Predictive maintenance expert to printed circuit board designer
A predictive maintenance expert already meets 19% of what the printed circuit board designer role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
73.2/ 100
1 How much of what a printed circuit board designer is expected to do is already part of a predictive maintenance expert’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 designer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A printed circuit board designer role treats 3 of its required skills as things a predictive maintenance expert already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- electricity
- electronics
- mathematics
What stands in the way is 11 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 5 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A printed circuit board designer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a predictive maintenance expert background worth leading with.
- already held ensure equipment maintenance management skills
- already held electrical engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held electronics engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held mathematics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held electricity engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 5 carried skills, including the 3 the printed circuit board designer role treats as required.
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.
- still to learn design circuit boards required
- still to learn draft design specifications required
- optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held design prototypes optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held use manual draughting techniques optional
- still to learn CAD software required
- still to learn printed circuit boards required
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- still to learn interpret circuit diagrams required
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- optional, not held monitor manufacturing quality standards optional
- still to learn use CAD software required
- still to learn use technical drawing software required
- optional, not held use CADD software optional
- still to learn design drawings required
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- still to learn create technical plans required
- optional, not held plan manufacturing processes optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a printed circuit board designer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 interpret circuit diagrams practise this
- 02 test printed circuit boards practise this
- 03 CAD software 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 5 skills that carry over
- already held electricity knowledge
- already held electronics knowledge
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held electrical engineering knowledge
- already held ensure equipment maintenance skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn test printed circuit boards required
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held design prototypes optional
- optional, not held develop assembly instructions optional
- optional, not held draw blueprints optional
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held monitor manufacturing quality standards optional
- optional, not held plan manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held use CADD software optional
- optional, not held use manual draughting techniques optional
20 held skills the printed circuit board designer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT networking hardware knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on equipment maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role analyse big data skill
- not needed by the target role apply information security policies skill
- not needed by the target role apply statistical analysis techniques skill
- not needed by the target role automotive diagnostic equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role automotive engineering skill
- not needed by the target role computer programming knowledge
- not needed by the target role computer simulation knowledge
- not needed by the target role deliver visual presentation of data skill
- not needed by the target role design sensors skill
- not needed by the target role develop data processing applications skill
- not needed by the target role gather data skill
- not needed by the target role manage data skill
- not needed by the target role model sensor skill
- not needed by the target role perform data analysis skill
- not needed by the target role predictive maintenance knowledge
- not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role test sensors skill
- not needed by the target role use automotive diagnostic equipment skill
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 CAD software required
- still to learn design drawings required
- still to learn printed circuit boards required
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- optional, not held electrical wiring plans optional
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
Other moves recorded from predictive maintenance expert
Common questions about this move
Can a predictive maintenance expert become a printed circuit board designer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A predictive maintenance expert already covers 19% of what a printed circuit board designer is expected to do: 5 skills carry over, 3 of which the printed circuit board designer role treats as required.
What skills does a predictive maintenance expert need to become a printed circuit board designer?
11 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is interpret circuit diagrams.
How hard is the move from predictive maintenance expert to printed circuit board designer?
Its learning distance is 73.2 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.