Printed circuit board test technician to computer hardware test technician
A printed circuit board test technician already meets 61% of what the computer hardware test technician role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
45.4/ 100
1 How much of what a computer hardware test technician is expected to do is already part of a printed circuit board test technician’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 computer hardware test technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A computer hardware test technician role treats 14 of its required skills as things a printed circuit board test technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- communicate test results to other departments
- electronic equipment standards
- ensure conformity to specifications
- hardware testing methods
- inspect quality of products
- instrument performance elements
What stands in the way is 10 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 29 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A computer hardware test technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a printed circuit board test technician background worth leading with.
- already held perform in-circuit test constructing
- already held test hardware constructing
- already held printed circuit boards testing methods information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held test printed circuit boards constructing
- already held hardware testing methods information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held research equipment needs communication, collaboration and creativity
All 29 carried skills, including the 14 the computer hardware test technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 5 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 analyse test data required
- still to learn conduct quality control analysis required
- still to learn read engineering drawings required
- optional, not held check system parameters against reference values optional
- still to learn hardware materials required
- still to learn hardware platforms required
- still to learn hardware components required
- still to learn hardware architectures required
- still to learn electrical discharge required
- optional, not held consumer electronics optional
- optional, not held mechanics optional
- still to learn use measurement instruments required
- still to learn use testing equipment required
- optional, not held calibrate electronic instruments optional
- optional, not held operate precision measuring equipment optional
- optional, not held test wireless devices optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a computer hardware test technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 hardware architectures study this
- 02 hardware materials study this
- 03 hardware platforms 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 29 skills that carry over
- already held communicate test results to other departments skill
- already held electronic equipment standards knowledge
- already held ensure conformity to specifications skill
- already held hardware testing methods knowledge
- already held inspect quality of products 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 quality standards knowledge
- already held read assembly drawings skill
- already held read standard blueprints skill
- already held test hardware skill
- already held electronics knowledge
- already held keep records of work progress skill
- already held liaise with engineers skill
- already held maintain test equipment skill
- already held microelectronics knowledge
- already held perform in-circuit test skill
- already held perform test run skill
- already held printed circuit boards testing methods knowledge
- already held remove defective products skill
- already held research equipment needs skill
- already held resolve equipment malfunctions skill
- already held send faulty equipment back to assembly line skill
- already held test printed circuit boards skill
- already held waste removal regulations knowledge
- already held write inspection reports skill
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held test wireless devices optional
- optional, not held consumer electronics optional
- optional, not held calibrate electronic instruments optional
- optional, not held check system parameters against reference values optional
- optional, not held mechanics optional
- optional, not held operate precision measuring equipment optional
19 held skills the computer hardware test technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role IPC standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role abide by regulations on banned materials skill
- not needed by the target role apply soldering techniques skill
- not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills skill
- not needed by the target role automated optical inspection knowledge
- not needed by the target role check for solder defects skill
- not needed by the target role ensure material compliance skill
- not needed by the target role in-circuit test knowledge
- not needed by the target role integrated circuits knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor machine operations skill
- not needed by the target role operate automated optical inspection machine skill
- not needed by the target role printed circuit boards knowledge
- not needed by the target role process customer requests based on the REACh Regulation 1907 2006 skill
- not needed by the target role report defective manufacturing materials skill
- not needed by the target role semiconductors knowledge
- not needed by the target role surface-mount technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role through-hole technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role troubleshoot skill
- not needed by the target role write records for repairs 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 hardware architectures required
- still to learn hardware materials required
- still to learn hardware platforms required
- still to learn electrical discharge required
- still to learn hardware components required
- optional, not held consumer electronics optional
- optional, not held mechanics optional
Other moves recorded from printed circuit board test technician
- electronic equipment inspector 62% covered · moderate
- precision device inspector 62% covered · moderate
- surface-mount technology machine operator 55% covered · moderate
- wave soldering machine operator 54% covered · moderate
Full index of moves from printed circuit board test technician
Common questions about this move
Can a printed circuit board test technician become a computer hardware test technician?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A printed circuit board test technician already covers 61% of what a computer hardware test technician is expected to do: 29 skills carry over, 14 of which the computer hardware test technician role treats as required.
What skills does a printed circuit board test technician need to become a computer hardware test technician?
10 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is hardware architectures.
How hard is the move from printed circuit board test technician to computer hardware test technician?
Its learning distance is 45.4 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.