Satellite engineer to aerospace engineer
A satellite engineer already meets 78% of what the aerospace engineer role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
26.9/ 100
1 How much of what an aerospace engineer is expected to do is already part of a satellite 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 14 of its required skills as things a satellite engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adjust engineering designs
- aerospace engineering
- approve engineering design
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- execute feasibility study
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 38 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 satellite engineer background worth leading with.
- already held aerospace engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held unmanned air systems engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held oversee assembly operations information skills
- already held synthetic natural environment natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held aerodynamics engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held apply advanced manufacturing management skills
All 38 carried skills, including the 14 the aerospace engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 9 missing skills fall into 7 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 aircraft mechanics required
- still to learn safety engineering required
- optional, not held state estimation optional
- still to learn ensure aircraft compliance with regulation required
- still to learn computer simulation required
- still to learn assess financial viability required
- optional, not held plan test flights optional
- optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
1 further area 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 aircraft mechanics study this
- 03 assess financial viability 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 38 skills that carry over
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held aerospace engineering knowledge
- already held approve engineering design 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 production processes knowledge
- already held quality standards knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held troubleshoot skill
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held CAE software knowledge
- already held aerodynamics knowledge
- already held analyse production processes for improvement skill
- already held apply advanced manufacturing skill
- already held build a product's physical model skill
- already held conduct performance tests skill
- already held control production skill
- already held create a product's virtual model skill
- already held defense system knowledge
- already held design principles knowledge
- already held design prototypes skill
- already held develop test procedures skill
- already held draft design specifications skill
- already held fluid mechanics knowledge
- already held guidance, navigation and control knowledge
- already held manage product testing skill
- already held material mechanics knowledge
- already held mechanical engineering knowledge
- already held oversee assembly operations skill
- already held record test data skill
- already held synthetic natural environment knowledge
- already held unmanned air systems knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use CAM software skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held plan test flights optional
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
- optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
- optional, not held state estimation optional
11 held skills the aerospace engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role develop computer vision system skill
- not needed by the target role geostationary satellites knowledge
- not needed by the target role global navigation satellite system performance parameters knowledge
- not needed by the target role launching of satellites into orbit knowledge
- not needed by the target role log transmitter readings skill
- not needed by the target role model based system engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor satellites skill
- not needed by the target role plan space satellite missions skill
- not needed by the target role research satellite launch sites skill
- not needed by the target role scientific computing knowledge
- not needed by the target role types of satellites knowledge
6 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 aircraft mechanics required
- still to learn computer simulation required
- still to learn safety engineering required
- optional, not held stealth technology optional
- optional, not held mathematical modelling optional
- optional, not held state estimation optional
Common questions about this move
Can a satellite engineer become an aerospace engineer?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A satellite engineer already covers 78% of what an aerospace engineer is expected to do: 38 skills carry over, 14 of which the aerospace engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a satellite engineer need to become an aerospace engineer?
5 required skills are missing, plus 4 optional ones. They fall into 7 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 satellite engineer to aerospace engineer?
Its learning distance is 26.9 out of 100, which is the adjacent 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.