Mechanical engineering drafter to aerospace engineering drafter
A mechanical engineering drafter already meets 48% of what the aerospace engineering drafter role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
55/ 100
1 How much of what an aerospace engineering drafter is expected to do is already part of a mechanical engineering drafter’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 aerospace engineering drafter role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An aerospace engineering drafter role treats 9 of its required skills as things a mechanical engineering drafter already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- CADD software
- create technical plans
- design drawings
- liaise with engineers
- mathematics
- mechanics
What stands in the way is 9 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 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An aerospace engineering drafter role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a mechanical engineering drafter background worth leading with.
- already held define part requirements information skills
- already held use CADD software working with computers
- already held manual draughting techniques arts and humanities
- already held use manual draughting techniques communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held CADD software information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held create a product's virtual model communication, collaboration and creativity
All 19 carried skills, including the 9 the aerospace engineering drafter role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 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 engineering processes required
- still to learn aircraft mechanics required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held unmanned air systems optional
- optional, not held electromechanics optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- still to learn read engineering drawings required
- optional, not held archive documentation related to work optional
- still to learn ICT software specifications required
- still to learn CAE software required
- still to learn multimedia systems required
- still to learn use computer-aided engineering systems required
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held render 3D images optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an aerospace 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 engineering processes study this
- 03 CAE software 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 19 skills that carry over
- already held CADD software knowledge
- already held create technical plans skill
- already held design drawings knowledge
- already held liaise with engineers skill
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held mechanics knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use CADD software skill
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held 3D modelling knowledge
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held create a product's virtual model skill
- already held define part requirements skill
- already held manual draughting techniques knowledge
- already held material mechanics knowledge
- already held physics knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use manual draughting techniques skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held common aviation safety regulations optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
- optional, not held defense system optional
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
- optional, not held synthetic natural environment optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held archive documentation related to work optional
- optional, not held common aviation safety regulations optional
- optional, not held defense system optional
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
- optional, not held synthetic natural environment optional
- optional, not held unmanned air systems optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held electromechanics optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
- optional, not held render 3D images optional
10 held skills the aerospace engineering drafter role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise client on technical possibilities skill
- not needed by the target role blueprints knowledge
- not needed by the target role calculate materials to build equipment skill
- not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
- not needed by the target role draft design specifications skill
- not needed by the target role maintain mechanical equipment skill
- not needed by the target role mechanical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role principles of mechanical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role read standard blueprints skill
- not needed by the target role review drafts skill
15 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 engineering processes required
- still to learn CAE software required
- still to learn aircraft mechanics required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- still to learn multimedia systems required
- optional, not held common aviation safety regulations optional
- optional, not held defense system optional
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
- optional, not held synthetic natural environment optional
- optional, not held unmanned air systems optional
- optional, not held electromechanics optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
Other moves recorded from mechanical engineering drafter
Common questions about this move
Can a mechanical engineering drafter become an aerospace engineering drafter?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A mechanical engineering drafter already covers 48% of what an aerospace engineering drafter is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 9 of which the aerospace engineering drafter role treats as required.
What skills does a mechanical engineering drafter need to become an aerospace engineering drafter?
9 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is ICT software specifications.
How hard is the move from mechanical engineering drafter to aerospace engineering drafter?
Its learning distance is 55 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.