Knowledge engineer to database designer
A knowledge engineer already meets 61% of what the database designer role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
55.5/ 100
1 How much of what a database designer is expected to do is already part of a knowledge 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 database designer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A database designer role treats 16 of its required skills as things a knowledge engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ICT security legislation
- analyse business requirements
- apply ICT systems theory
- assess ICT knowledge
- business process modelling
- create database diagrams
What stands in the way is 11 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 64 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A database designer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a knowledge engineer background worth leading with.
- already held define database physical structure working with computers
- already held create database diagrams communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held systems theory information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held apply ICT systems theory working with computers
- already held assess ICT knowledge management skills
- already held database development tools information and communication technologies (icts)
All 64 carried skills, including the 16 the database designer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 39 missing skills fall into 6 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 database management systems required
- still to learn query languages required
- still to learn database required
- optional, not held CA Datacom/DB optional
- optional, not held DB2 optional
- optional, not held Filemaker (database management systems) optional
- optional, not held IBM Informix optional
- optional, not held LDAP optional
- optional, not held MDX optional
- optional, not held MarkLogic optional
- optional, not held Microsoft Access optional
- optional, not held MySQL optional
- optional, not held ObjectStore optional
- optional, not held OpenEdge Database optional
- optional, not held Oracle Relational Database optional
- optional, not held Oracle WebLogic optional
- optional, not held PostgreSQL optional
- optional, not held SQL Server optional
- optional, not held Teradata Database optional
- optional, not held TripleStore optional
- optional, not held XQuery optional
- optional, not held data models optional
- still to learn migrate existing data required
- still to learn operate relational database management system required
- still to learn perform data analysis required
- optional, not held use access control software optional
- still to learn create software design required
- still to learn write database documentation required
- optional, not held design database backup specifications optional
- optional, not held design database in the cloud optional
- optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
- still to learn develop automated migration methods required
- still to learn manage standards for data exchange required
- still to learn create data sets required
- optional, not held perform resource planning optional
- optional, not held Agile project management optional
- optional, not held ICT project management methodologies optional
- optional, not held Process-based management optional
- optional, not held lean project management optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a database designer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 create software design practise this
- 02 database management systems study this
- 03 develop automated migration methods 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 64 skills that carry over
- already held ICT security legislation knowledge
- already held analyse business requirements skill
- already held apply ICT systems theory skill
- already held assess ICT knowledge skill
- already held business process modelling knowledge
- already held create database diagrams skill
- already held database development tools knowledge
- already held define technical requirements skill
- already held design database scheme skill
- already held information structure knowledge
- already held manage database skill
- already held resource description framework query language knowledge
- already held systems development life-cycle knowledge
- already held systems theory knowledge
- already held use markup languages skill
- already held web programming knowledge
- already held ABAP knowledge
- already held AJAX knowledge
- already held APL knowledge
- already held ASP.NET knowledge
- already held Assembly (computer programming) knowledge
- already held C# knowledge
- already held C++ knowledge
- already held COBOL knowledge
- already held CoffeeScript knowledge
- already held Common Lisp knowledge
- already held Erlang knowledge
- already held Groovy knowledge
- already held Haskell knowledge
- already held Java (computer programming) knowledge
- already held JavaScript knowledge
- already held LINQ knowledge
- already held Lisp knowledge
- already held MATLAB knowledge
- already held ML (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Microsoft Visual C++ knowledge
- already held N1QL knowledge
- already held Objective-C knowledge
- already held OpenEdge Advanced Business Language knowledge
- already held PHP knowledge
- already held Pascal (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Perl knowledge
- already held Prolog (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Python (computer programming) knowledge
- already held R knowledge
- already held Ruby (computer programming) knowledge
- already held SAP R3 knowledge
- already held SAS language knowledge
- already held SPARQL knowledge
- already held Scala knowledge
- already held Scratch (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Smalltalk (computer programming) knowledge
- already held Swift (computer programming) knowledge
- already held TypeScript knowledge
- already held VBScript knowledge
- already held Visual Basic knowledge
- already held build business relationships skill
- already held computer programming knowledge
- already held data engineering knowledge
- already held data science knowledge
- already held define database physical structure skill
- already held manage cloud data and storage skill
- already held unstructured data knowledge
- already held use databases skill
28 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held Agile project management optional
- optional, not held CA Datacom/DB optional
- optional, not held DB2 optional
- optional, not held Filemaker (database management systems) optional
- optional, not held IBM Informix optional
- optional, not held ICT project management methodologies optional
- optional, not held LDAP optional
- optional, not held MDX optional
- optional, not held MarkLogic optional
- optional, not held Microsoft Access optional
- optional, not held MySQL optional
- optional, not held ObjectStore optional
- optional, not held OpenEdge Database optional
- optional, not held Oracle Relational Database optional
- optional, not held Oracle WebLogic optional
- optional, not held PostgreSQL optional
- optional, not held Process-based management optional
- optional, not held SQL Server optional
- optional, not held Teradata Database optional
- optional, not held TripleStore optional
- optional, not held XQuery optional
- optional, not held data models optional
- optional, not held design database backup specifications optional
- optional, not held design database in the cloud optional
- optional, not held lean project management optional
- optional, not held use access control software optional
- optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
- optional, not held perform resource planning optional
25 held skills the database designer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role business intelligence knowledge
- not needed by the target role cloud technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role cognitive psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role create semantic trees skill
- not needed by the target role data mining knowledge
- not needed by the target role decision support systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role design application interfaces skill
- not needed by the target role implement a virtual private network skill
- not needed by the target role information architecture knowledge
- not needed by the target role information categorisation knowledge
- not needed by the target role information extraction knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage ICT semantic integration skill
- not needed by the target role manage business knowledge skill
- not needed by the target role manage digital documents skill
- not needed by the target role natural language processing knowledge
- not needed by the target role principles of artificial intelligence knowledge
- not needed by the target role store digital data and systems skill
- not needed by the target role task algorithmisation knowledge
- not needed by the target role use an application-specific interface skill
- not needed by the target role use back-up and recovery tools skill
- not needed by the target role use query languages skill
- not needed by the target role use spreadsheets software skill
- not needed by the target role utilise decision support system skill
- not needed by the target role visual presentation techniques knowledge
26 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 database management systems required
- still to learn query languages required
- still to learn database required
- optional, not held Agile project management optional
- optional, not held CA Datacom/DB optional
- optional, not held DB2 optional
- optional, not held Filemaker (database management systems) optional
- optional, not held IBM Informix optional
- optional, not held ICT project management methodologies optional
- optional, not held LDAP optional
- optional, not held MDX optional
- optional, not held MarkLogic optional
- optional, not held Microsoft Access optional
- optional, not held MySQL optional
- optional, not held ObjectStore optional
- optional, not held OpenEdge Database optional
- optional, not held Oracle Relational Database optional
- optional, not held Oracle WebLogic optional
- optional, not held PostgreSQL optional
- optional, not held Process-based management optional
- optional, not held SQL Server optional
- optional, not held Teradata Database optional
- optional, not held TripleStore optional
- optional, not held XQuery optional
- optional, not held data models optional
- optional, not held lean project management optional
Common questions about this move
Can a knowledge engineer become a database designer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A knowledge engineer already covers 61% of what a database designer is expected to do: 64 skills carry over, 16 of which the database designer role treats as required.
What skills does a knowledge engineer need to become a database designer?
11 required skills are missing, plus 28 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is create software design.
How hard is the move from knowledge engineer to database designer?
Its learning distance is 55.5 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.