Power electronics engineer to integrated circuit design engineer
A power electronics engineer already meets 51% of what the integrated circuit design engineer role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
50.2/ 100
1 How much of what an integrated circuit design engineer is expected to do is already part of a power electronics 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 integrated circuit design engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An integrated circuit design engineer role treats 10 of its required skills as things a power electronics engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- CAD software
- create technical plans
- design drawings
- design integrated circuits
- electricity
- electronic equipment standards
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. An integrated circuit design engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a power electronics engineer background worth leading with.
- already held design integrated circuits communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held integrated circuits engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held battery management systems engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held draft bill of materials information skills
- already held electronic equipment standards engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held create technical plans management skills
All 16 carried skills, including the 10 the integrated circuit design engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 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 customise drafts required
- still to learn design electronic systems required
- still to learn liaise with engineers required
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held review drafts optional
- optional, not held use manual draughting techniques optional
- still to learn electronic components required
- still to learn integrated circuit types required
- still to learn semiconductors required
- optional, not held LED lighting components optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- still to learn mathematics required
- optional, not held monitor system performance optional
- optional, not held test electronic units optional
- optional, not held keep records of work progress optional
- optional, not held plan manufacturing processes optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an integrated circuit design engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 electronic components study this
- 02 integrated circuit types study this
- 03 customise drafts 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 16 skills that carry over
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held create technical plans skill
- already held design drawings knowledge
- already held design integrated circuits skill
- already held electricity knowledge
- already held electronic equipment standards knowledge
- already held electronics knowledge
- already held integrated circuits knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held apply technical communication skills skill
- already held battery management systems knowledge
- already held design prototypes skill
- already held draft bill of materials skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held train employees skill
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held LED lighting components optional
- optional, not held monitor system performance optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held keep records of work progress optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held plan manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held review drafts optional
- optional, not held test electronic units optional
- optional, not held use manual draughting techniques optional
54 held skills the integrated circuit design engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role CAE software knowledge
- not needed by the target role adjust engineering designs skill
- not needed by the target role analyse test data skill
- not needed by the target role apply soldering techniques skill
- not needed by the target role approve engineering design skill
- not needed by the target role assemble hardware components skill
- not needed by the target role battery design knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct literature research skill
- not needed by the target role conduct quality control analysis skill
- not needed by the target role consumer electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate engineering teams skill
- not needed by the target role define manufacturing quality criteria skill
- not needed by the target role define technical requirements skill
- not needed by the target role design electromechanical systems skill
- not needed by the target role design firmware skill
- not needed by the target role design power electronics skill
- not needed by the target role develop electronic test procedures skill
- not needed by the target role develop product design skill
- not needed by the target role dispose of hazardous waste skill
- not needed by the target role draft design specifications skill
- not needed by the target role electricity principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronic test procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role energy saving potential of automated shift systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure material compliance skill
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental threats knowledge
- not needed by the target role health and safety regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role install software skill
- not needed by the target role interpret circuit diagrams skill
- not needed by the target role maintain safe engineering watches skill
- not needed by the target role mechanical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role model power electronics skill
- not needed by the target role operate electronic measuring instruments skill
- not needed by the target role operate precision machinery skill
- not needed by the target role perform data analysis skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role perform resource planning skill
- not needed by the target role perform test run skill
- not needed by the target role physics knowledge
- not needed by the target role power electronics knowledge
14 further entries not listed here
7 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 electronic components required
- still to learn integrated circuit types required
- still to learn mathematics required
- still to learn semiconductors required
- optional, not held LED lighting components optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
Other moves recorded from power electronics engineer
Common questions about this move
Can a power electronics engineer become an integrated circuit design engineer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A power electronics engineer already covers 51% of what an integrated circuit design engineer is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 10 of which the integrated circuit design engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a power electronics engineer need to become an integrated circuit design engineer?
7 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is electronic components.
How hard is the move from power electronics engineer to integrated circuit design engineer?
Its learning distance is 50.2 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.