Surgical instrument maker to medical device assembler
A surgical instrument maker already meets 20% of what the medical device assembler role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.
80.6/ 100
1 How much of what a medical device assembler is expected to do is already part of a surgical instrument maker’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 medical device assembler role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A medical device assembler role treats 6 of its required skills as things a surgical instrument maker already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ensure conformity to specifications
- maintain medical devices
- manipulate medical devices materials
- manufacture medical devices
- medical devices materials
- test medical devices
What stands in the way is 17 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 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A medical device assembler role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a surgical instrument maker background worth leading with.
- already held manipulate stainless steel handling and moving
- already held manipulate medical devices materials handling and moving
- already held manufacture medical devices handling and moving
- already held repair medical devices handling and moving
- already held test medical devices information skills
- already held medical devices materials health and welfare
All 8 carried skills, including the 6 the medical device assembler role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 46 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 align components required
- still to learn assemble final product required
- still to learn clean components during assembly required
- still to learn fasten components required
- still to learn remove defective products required
- still to learn repackage medical equipment after sterilisation required
- optional, not held maintain moulds optional
- optional, not held construct moulds optional
- optional, not held fill moulds optional
- optional, not held use moulding techniques optional
- optional, not held use precision tools optional
- still to learn monitor automated machines required
- still to learn supply machine required
- still to learn use technical equipment for sterilisation required
- optional, not held maintain plastic machinery optional
- optional, not held operate plastic machinery optional
- optional, not held repair plastic machinery optional
- optional, not held adjust manufacturing equipment optional
- optional, not held finish plastic products optional
- optional, not held maintain medical laboratory equipment optional
- optional, not held operate machines for the rubber extrusion process optional
- optional, not held operate precision machinery optional
- optional, not held replace defect components optional
- still to learn follow clinical guidelines required
- still to learn wear cleanroom suit required
- optional, not held attend to detail in preparation for audits optional
- still to learn medical devices required
- still to learn sterilization techniques required
- optional, not held biomedical engineering optional
- still to learn read assembly drawings required
- still to learn report defective manufacturing materials required
- optional, not held interpret circuit diagrams optional
- still to learn quality standards required
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a medical device assembler role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 align components practise this
- 02 assemble final product practise this
- 03 clean components during assembly 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 8 skills that carry over
- already held ensure conformity to specifications skill
- already held maintain medical devices skill
- already held manipulate medical devices materials skill
- already held manufacture medical devices skill
- already held medical devices materials knowledge
- already held test medical devices skill
- already held manipulate stainless steel skill
- already held repair medical devices skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn meet deadlines required
- optional, not held medical furniture optional
- optional, not held types of plastic optional
- optional, not held blow moulding optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electromechanics optional
- optional, not held optical engineering optional
- optional, not held biomedical techniques optional
- optional, not held plastic welding optional
- optional, not held thermoplastic materials optional
- optional, not held advise on medical products optional
- optional, not held resolve equipment malfunctions optional
- optional, not held apply soldering techniques optional
29 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held medical furniture optional
- optional, not held advise on medical products optional
- optional, not held interpret circuit diagrams optional
- optional, not held maintain moulds optional
- optional, not held maintain plastic machinery optional
- optional, not held operate plastic machinery optional
- optional, not held repair plastic machinery optional
- optional, not held types of plastic optional
- optional, not held adjust manufacturing equipment optional
- optional, not held apply soldering techniques optional
- optional, not held attend to detail in preparation for audits optional
- optional, not held biomedical engineering optional
- optional, not held biomedical techniques optional
- optional, not held blow moulding optional
- optional, not held construct moulds optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electromechanics optional
- optional, not held fill moulds optional
- optional, not held finish plastic products optional
- optional, not held maintain medical laboratory equipment optional
- optional, not held operate machines for the rubber extrusion process optional
- optional, not held operate precision machinery optional
- optional, not held optical engineering optional
- optional, not held plastic welding optional
- optional, not held replace defect components optional
- optional, not held resolve equipment malfunctions optional
- optional, not held thermoplastic materials optional
- optional, not held use moulding techniques optional
- optional, not held use precision tools optional
29 held skills the medical device assembler role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply precision metalworking techniques skill
- not needed by the target role assemble metal parts skill
- not needed by the target role calibrate electronic instruments skill
- not needed by the target role calibrate laboratory equipment skill
- not needed by the target role cold forging knowledge
- not needed by the target role electroplating processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role ergonomics knowledge
- not needed by the target role heat metals skill
- not needed by the target role hot forging knowledge
- not needed by the target role join metals skill
- not needed by the target role metal smoothing technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate drilling equipment skill
- not needed by the target role operate precision measuring equipment skill
- not needed by the target role operate sand blasting cabinet skill
- not needed by the target role orthopaedic goods industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role scale etchings skill
- not needed by the target role set up the controller of a machine skill
- not needed by the target role spine surgery knowledge
- not needed by the target role surgical instruments knowledge
- not needed by the target role tend boring machine skill
- not needed by the target role tend electroplating machine skill
- not needed by the target role tend laser marking machine skill
- not needed by the target role tend lathe skill
- not needed by the target role tend metal polishing machine skill
- not needed by the target role tend metal sawing machine skill
- not needed by the target role tend surface grinding machine skill
- not needed by the target role tend tumbling machine skill
- not needed by the target role test accuracy of surgical instruments skill
- not needed by the target role use CAD software skill
13 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 medical devices required
- still to learn quality standards required
- still to learn sterilization techniques required
- optional, not held medical furniture optional
- optional, not held types of plastic optional
- optional, not held biomedical engineering optional
- optional, not held biomedical techniques optional
- optional, not held blow moulding optional
- optional, not held electrical engineering optional
- optional, not held electromechanics optional
- optional, not held optical engineering optional
- optional, not held plastic welding optional
- optional, not held thermoplastic materials optional
Other moves recorded from surgical instrument maker
Common questions about this move
Can a surgical instrument maker become a medical device assembler?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A surgical instrument maker already covers 20% of what a medical device assembler is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 6 of which the medical device assembler role treats as required.
What skills does a surgical instrument maker need to become a medical device assembler?
17 required skills are missing, plus 29 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is align components.
How hard is the move from surgical instrument maker to medical device assembler?
Its learning distance is 80.6 out of 100, which is the career change 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.