Military engineer to special forces officer
A military engineer already meets 79% of what the special forces officer role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
24.2/ 100
1 How much of what a special forces officer is expected to do is already part of a military 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 special forces officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A special forces officer role treats 18 of its required skills as things a military engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply information security policies
- assess danger in risk areas
- camouflage
- devise military tactics
- ensure compliance with types of weapons
- ensure public safety and security
What stands in the way is 4 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 24 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A special forces officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a military engineer background worth leading with.
- already held operate armoured fighting vehicles working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held assess danger in risk areas information skills
- already held camouflage engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held coordinate patrols management skills
- already held give battle commands communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held devise military tactics management skills
All 24 carried skills, including the 18 the special forces officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 8 missing skills fall into 4 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 perform covert investigations required
- still to learn develop investigation strategy required
- still to learn identify terrorism threats required
- still to learn lead military troops required
- optional, not held patrol areas optional
- optional, not held provide humanitarian aid optional
- optional, not held use personal protection equipment optional
- optional, not held execute working instructions optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a special forces officer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 perform covert investigations practise this
- 02 develop investigation strategy practise this
- 03 identify terrorism threats 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 24 skills that carry over
- already held apply information security policies skill
- already held assess danger in risk areas skill
- already held camouflage knowledge
- already held devise military tactics skill
- already held ensure compliance with types of weapons skill
- already held ensure public safety and security skill
- already held geographic information systems knowledge
- already held handle surveillance equipment skill
- already held identify security threats skill
- already held maintain operational communications skill
- already held military code knowledge
- already held military combat techniques knowledge
- already held military drill knowledge
- already held military weaponry knowledge
- already held perform military operations skill
- already held surveillance methods knowledge
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held use geographic information systems skill
- already held coordinate patrols skill
- already held give battle commands skill
- already held operate armoured fighting vehicles skill
- already held operate radio equipment skill
- already held practice vigilance skill
- already held write situation reports skill
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held execute working instructions optional
- optional, not held patrol areas optional
- optional, not held provide humanitarian aid optional
- optional, not held use personal protection equipment optional
96 held skills the special forces officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role Agile project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role DevOps knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT project management methodologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role accounting knowledge
- not needed by the target role adjust engineering designs skill
- not needed by the target role advise superiors on military operations skill
- not needed by the target role algorithms knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse supply chain strategies skill
- not needed by the target role application process knowledge
- not needed by the target role aviation meteorology knowledge
- not needed by the target role business intelligence knowledge
- not needed by the target role business process modelling knowledge
- not needed by the target role business processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role calibrate electronic instruments skill
- not needed by the target role computer equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role computer technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role concepts of telecommunications knowledge
- not needed by the target role control systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate humanitarian aid missions 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 defend human rights skill
- not needed by the target role define technology strategy skill
- not needed by the target role design engineering components 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 feasibility skill
- not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role electricity principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronic and telecommunication equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronics principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role energy knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure information security skill
- not needed by the target role examine engineering principles skill
- not needed by the target role geographic areas knowledge
- not needed by the target role industrial research and development knowledge
- not needed by the target role information confidentiality knowledge
- not needed by the target role instrumentation equipment knowledge
56 further entries not listed here
Other moves recorded from military engineer
Common questions about this move
Can a military engineer become a special forces officer?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A military engineer already covers 79% of what a special forces officer is expected to do: 24 skills carry over, 18 of which the special forces officer role treats as required.
What skills does a military engineer need to become a special forces officer?
4 required skills are missing, plus 4 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is perform covert investigations.
How hard is the move from military engineer to special forces officer?
Its learning distance is 24.2 out of 100, which is the adjacent 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.