Project support officer to quality engineer
A project support officer already meets 19% of what the quality engineer role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
76/ 100
1 How much of what a quality engineer is expected to do is already part of a project support officer’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 quality engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A quality engineer role treats 3 of its required skills as things a project support officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- perform risk analysis
- quality assurance methodologies
- quality standards
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 · What you already bring
Of the 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A quality engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a project support officer background worth leading with.
- already held quality assurance methodologies business, administration and law
- already held ensure compliance with legal requirements assisting and caring
- already held perform risk analysis information skills
- already held train employees communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held perform project management management skills
- already held quality standards business, administration and law
All 7 carried skills, including the 3 the quality engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 30 missing skills fall into 9 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 inspect quality of products required
- still to learn record test data required
- still to learn report test findings required
- still to learn undertake inspections required
- optional, not held check quality of products on the production line optional
- optional, not held check quality of raw materials optional
- optional, not held lead inspections optional
- optional, not held perform pre-assembly quality checks optional
- still to learn recommend product improvements required
- still to learn support implementation of quality management systems required
- still to learn write inspection reports required
- optional, not held communicate test results to other departments optional
- still to learn identify process improvements required
- still to learn define quality standards required
- still to learn set quality assurance objectives required
- optional, not held define manufacturing quality criteria optional
- still to learn test procedures required
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held materials engineering optional
- optional, not held non-destructive testing optional
- still to learn quality assurance procedures required
- optional, not held audit techniques optional
- optional, not held lean manufacturing optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with company regulations optional
- optional, not held oversee quality control optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a quality engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 identify process improvements practise this
- 02 analyse test data practise this
- 03 define quality standards 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 7 skills that carry over
- already held perform risk analysis skill
- already held quality assurance methodologies knowledge
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held ensure compliance with legal requirements skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held train employees skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held maintain test equipment optional
- optional, not held communication optional
- optional, not held use measurement instruments optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held check quality of products on the production line optional
- optional, not held define manufacturing quality criteria optional
- optional, not held audit techniques optional
- optional, not held check quality of raw materials optional
- optional, not held communicate test results to other departments optional
- optional, not held communication optional
- optional, not held ensure compliance with company regulations optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held lead inspections optional
- optional, not held lean manufacturing optional
- optional, not held maintain test equipment optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held materials engineering optional
- optional, not held non-destructive testing optional
- optional, not held oversee quality control optional
- optional, not held perform pre-assembly quality checks optional
- optional, not held use measurement instruments optional
33 held skills the quality engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role Agile project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role Prince2 project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role carry out project activities skill
- not needed by the target role conduct quality control analysis skill
- not needed by the target role create a financial report skill
- not needed by the target role customise project methodologies skill
- not needed by the target role document project progress skill
- not needed by the target role draft project documentation skill
- not needed by the target role ensure equipment availability skill
- not needed by the target role estimate duration of work skill
- not needed by the target role follow company standards skill
- not needed by the target role introduce new employees skill
- not needed by the target role lean project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain a central project repository skill
- not needed by the target role maintain financial records skill
- not needed by the target role maintain internal communication systems skill
- not needed by the target role manage administrative systems skill
- not needed by the target role manage project changes skill
- not needed by the target role manage project information skill
- not needed by the target role manage project metrics skill
- not needed by the target role manage relationships with stakeholders skill
- not needed by the target role manage standard enterprise resource planning system skill
- not needed by the target role monitor the conformance to the project methodology skill
- not needed by the target role office software knowledge
- not needed by the target role organise information on availability of the team skill
- not needed by the target role organise project meetings skill
- not needed by the target role perform PESTEL analysis skill
- not needed by the target role project configuration management knowledge
- not needed by the target role project management methodology (PM²) knowledge
- not needed by the target role project management principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide cost benefit analysis reports skill
- not needed by the target role use ICT ticketing system skill
9 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 quality assurance procedures required
- still to learn test procedures required
- optional, not held audit techniques optional
- optional, not held communication optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held lean manufacturing optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held materials engineering optional
- optional, not held non-destructive testing optional
Common questions about this move
Can a project support officer become a quality engineer?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A project support officer already covers 19% of what a quality engineer is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 3 of which the quality engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a project support officer need to become a quality engineer?
13 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is identify process improvements.
How hard is the move from project support officer to quality engineer?
Its learning distance is 76 out of 100, which is the career change 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.