Test engineer to philosopher
A test engineer already meets 63% of what the philosopher role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
48.3/ 100
1 How much of what a philosopher is expected to do is already part of a test 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 philosopher role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A philosopher role treats 29 of its required skills as things a test engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply for research funding
- apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities
- communicate with a non-scientific audience
- conduct research across disciplines
- demonstrate disciplinary expertise
- develop professional network with researchers and scientists
What stands in the way is 11 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 31 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A philosopher role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a test engineer background worth leading with.
- already held manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data information skills
- already held think abstractly communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held communicate with a non-scientific audience communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held integrate gender dimension in research information skills
- already held promote the participation of citizens in scientific and research activities information skills
- already held apply for research funding information skills
All 31 carried skills, including the 29 the philosopher role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 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 ethics required
- still to learn history of philosophy required
- still to learn logic required
- still to learn morality required
- still to learn philosophical schools of thought required
- still to learn philosophy required
- optional, not held phenomenology optional
- optional, not held cultural history optional
- optional, not held metaphysics optional
- optional, not held history optional
- optional, not held religious studies optional
- optional, not held theology optional
- still to learn rhetoric required
- optional, not held journalism optional
- optional, not held political ideologies optional
- optional, not held political science optional
- optional, not held politics optional
- optional, not held sociology optional
- optional, not held source criticism optional
- still to learn present arguments persuasively required
- optional, not held perform lectures optional
- optional, not held teach philosophy optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
- still to learn apply scientific methods required
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- still to learn scientific literature required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a philosopher role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 31 skills that carry over
- already held apply for research funding skill
- already held apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities skill
- already held communicate with a non-scientific audience skill
- already held conduct research across disciplines skill
- already held demonstrate disciplinary expertise skill
- already held develop professional network with researchers and scientists skill
- already held disseminate results to the scientific community skill
- already held draft scientific or academic papers and technical documentation skill
- already held evaluate research activities skill
- already held increase the impact of science on policy and society skill
- already held integrate gender dimension in research skill
- already held interact professionally in research and professional environments skill
- already held manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data skill
- already held manage intellectual property rights skill
- already held manage open publications skill
- already held manage personal professional development skill
- already held manage research data skill
- already held mentor individuals skill
- already held operate open source software skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held promote open innovation in research skill
- already held promote the participation of citizens in scientific and research activities skill
- already held promote the transfer of knowledge skill
- already held publish academic research skill
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held synthesise information skill
- already held think abstractly skill
- already held write scientific publications skill
- already held apply blended learning skill
- already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held Ancient Greek optional
- optional, not held Latin optional
18 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held phenomenology optional
- optional, not held cultural history optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held metaphysics optional
- optional, not held perform lectures optional
- optional, not held Ancient Greek optional
- optional, not held Latin optional
- optional, not held history optional
- optional, not held journalism optional
- optional, not held political ideologies optional
- optional, not held political science optional
- optional, not held politics optional
- optional, not held religious studies optional
- optional, not held sociology optional
- optional, not held source criticism optional
- optional, not held teach philosophy optional
- optional, not held theology optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
30 held skills the philosopher role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adjust engineering designs skill
- not needed by the target role analyse scientific data skill
- not needed by the target role analyse test data skill
- not needed by the target role approve engineering design skill
- not needed by the target role conduct routine machinery checks skill
- not needed by the target role develop ICT test suite skill
- not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow nuclear plant safety precautions skill
- not needed by the target role in-circuit test knowledge
- not needed by the target role industrial engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role instrumentation engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role instrumentation equipment knowledge
- not needed by the target role manufacturing processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor nuclear power plant systems skill
- not needed by the target role nuclear energy knowledge
- not needed by the target role production processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role technical drawings knowledge
- not needed by the target role test electrical equipment skill
- not needed by the target role test electronic units skill
- not needed by the target role test hardware skill
- not needed by the target role test instrumentation equipment skill
- not needed by the target role test materials skill
- not needed by the target role test microelectromechanical systems skill
- not needed by the target role test optoelectronics skill
- not needed by the target role test performance of power plants skill
- not needed by the target role test procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role use technical drawing software skill
- not needed by the target role write routine reports skill
23 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 ethics required
- still to learn history of philosophy required
- still to learn logic required
- still to learn morality required
- still to learn philosophical schools of thought required
- still to learn philosophy required
- still to learn rhetoric required
- still to learn scientific literature required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held phenomenology optional
- optional, not held cultural history optional
- optional, not held metaphysics optional
- optional, not held Ancient Greek optional
- optional, not held Latin optional
- optional, not held history optional
- optional, not held journalism optional
- optional, not held political ideologies optional
- optional, not held political science optional
- optional, not held politics optional
- optional, not held religious studies optional
- optional, not held sociology optional
- optional, not held source criticism optional
- optional, not held theology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a test engineer become a philosopher?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A test engineer already covers 63% of what a philosopher is expected to do: 31 skills carry over, 29 of which the philosopher role treats as required.
What skills does a test engineer need to become a philosopher?
11 required skills are missing, plus 18 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by arts and humanities. The single most important is apply scientific methods.
How hard is the move from test engineer to philosopher?
Its learning distance is 48.3 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.