Mechanical engineer to rolling stock engineering drafter
A mechanical engineer already meets 51% of what the rolling stock engineering drafter role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
49/ 100
1 How much of what a rolling stock engineering drafter is expected to do is already part of a mechanical 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 rolling stock engineering drafter role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A rolling stock engineering drafter role treats 9 of its required skills as things a mechanical engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- CAE software
- create technical plans
- design drawings
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- execute analytical mathematical calculations
What stands in the way is 7 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 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A rolling stock engineering drafter role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a mechanical engineer background worth leading with.
- already held define part requirements information skills
- already held mechanics of trains engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held create a product's virtual model communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held material mechanics engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held 3D modelling natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held create technical plans management skills
All 16 carried skills, including the 9 the rolling stock engineering drafter role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 18 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 liaise with engineers required
- still to learn use manual draughting techniques required
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held render 3D images optional
- still to learn use CADD software required
- still to learn use computer-aided engineering systems required
- optional, not held use CAD software optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
- still to learn ICT software specifications required
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- still to learn mathematics required
- optional, not held physics optional
- still to learn manual draughting techniques required
- optional, not held control compliance of railway vehicles regulations optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a rolling stock engineering drafter 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 liaise with engineers practise this
- 03 manual draughting techniques study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 16 skills that carry over
- already held CAE software knowledge
- already held create technical plans skill
- already held design drawings knowledge
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- already held read engineering drawings skill
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held 3D modelling knowledge
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held create a product's virtual model skill
- already held define part requirements skill
- already held electromechanics knowledge
- already held material mechanics knowledge
- already held mechanics of trains knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held product data management optional
- optional, not held archive documentation related to work optional
- optional, not held design wayside signalling interlockings optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held archive documentation related to work optional
- optional, not held control compliance of railway vehicles regulations optional
- optional, not held design wayside signalling interlockings optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held physics optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
- optional, not held render 3D images optional
- optional, not held use CAD software optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
76 held skills the rolling stock engineering drafter role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on machinery malfunctions skill
- not needed by the target role aerodynamics knowledge
- not needed by the target role aircraft mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role approve engineering design skill
- not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
- not needed by the target role automation technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role automotive engineering skill
- not needed by the target role blueprints knowledge
- not needed by the target role build machines skill
- not needed by the target role building automation knowledge
- not needed by the target role calibrate mechatronic instruments skill
- not needed by the target role combined heat and power generation knowledge
- not needed by the target role computer simulation knowledge
- not needed by the target role continuum mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate engineering teams skill
- not needed by the target role define technical requirements skill
- not needed by the target role design a domotic system in buildings skill
- not needed by the target role design a solar absorption cooling system skill
- not needed by the target role design automation components skill
- not needed by the target role design engineering components skill
- not needed by the target role design heating and cooling emission systems skill
- not needed by the target role design principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role design prototypes skill
- not needed by the target role determine production capacity skill
- not needed by the target role develop mechatronic test procedures skill
- not needed by the target role disassemble engines skill
- not needed by the target role draft design specifications skill
- not needed by the target role electric current knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role evaluate engine performance skill
- not needed by the target role fluid mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role gather technical information skill
- not needed by the target role hydraulics knowledge
- not needed by the target role industrial engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect engine rooms skill
- not needed by the target role install automation components skill
- not needed by the target role install mechatronic equipment skill
- not needed by the target role instruct on energy saving technologies skill
- not needed by the target role integrated design knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep up with digital transformation of industrial processes skill
36 further entries not listed here
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 manual draughting techniques required
- still to learn mathematics required
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- optional, not held physics optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
Other moves recorded from mechanical engineer
- fluid power engineer 66% covered · moderate
- robotics engineer 59% covered · moderate
- aerodynamics engineer 57% covered · moderate
- rotating equipment engineer 57% covered · moderate
- container equipment design engineer 55% covered · moderate
- mechanical engineering technician 55% covered · moderate
- packing machinery engineer 54% covered · moderate
- aerospace engineering drafter 52% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can a mechanical engineer become a rolling stock engineering drafter?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A mechanical engineer already covers 51% of what a rolling stock engineering drafter is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 9 of which the rolling stock engineering drafter role treats as required.
What skills does a mechanical engineer need to become a rolling stock engineering drafter?
7 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is ICT software specifications.
How hard is the move from mechanical engineer to rolling stock engineering drafter?
Its learning distance is 49 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.