Sensor engineering technician to automation engineering technician
A sensor engineering technician already meets 54% of what the automation engineering technician role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
56.1/ 100
1 How much of what an automation engineering technician is expected to do is already part of a sensor engineering 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 automation engineering technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An automation engineering technician role treats 19 of its required skills as things a sensor engineering technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adjust engineering designs
- align components
- assemble sensors
- assist scientific research
- automatic control system
- control engineering
What stands in the way is 14 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. An automation engineering technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a sensor engineering technician background worth leading with.
- already held automatic control system information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held assemble sensors handling and moving
- already held microprocessors information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held firmware information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held control engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held test sensors constructing
All 29 carried skills, including the 19 the automation engineering technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 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 automation technology required
- still to learn computer engineering required
- still to learn mechatronics required
- still to learn robotic components required
- still to learn robotics required
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held marine technology optional
- optional, not held programmable logic controller optional
- still to learn install mechatronic equipment required
- still to learn maintain robotic equipment required
- still to learn monitor automated machines required
- optional, not held maintain control systems for automated equipment optional
- optional, not held provide power connection from bus bars optional
- still to learn install automation components required
- still to learn set up machine controls required
- optional, not held assemble hardware components optional
- optional, not held customise software for drive system optional
- optional, not held install software optional
- optional, not held program a CNC controller optional
- optional, not held set up automotive robot optional
- optional, not held use CAM software optional
- still to learn assemble mechatronic units required
- still to learn assemble machines required
- still to learn quality standards required
- still to learn test mechatronic units required
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an automation engineering technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 assemble mechatronic units practise this
- 02 install automation components practise this
- 03 install mechatronic equipment 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 29 skills that carry over
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held align components skill
- already held assemble sensors skill
- already held assist scientific research skill
- already held automatic control system knowledge
- already held control engineering knowledge
- already held design drawings knowledge
- already held electrical engineering knowledge
- already held fasten components skill
- already held inspect quality of products skill
- already held interpret circuit diagrams skill
- already held liaise with engineers skill
- already held mechanical engineering knowledge
- already held microprocessors knowledge
- already held perform test run skill
- already held prepare production prototypes skill
- already held read engineering drawings skill
- already held record test data skill
- already held test sensors skill
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held CAE software knowledge
- already held apply technical communication skills skill
- already held firmware knowledge
- already held integrate new products in manufacturing skill
- already held keep records of work progress skill
- already held program firmware skill
- already held resolve equipment malfunctions skill
- already held sensors knowledge
- already held write technical reports skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held follow standards for machinery safety optional
- optional, not held replace machines optional
- optional, not held follow work schedule optional
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held follow standards for machinery safety optional
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held maintain control systems for automated equipment optional
- optional, not held provide power connection from bus bars optional
- optional, not held assemble hardware components optional
- optional, not held customise software for drive system optional
- optional, not held follow work schedule optional
- optional, not held install software optional
- optional, not held marine technology optional
- optional, not held program a CNC controller optional
- optional, not held programmable logic controller optional
- optional, not held replace machines optional
- optional, not held set up automotive robot optional
- optional, not held use CAM software optional
21 held skills the automation engineering technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply soldering techniques skill
- not needed by the target role consumer electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role create technical plans skill
- not needed by the target role digital camera sensors knowledge
- not needed by the target role digital twin technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronic equipment standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronic test procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain sensor equipment skill
- not needed by the target role meet deadlines skill
- not needed by the target role microassembly knowledge
- not needed by the target role microelectronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role microsensors knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor machine operations skill
- not needed by the target role operate precision machinery skill
- not needed by the target role operate scientific measuring equipment skill
- not needed by the target role perform data analysis skill
- not needed by the target role precision measuring instruments knowledge
- not needed by the target role solder electronics skill
- not needed by the target role use precision tools skill
- not needed by the target role wear cleanroom suit 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 automation technology required
- still to learn computer engineering required
- still to learn mechatronics required
- still to learn quality standards required
- still to learn robotic components required
- still to learn robotics required
- optional, not held guidance, navigation and control optional
- optional, not held marine technology optional
- optional, not held programmable logic controller optional
Common questions about this move
Can a sensor engineering technician become an automation engineering technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A sensor engineering technician already covers 54% of what an automation engineering technician is expected to do: 29 skills carry over, 19 of which the automation engineering technician role treats as required.
What skills does a sensor engineering technician need to become an automation engineering technician?
14 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is assemble mechatronic units.
How hard is the move from sensor engineering technician to automation engineering technician?
Its learning distance is 56.1 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.