineer is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 6 of which the research engineer role treats as required.
What skills does an installation engineer need to become a research engineer?
8 required skills are missing, plus 20 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is interpret technical requirements.
How hard is the move from installation engineer to research engineer?
Its learning distance is 65.4 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.