Mechanical engineering drafter to product development engineering drafter
A mechanical engineering drafter already meets 59% of what the product development engineering drafter role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
42.1/ 100
1 How much of what a product development 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 product development engineering drafter role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A product development engineering drafter role treats 11 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
- define part requirements
- design drawings
- manual draughting techniques
- mathematics
What stands in the way is 5 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 17 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 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 create a product's virtual model communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held draft design specifications communication, collaboration and creativity
All 17 carried skills, including the 11 the product development engineering drafter role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 7 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 circular economy required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held industrial research and development optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- still to learn read engineering drawings required
- still to learn provide technical documentation required
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held draw design sketches optional
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
1 further area in the appendix
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.
- 01 engineering processes study this
- 02 circular economy study this
- 03 engineering principles 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 17 skills that carry over
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held create technical plans skill
- already held define part requirements skill
- already held design drawings knowledge
- already held manual draughting techniques knowledge
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use CADD software skill
- already held use manual draughting techniques skill
- 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 draft design specifications skill
- already held liaise with engineers skill
- already held mechanical engineering knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held draw design sketches optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held industrial research and development optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held product data management optional
12 held skills the product development engineering drafter role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role CADD software knowledge
- 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 maintain mechanical equipment skill
- not needed by the target role material mechanics 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
11 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 engineering processes required
- still to learn circular economy required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held industrial research and development optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes 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 a product development engineering drafter?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A mechanical engineering drafter already covers 59% of what a product development engineering drafter is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 11 of which the product development engineering drafter role treats as required.
What skills does a mechanical engineering drafter need to become a product development engineering drafter?
5 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is engineering processes.
How hard is the move from mechanical engineering drafter to product development engineering drafter?
Its learning distance is 42.1 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.