Solar energy technician to 3D printing technician
A solar energy technician already meets 55% of what the 3D printing technician role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
47.6/ 100
1 How much of what a 3D printing technician is expected to do is already part of a solar energy 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 3D printing technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A 3D printing technician role treats 13 of its required skills as things a solar energy technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- 3D modelling
- 3D printing process
- CAD software
- ICT software specifications
- maintenance of printing machines
- maintenance operations
What stands in the way is 6 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 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A 3D printing technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a solar energy technician background worth leading with.
- already held determine suitability of materials communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held operate printing machinery working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held 3D printing process arts and humanities
- already held printing on large scale machines arts and humanities
- already held printing materials arts and humanities
- already held operate 3D computer graphics software communication, collaboration and creativity
All 16 carried skills, including the 13 the 3D printing technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 11 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 identify customer's needs required
- still to learn adjust engineering designs required
- still to learn advise client on technical possibilities required
- still to learn create solutions to problems required
- still to learn draft design specifications required
- optional, not held use manual draughting techniques optional
- still to learn digitization required
- optional, not held blueprints optional
- optional, not held design drawings optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held technical drawings optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
- optional, not held calculate materials to build equipment optional
- optional, not held monitor manufacturing quality standards optional
- optional, not held product comprehension optional
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a 3D printing technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 identify customer's needs practise this
- 02 adjust engineering designs practise this
- 03 advise client on technical possibilities 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 16 skills that carry over
- already held 3D modelling knowledge
- already held 3D printing process knowledge
- already held CAD software knowledge
- already held ICT software specifications knowledge
- already held maintenance of printing machines knowledge
- already held maintenance operations knowledge
- already held operate 3D computer graphics software skill
- already held operate printing machinery skill
- already held printing materials knowledge
- already held printing on large scale machines knowledge
- already held printing techniques knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held design prototypes skill
- already held determine suitability of materials skill
- already held mechanics knowledge
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held clean equipment optional
- optional, not held prosthetic devices optional
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- optional, not held create technical plans optional
- optional, not held mathematics optional
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held product comprehension optional
- optional, not held prosthetic devices optional
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- optional, not held blueprints optional
- optional, not held calculate materials to build equipment optional
- optional, not held clean equipment optional
- optional, not held create technical plans optional
- optional, not held design drawings optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held mathematics optional
- optional, not held monitor manufacturing quality standards optional
- optional, not held technical drawings optional
- optional, not held use manual draughting techniques optional
77 held skills the 3D printing technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role alternative energy knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse big data skill
- not needed by the target role analyse test data skill
- not needed by the target role answer requests for quotation skill
- not needed by the target role assemble mechatronic units skill
- not needed by the target role assemble sensors skill
- not needed by the target role automation technology knowledge
- not needed by the target role building codes knowledge
- not needed by the target role business intelligence knowledge
- not needed by the target role calculate needs for construction supplies skill
- not needed by the target role calculate solar panel orientation skill
- not needed by the target role check compatibility of materials skill
- not needed by the target role cloud technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role comply with legal regulations skill
- not needed by the target role control engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role data mining knowledge
- not needed by the target role data storage knowledge
- not needed by the target role demonstrate products' features skill
- not needed by the target role electric heating systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role electrical wiring plans knowledge
- not needed by the target role electricity knowledge
- not needed by the target role energy conservation knowledge
- not needed by the target role estimate profitability skill
- not needed by the target role follow health and safety procedures in construction skill
- not needed by the target role follow safety procedures when working at heights skill
- not needed by the target role information extraction knowledge
- not needed by the target role information structure knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect construction supplies skill
- not needed by the target role inspect electrical supplies skill
- not needed by the target role install automation components skill
- not needed by the target role install circuit breakers skill
- not needed by the target role install concentrated solar power systems skill
- not needed by the target role install electrical and electronic equipment skill
- not needed by the target role install inverter skill
- not needed by the target role install mechatronic equipment skill
- not needed by the target role install photovoltaic systems skill
- not needed by the target role interpret 2D plans skill
- not needed by the target role interpret 3D plans skill
- not needed by the target role keep personal administration skill
- not needed by the target role maintain equipment skill
37 further entries not listed here
12 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 digitization required
- optional, not held product comprehension optional
- optional, not held prosthetic devices optional
- optional, not held CADD software optional
- optional, not held blueprints optional
- optional, not held design drawings optional
- optional, not held design principles optional
- optional, not held industrial engineering optional
- optional, not held manual draughting techniques optional
- optional, not held manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held mathematics optional
- optional, not held technical drawings optional
Other moves recorded from solar energy technician
Common questions about this move
Can a solar energy technician become a 3D printing technician?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A solar energy technician already covers 55% of what a 3D printing technician is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 13 of which the 3D printing technician role treats as required.
What skills does a solar energy technician need to become a 3D printing technician?
6 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is identify customer's needs.
How hard is the move from solar energy technician to 3D printing technician?
Its learning distance is 47.6 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.