Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Precision device inspector to printed circuit board test technician

A precision device inspector already meets 50% of what the printed circuit board test technician role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From precision device inspector
50 % overlap
Partial match
To printed circuit board test technician
24 You already bring
13 Still to learn
48 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

57.7/ 100

1 How much of what a printed circuit board test technician is expected to do is already part of a precision device inspector’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 test technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A printed circuit board test technician role treats 13 of its required skills as things a precision device inspector already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • communicate test results to other departments
  • electronics
  • ensure conformity to specifications
  • instrument performance elements
  • interpret circuit diagrams
  • measure electrical characteristics

What stands in the way is 13 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 24 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A printed circuit board test technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a precision device inspector background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held research equipment needs communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held instrument performance elements engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held waste removal regulations services
  • already held communicate test results to other departments communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held measure electrical characteristics information skills
  • already held microelectronics engineering, manufacturing and construction

All 24 carried skills, including the 13 the printed circuit board test technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 24 missing skills fall into 8 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 constructing 4 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn perform in-circuit test required
  • still to learn test printed circuit boards required
  • still to learn check for solder defects required
  • still to learn perform test run required
  • optional, not held apply soldering techniques optional
  • optional, not held test hardware optional
02 engineering, manufacturing and construction 3 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn in-circuit test required
  • still to learn electronic equipment standards required
  • still to learn integrated circuits required
  • optional, not held IPC standards optional
  • optional, not held surface-mount technology optional
  • optional, not held through-hole technology optional
  • optional, not held semiconductors optional
03 information and communication technologies (icts) 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn printed circuit boards required
  • still to learn printed circuit boards testing methods required
  • optional, not held hardware testing methods optional
04 assisting and caring 2 required
  • still to learn abide by regulations on banned materials required
  • still to learn process customer requests based on the REACh Regulation 1907 2006 required
05 information skills 2 required
  • still to learn ensure material compliance required
  • still to learn inspect quality of products required
06 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
  • optional, not held liaise with engineers optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a printed circuit board test technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 24 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held communicate test results to other departments skill
  • already held electronics knowledge
  • already held ensure conformity to specifications skill
  • already held instrument performance elements knowledge
  • already held interpret circuit diagrams skill
  • already held measure electrical characteristics skill
  • already held meet deadlines skill
  • already held quality assurance procedures knowledge
  • already held read assembly drawings skill
  • already held read standard blueprints skill
  • already held report defective manufacturing materials skill
  • already held send faulty equipment back to assembly line skill
  • already held troubleshoot skill
  • already held keep records of work progress skill
  • already held maintain test equipment skill
  • already held microelectronics knowledge
  • already held monitor machine operations skill
  • already held quality standards knowledge
  • already held remove defective products skill
  • already held research equipment needs skill
  • already held resolve equipment malfunctions skill
  • already held waste removal regulations knowledge
  • already held write inspection reports skill
  • already held write records for repairs skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 health and welfare 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held automated optical inspection optional
08 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held operate automated optical inspection machine optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held IPC standards optional
  • optional, not held automated optical inspection optional
  • optional, not held operate automated optical inspection machine optional
  • optional, not held surface-mount technology optional
  • optional, not held through-hole technology optional
  • optional, not held apply soldering techniques optional
  • optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
  • optional, not held hardware testing methods optional
  • optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
  • optional, not held semiconductors optional
  • optional, not held test hardware optional
19 held skills the printed circuit board test technician role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role MOEM knowledge
  • not needed by the target role calibrate electronic instruments skill
  • not needed by the target role calibrate precision instrument skill
  • not needed by the target role check system parameters against reference values skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct quality control analysis skill
  • not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role interpret electrical diagrams skill
  • not needed by the target role mechanical engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role microelectromechanical systems knowledge
  • not needed by the target role micromechanics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role micromechatronic engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role microoptics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role microprocessors knowledge
  • not needed by the target role operate precision machinery skill
  • not needed by the target role operate precision measuring equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role precision engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role precision measuring instruments knowledge
  • not needed by the target role precision mechanics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use precision tools 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn in-circuit test required
  • still to learn electronic equipment standards required
  • still to learn integrated circuits required
  • still to learn printed circuit boards required
  • still to learn printed circuit boards testing methods required
  • optional, not held IPC standards optional
  • optional, not held automated optical inspection optional
  • optional, not held surface-mount technology optional
  • optional, not held through-hole technology optional
  • optional, not held hardware testing methods optional
  • optional, not held semiconductors optional
Index
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a precision device inspector become a printed circuit board test technician?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A precision device inspector already covers 50% of what a printed circuit board test technician is expected to do: 24 skills carry over, 13 of which the printed circuit board test technician role treats as required.

What skills does a precision device inspector need to become a printed circuit board test technician?

13 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by constructing. The single most important is abide by regulations on banned materials.

How hard is the move from precision device inspector to printed circuit board test technician?

Its learning distance is 57.7 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.