Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Integrated circuit design engineer to product development engineering drafter

An integrated circuit design engineer already meets 47% of what the product development engineering drafter role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From integrated circuit design engineer
47 % overlap
Partial match
To product development engineering drafter
15 You already bring
8 Still to learn
34 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

53.2/ 100

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

Why

Why this move works

A product development engineering drafter role treats 8 of its required skills as things an integrated circuit design engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • CAD software
  • create technical plans
  • design drawings
  • engineering principles
  • mathematics
  • use CAD 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

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 15 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 integrated circuit design engineer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held use manual draughting techniques communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held develop assembly instructions communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held draw blueprints communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held create a product's virtual model communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held create technical plans management skills
  • already held design drawings engineering, manufacturing and construction

All 15 carried skills, including the 8 the product development engineering drafter role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 19 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 engineering, manufacturing and construction 3 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn engineering processes required
  • still to learn circular economy required
  • still to learn technical drawings required
  • optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
  • optional, not held industrial engineering optional
  • optional, not held industrial research and development optional
02 information skills 2 required
  • still to learn define part requirements required
  • still to learn read engineering drawings required
03 arts and humanities 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn manual draughting techniques required
  • optional, not held design principles optional
04 management skills 1 required
  • still to learn provide technical documentation required
05 working with computers 1 required
  • still to learn use CADD software required
06 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held adjust engineering designs optional
  • optional, not held draft design specifications optional
  • optional, not held draw design sketches optional

3 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

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.

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

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 15 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held CAD software knowledge
  • already held create technical plans skill
  • already held design drawings knowledge
  • already held engineering principles knowledge
  • already held mathematics knowledge
  • already held use CAD software skill
  • already held use manual draughting techniques skill
  • already held use technical drawing software skill
  • already held create a product's virtual model skill
  • already held develop assembly instructions skill
  • already held draw blueprints skill
  • already held electrical engineering knowledge
  • already held electronics knowledge
  • already held liaise with engineers skill
  • already held manufacturing processes knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 business, administration and law 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held design management optional
  • optional, not held product data management optional
08 handling and moving 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
09 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held 3D modelling optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held design management optional
  • optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
  • optional, not held 3D modelling optional
  • optional, not held adjust engineering designs optional
  • optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
  • optional, not held design principles optional
  • optional, not held draft design specifications optional
  • optional, not held draw design sketches optional
  • optional, not held industrial engineering optional
  • optional, not held industrial research and development optional
  • optional, not held product data management optional
21 held skills the product development engineering drafter role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role LED lighting components knowledge
  • not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills skill
  • not needed by the target role battery management systems knowledge
  • not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
  • not needed by the target role customise drafts skill
  • not needed by the target role design electronic systems skill
  • not needed by the target role design integrated circuits skill
  • not needed by the target role design prototypes skill
  • not needed by the target role draft bill of materials skill
  • not needed by the target role electricity knowledge
  • not needed by the target role electronic components knowledge
  • not needed by the target role electronic equipment standards knowledge
  • not needed by the target role integrated circuit types knowledge
  • not needed by the target role integrated circuits knowledge
  • not needed by the target role keep records of work progress skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor system performance skill
  • not needed by the target role plan manufacturing processes skill
  • not needed by the target role review drafts skill
  • not needed by the target role semiconductors knowledge
  • not needed by the target role test electronic units skill
  • not needed by the target role train employees 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn engineering processes required
  • still to learn circular economy required
  • still to learn manual draughting techniques required
  • still to learn technical drawings required
  • optional, not held design management optional
  • optional, not held mechanical engineering optional
  • optional, not held 3D modelling optional
  • optional, not held design principles optional
  • optional, not held industrial engineering optional
  • optional, not held industrial research and development optional
  • optional, not held product data management optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an integrated circuit design engineer become a product development engineering drafter?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. An integrated circuit design engineer already covers 47% of what a product development engineering drafter is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 8 of which the product development engineering drafter role treats as required.

What skills does an integrated circuit design engineer need to become a product development engineering drafter?

8 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is define part requirements.

How hard is the move from integrated circuit design engineer to product development engineering drafter?

Its learning distance is 53.2 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.