Mechanical engineering drafter to printed circuit board designer
A mechanical engineering drafter already meets 45% of what the printed circuit board designer role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
52.3/ 100
1 How much of what a printed circuit board designer 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 printed circuit board designer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A printed circuit board designer role treats 7 of its required skills as things a mechanical engineering drafter already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- CAD software
- create technical plans
- design drawings
- draft design specifications
- mathematics
- use CAD software
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 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A printed circuit board designer 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 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
- already held draft design specifications communication, collaboration and creativity
All 12 carried skills, including the 7 the printed circuit board designer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 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 electricity required
- still to learn electronics required
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- still to learn interpret circuit diagrams required
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- optional, not held monitor manufacturing quality standards optional
- still to learn design circuit boards required
- optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
- optional, not held design prototypes optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- still to learn test printed circuit boards required
- still to learn printed circuit boards required
- optional, not held ensure equipment maintenance optional
- optional, not held plan manufacturing processes optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a printed circuit board designer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 interpret circuit diagrams practise this
- 02 test printed circuit boards practise this
- 03 design circuit boards 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 12 skills that carry over
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held create technical plans skill
- already held design drawings knowledge
- already held draft design specifications skill
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held CADD software knowledge
- already held create a product's virtual model skill
- already held manual draughting techniques knowledge
- already held use CADD software skill
- already held use manual draughting techniques skill
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
- optional, not held design prototypes optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held ensure equipment maintenance optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held monitor manufacturing quality standards optional
- optional, not held plan manufacturing processes optional
17 held skills the printed circuit board designer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role 3D modelling knowledge
- not needed by the target role adjust engineering designs skill
- 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 define part requirements skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with engineers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain mechanical equipment skill
- not needed by the target role material mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role physics 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
- not needed by the target role technical drawings knowledge
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 electricity required
- still to learn electronics required
- still to learn printed circuit boards required
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
Other moves recorded from mechanical engineering drafter
Common questions about this move
Can a mechanical engineering drafter become a printed circuit board designer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A mechanical engineering drafter already covers 45% of what a printed circuit board designer is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 7 of which the printed circuit board designer role treats as required.
What skills does a mechanical engineering drafter need to become a printed circuit board designer?
7 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is interpret circuit diagrams.
How hard is the move from mechanical engineering drafter to printed circuit board designer?
Its learning distance is 52.3 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.