Robotics engineer to aerospace engineer
A robotics engineer already meets 55% of what the aerospace engineer role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
49.6/ 100
1 How much of what an aerospace engineer is expected to do is already part of a robotics 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 aerospace engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An aerospace engineer role treats 12 of its required skills as things a robotics engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adjust engineering designs
- approve engineering design
- assess financial viability
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- execute feasibility study
What stands in the way is 7 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 23 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An aerospace engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a robotics engineer background worth leading with.
- already held apply advanced manufacturing management skills
- already held state estimation engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held control production management skills
- already held safety engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held industrial engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held execute feasibility study information skills
All 23 carried skills, including the 12 the aerospace engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 24 missing skills fall into 10 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 aerospace engineering required
- still to learn aircraft mechanics required
- still to learn production processes required
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held unmanned air systems optional
- optional, not held aerodynamics optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- optional, not held material mechanics optional
- still to learn troubleshoot required
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- still to learn computer simulation required
- optional, not held CAE software optional
- still to learn ensure aircraft compliance with regulation required
- still to learn quality standards required
- optional, not held plan test flights optional
- optional, not held develop test procedures optional
- optional, not held manage product testing optional
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an aerospace engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 ensure aircraft compliance with regulation practise this
- 02 aerospace engineering study this
- 03 aircraft mechanics 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 23 skills that carry over
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held approve engineering design skill
- already held assess financial viability skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held execute feasibility study skill
- already held industrial engineering knowledge
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held safety engineering knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held apply advanced manufacturing skill
- already held conduct performance tests skill
- already held control production skill
- already held design principles knowledge
- already held design prototypes skill
- already held draft design specifications skill
- already held mechanical engineering knowledge
- already held record test data skill
- already held state estimation knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use CAM software skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held analyse production processes for improvement optional
- optional, not held oversee assembly operations optional
- optional, not held synthetic natural environment optional
- optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
- optional, not held defense system optional
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
- optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held defense system optional
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held plan test flights optional
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
- optional, not held synthetic natural environment optional
- optional, not held unmanned air systems optional
- optional, not held CAE software optional
- optional, not held aerodynamics optional
- optional, not held analyse production processes for improvement optional
- optional, not held build a product's physical model optional
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held develop test procedures optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- optional, not held manage product testing optional
- optional, not held material mechanics optional
- optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
- optional, not held oversee assembly operations optional
30 held skills the aerospace engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on machinery malfunctions skill
- not needed by the target role analyse test data skill
- not needed by the target role assemble mechatronic units skill
- not needed by the target role assemble robots skill
- not needed by the target role automatic control system knowledge
- not needed by the target role calibrate mechatronic instruments skill
- not needed by the target role computer engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role create software design skill
- not needed by the target role create technical plans skill
- not needed by the target role debug software skill
- not needed by the target role design automation components skill
- not needed by the target role develop computer vision system skill
- not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow standards for machinery safety skill
- not needed by the target role human-robot collaboration knowledge
- not needed by the target role industrial research and development knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep up with digital transformation of industrial processes skill
- not needed by the target role maintain robotic equipment skill
- not needed by the target role mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechatronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role microprocessors knowledge
- not needed by the target role model based system engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform test run skill
- not needed by the target role prepare production prototypes skill
- not needed by the target role product data management knowledge
- not needed by the target role robotic components knowledge
- not needed by the target role robotics knowledge
- not needed by the target role simulate mechatronic design concepts skill
- not needed by the target role test mechatronic units skill
15 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 aerospace engineering required
- still to learn aircraft mechanics required
- still to learn computer simulation required
- still to learn production processes required
- still to learn quality standards required
- optional, not held defense system optional
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
- optional, not held synthetic natural environment optional
- optional, not held unmanned air systems optional
- optional, not held CAE software optional
- optional, not held aerodynamics optional
- optional, not held fluid mechanics optional
- optional, not held material mechanics optional
- optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
Common questions about this move
Can a robotics engineer become an aerospace engineer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A robotics engineer already covers 55% of what an aerospace engineer is expected to do: 23 skills carry over, 12 of which the aerospace engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a robotics engineer need to become an aerospace engineer?
7 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is ensure aircraft compliance with regulation.
How hard is the move from robotics engineer to aerospace engineer?
Its learning distance is 49.6 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.