Surface engineer to container equipment design engineer
A surface engineer already meets 47% of what the container equipment design engineer role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
54.3/ 100
1 How much of what a container equipment design engineer is expected to do is already part of a surface 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 container equipment design engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A container equipment design engineer role treats 12 of its required skills as things a surface engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adjust engineering designs
- approve engineering design
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- industrial engineering
- manufacturing processes
What stands in the way is 9 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 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A container equipment design engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a surface engineer background worth leading with.
- already held industrial engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held material mechanics engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held production processes engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held approve engineering design communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held mechanical engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held manufacturing processes engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 14 carried skills, including the 12 the container equipment design engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 24 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 execute feasibility study required
- still to learn read engineering drawings required
- optional, not held determine production capacity optional
- optional, not held determine production feasibility optional
- optional, not held monitor production developments optional
- optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
- still to learn create solutions to problems required
- still to learn troubleshoot required
- optional, not held advise on machinery malfunctions optional
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held design prototypes optional
- still to learn mechanics required
- still to learn types of containers required
- optional, not held quality and cycle time optimisation optional
- optional, not held reverse engineering optional
- still to learn use CAD software required
- still to learn use computer-aided engineering systems required
- optional, not held set up the controller of a machine optional
- optional, not held use CAM software optional
- still to learn CAD software required
- optional, not held CAE software optional
- optional, not held manage supplies optional
- optional, not held plan manufacturing processes optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a container equipment design engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 CAD software study this
- 02 create solutions to problems practise this
- 03 execute feasibility study 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 14 skills that carry over
- already held adjust engineering designs skill
- already held approve engineering design skill
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held industrial engineering knowledge
- already held manufacturing processes knowledge
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held mechanical engineering knowledge
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held production processes knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- already held material mechanics knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held 3D modelling optional
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held 3D modelling optional
- optional, not held CAE software optional
- optional, not held advise on machinery malfunctions optional
- optional, not held create a product's virtual model optional
- optional, not held design prototypes optional
- optional, not held determine production capacity optional
- optional, not held determine production feasibility optional
- optional, not held manage supplies optional
- optional, not held monitor production developments optional
- optional, not held plan manufacturing processes optional
- optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
- optional, not held quality and cycle time optimisation optional
- optional, not held reverse engineering optional
- optional, not held set up the controller of a machine optional
- optional, not held use CAM software optional
24 held skills the container equipment design engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse stress resistance of materials skill
- not needed by the target role analyse test data skill
- not needed by the target role apply phosphate coating to metal workpiece skill
- not needed by the target role chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role computer simulation knowledge
- not needed by the target role corrosion types knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop material testing procedures skill
- not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role ferrous metal processing knowledge
- not needed by the target role galvanise metal workpiece skill
- not needed by the target role hazardous waste types knowledge
- not needed by the target role non-destructive testing knowledge
- not needed by the target role parkerise metal workpiece skill
- not needed by the target role physics knowledge
- not needed by the target role recognise signs of corrosion skill
- not needed by the target role record test data skill
- not needed by the target role safety engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role semiconductors knowledge
- not needed by the target role soldering techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role surface engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role types of metal knowledge
- not needed by the target role use non-destructive testing equipment skill
- not needed by the target role welding techniques knowledge
7 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 CAD software required
- still to learn mechanics required
- still to learn types of containers required
- optional, not held 3D modelling optional
- optional, not held CAE software optional
- optional, not held quality and cycle time optimisation optional
- optional, not held reverse engineering optional
Common questions about this move
Can a surface engineer become a container equipment design engineer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A surface engineer already covers 47% of what a container equipment design engineer is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 12 of which the container equipment design engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a surface engineer need to become a container equipment design engineer?
9 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is CAD software.
How hard is the move from surface engineer to container equipment design engineer?
Its learning distance is 54.3 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.