Precision engineer to research engineer
A precision engineer already meets 47% of what the research engineer role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
52.5/ 100
1 How much of what a research engineer is expected to do is already part of a precision 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 research engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A research engineer role treats 9 of its required skills as things a precision engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- define technical requirements
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- interpret technical requirements
- manage engineering project
- perform scientific research
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 13 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A research engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a precision engineer background worth leading with.
- already held apply advanced manufacturing management skills
- already held develop test procedures management skills
- already held interpret technical requirements information skills
- already held manage engineering project management skills
- already held industrial engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held define technical requirements management skills
All 13 carried skills, including the 9 the research engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 24 missing skills fall into 11 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 execute feasibility study required
- still to learn gather experimental data required
- optional, not held conduct experiments on animals optional
- optional, not held use mathematical tools and equipment optional
- still to learn industrial research and development required
- optional, not held battery design optional
- optional, not held materials engineering optional
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- still to learn collect samples for analysis required
- optional, not held computational mechanics optional
- optional, not held bioeconomy optional
- optional, not held laboratory techniques optional
- optional, not held physics optional
- optional, not held adjust engineering designs optional
- optional, not held assist scientific research optional
- optional, not held write manuals optional
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a research engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 collect samples for analysis practise this
- 02 execute feasibility study practise this
- 03 gather experimental data 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 13 skills that carry over
- already held define technical requirements skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held interpret technical requirements skill
- already held manage engineering project skill
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held apply advanced manufacturing skill
- already held develop test procedures skill
- already held industrial engineering knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held use non-destructive testing equipment optional
- optional, not held perform laboratory tests optional
- optional, not held run laboratory simulations optional
- optional, not held cognitive computing optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- optional, not held apply safety procedures in laboratory optional
- optional, not held scientific literature optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply safety procedures in laboratory optional
- optional, not held battery design optional
- optional, not held cognitive computing optional
- optional, not held computational mechanics optional
- optional, not held conduct experiments on animals optional
- optional, not held use non-destructive testing equipment optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- optional, not held adjust engineering designs optional
- optional, not held assist scientific research optional
- optional, not held bioeconomy optional
- optional, not held laboratory techniques optional
- optional, not held materials engineering optional
- optional, not held perform laboratory tests optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- optional, not held physics optional
- optional, not held run laboratory simulations optional
- optional, not held scientific literature optional
- optional, not held use mathematical tools and equipment optional
- optional, not held write manuals optional
24 held skills the research engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse stress resistance of products skill
- not needed by the target role analyse test data skill
- not needed by the target role calibrate precision instrument skill
- not needed by the target role conduct performance tests skill
- not needed by the target role define part requirements skill
- not needed by the target role design microelectromechanical systems 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 design scientific equipment skill
- not needed by the target role draft design specifications skill
- not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain test equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage product testing skill
- not needed by the target role mechanical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechatronics 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 perform test run skill
- not needed by the target role precision engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role precision mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role product data management knowledge
- not needed by the target role record test data skill
- not needed by the target role use testing equipment 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 industrial research and development required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held battery design optional
- optional, not held cognitive computing optional
- optional, not held computational mechanics optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- optional, not held bioeconomy optional
- optional, not held laboratory techniques optional
- optional, not held materials engineering optional
- optional, not held physics optional
- optional, not held scientific literature optional
Common questions about this move
Can a precision engineer become a research engineer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A precision engineer already covers 47% of what a research engineer is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 9 of which the research engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a precision engineer need to become a research engineer?
5 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is collect samples for analysis.
How hard is the move from precision engineer to research engineer?
Its learning distance is 52.5 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.