Instrumentation engineering technician to automation engineering technician
An instrumentation engineering technician already meets 51% of what the automation engineering technician role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.
59.3/ 100
1 How much of what an automation engineering technician is expected to do is already part of an instrumentation 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 automation engineering technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An automation engineering technician role treats 17 of its required skills as things an instrumentation engineering technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adjust engineering designs
- align components
- assist scientific research
- automation technology
- control engineering
- electrical engineering
What stands in the way is 16 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 29 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An automation engineering technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an instrumentation engineering technician background worth leading with.
- already held marine technology engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held firmware information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held control engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held test sensors constructing
- already held program firmware working with computers
- already held sensors engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 29 carried skills, including the 17 the automation engineering technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 missing skills fall into 9 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 computer engineering required
- still to learn design drawings required
- still to learn robotic components required
- still to learn robotics required
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held programmable logic controller optional
- still to learn install mechatronic equipment required
- still to learn maintain robotic equipment required
- still to learn monitor automated machines required
- optional, not held maintain control systems for automated equipment optional
- optional, not held provide power connection from bus bars optional
- still to learn assemble mechatronic units required
- still to learn assemble sensors required
- still to learn assemble machines required
- still to learn install automation components required
- still to learn set up machine controls required
- optional, not held assemble hardware components optional
- optional, not held customise software for drive system optional
- optional, not held install software optional
- optional, not held program a CNC controller optional
- optional, not held set up automotive robot optional
- still to learn automatic control system required
- still to learn microprocessors required
- still to learn interpret circuit diagrams required
- optional, not held replace machines optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an automation engineering technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 assemble mechatronic units practise this
- 02 assemble sensors practise this
- 03 install automation components 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 29 skills that carry over
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held align components skill
- already held assist scientific research skill
- already held automation technology knowledge
- already held control engineering knowledge
- already held electrical engineering knowledge
- already held fasten components skill
- already held inspect quality of products skill
- already held liaise with engineers skill
- already held mechanical engineering knowledge
- already held mechatronics knowledge
- already held perform test run skill
- already held prepare production prototypes skill
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held read engineering drawings skill
- already held record test data skill
- already held test sensors skill
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held CAE software knowledge
- already held apply technical communication skills skill
- already held firmware knowledge
- already held integrate new products in manufacturing skill
- already held keep records of work progress skill
- already held marine technology knowledge
- already held program firmware skill
- already held resolve equipment malfunctions skill
- already held sensors knowledge
- already held use CAM software skill
- already held write technical reports skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn test mechatronic units required
- optional, not held follow standards for machinery safety optional
- optional, not held follow work schedule optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held follow standards for machinery safety optional
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held maintain control systems for automated equipment optional
- optional, not held provide power connection from bus bars optional
- optional, not held assemble hardware components optional
- optional, not held customise software for drive system optional
- optional, not held follow work schedule optional
- optional, not held install software optional
- optional, not held program a CNC controller optional
- optional, not held programmable logic controller optional
- optional, not held replace machines optional
- optional, not held set up automotive robot optional
49 held skills the automation engineering technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse big data skill
- not needed by the target role apply soldering techniques skill
- not needed by the target role assemble instrumentation equipment skill
- not needed by the target role assemble measuring equipment skill
- not needed by the target role calibrate electronic instruments skill
- not needed by the target role cloud technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct quality control analysis skill
- not needed by the target role conduct routine machinery checks skill
- not needed by the target role data mining knowledge
- not needed by the target role data storage knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop instrumentation systems skill
- not needed by the target role electrical equipment regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role electromechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronic equipment standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure conformity to specifications skill
- not needed by the target role hydraulics knowledge
- not needed by the target role instrument performance elements 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 maintain sensor equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage instrumentation systems skill
- not needed by the target role measure electrical characteristics skill
- not needed by the target role measure parts of manufactured products skill
- not needed by the target role metallurgy knowledge
- not needed by the target role nuclear energy knowledge
- not needed by the target role offshore constructions and facilities knowledge
- not needed by the target role offshore renewable energy technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate circular saw skill
- not needed by the target role operate cranes skill
- not needed by the target role operate precision machinery skill
- not needed by the target role operate soldering equipment skill
- not needed by the target role pneumatics knowledge
- not needed by the target role power plant instrumentation knowledge
- not needed by the target role read assembly drawings skill
- not needed by the target role read standard blueprints skill
- not needed by the target role renewable energy knowledge
- not needed by the target role replace defect components skill
- not needed by the target role statistical analysis system software knowledge
- not needed by the target role tend metal sawing machine skill
9 further entries not listed here
8 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 automatic control system required
- still to learn computer engineering required
- still to learn design drawings required
- still to learn microprocessors required
- still to learn robotic components required
- still to learn robotics required
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held programmable logic controller optional
Other moves recorded from instrumentation engineering technician
- sensor engineering technician 62% covered · moderate
- precision instrument assembler 56% covered · moderate
- mechatronics engineering technician 55% covered · substantial
- microsystem engineering technician 54% covered · moderate
Full index of moves from instrumentation engineering technician
Common questions about this move
Can an instrumentation engineering technician become an automation engineering technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An instrumentation engineering technician already covers 51% of what an automation engineering technician is expected to do: 29 skills carry over, 17 of which the automation engineering technician role treats as required.
What skills does an instrumentation engineering technician need to become an automation engineering technician?
16 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is assemble mechatronic units.
How hard is the move from instrumentation engineering technician to automation engineering technician?
Its learning distance is 59.3 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.