Transport planner to transport engineer
A transport planner already meets 18% of what the transport engineer role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.
78.3/ 100
1 How much of what a transport engineer is expected to do is already part of a transport planner’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 transport engineer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A transport engineer role treats 3 of its required skills as things a transport planner already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- civil engineering
- promote the use of sustainable transport
- urban planning
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 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A transport engineer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a transport planner background worth leading with.
- already held analyse transport studies information skills
- already held simulate transport problems working with computers
- already held traffic engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held promote the use of sustainable transport communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held urban planning law business, administration and law
- already held urban planning engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 7 carried skills, including the 3 the transport engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 missing skills fall into 10 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 engineering processes required
- still to learn construction methods required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- still to learn technical drawings required
- still to learn transportation engineering required
- optional, not held environmental engineering optional
- optional, not held safety engineering optional
- still to learn apply transportation management concepts required
- still to learn adjust engineering designs required
- still to learn approve engineering design required
- still to learn design transportation systems required
- optional, not held promote innovative infrastructure design optional
- still to learn road transport legislation required
- optional, not held green logistics optional
- optional, not held multimodal transport logistics optional
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- optional, not held execute feasibility study optional
- still to learn manage budgets required
- optional, not held develop efficiency plans for logistics operations optional
- still to learn transportation methods required
- optional, not held health and safety regulations optional
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a transport engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply transportation management concepts practise this
- 02 engineering processes study this
- 03 road transport legislation study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 7 skills that carry over
- already held civil engineering knowledge
- already held promote the use of sustainable transport skill
- already held urban planning knowledge
- already held analyse transport studies skill
- already held simulate transport problems skill
- already held traffic engineering knowledge
- already held urban planning law knowledge
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn use technical drawing software required
- optional, not held use CAD software optional
- still to learn design principles required
- still to learn follow health and safety procedures in construction required
- still to learn mathematics required
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held develop efficiency plans for logistics operations optional
- optional, not held promote innovative infrastructure design optional
- optional, not held environmental engineering optional
- optional, not held execute feasibility study optional
- optional, not held green logistics optional
- optional, not held health and safety regulations optional
- optional, not held multimodal transport logistics optional
- optional, not held safety engineering optional
- optional, not held use CAD software optional
42 held skills the transport engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role air traffic management knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse environmental data skill
- not needed by the target role analyse road traffic patterns skill
- not needed by the target role analyse test data skill
- not needed by the target role analyse transport business networks skill
- not needed by the target role analyse transportation costs skill
- not needed by the target role apply statistical analysis techniques skill
- not needed by the target role carpooling services knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct environmental surveys skill
- not needed by the target role design wayside signalling interlockings skill
- not needed by the target role develop urban transport studies skill
- not needed by the target role educate public on road safety skill
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental policy knowledge
- not needed by the target role geographical routes knowledge
- not needed by the target role give live presentation skill
- not needed by the target role identify statistical patterns skill
- not needed by the target role implement route planning in smart mobility services skill
- not needed by the target role interpret visual literacy skill
- not needed by the target role investigate road accidents skill
- not needed by the target role local geography knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage car park operations skill
- not needed by the target role match vehicles with routes skill
- not needed by the target role mobility as a service knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor traffic flow skill
- not needed by the target role parking regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare scientific reports skill
- not needed by the target role prepare visual data skill
- not needed by the target role promote public transport skill
- not needed by the target role provide information on train routes skill
- not needed by the target role public law knowledge
- not needed by the target role rail infrastructure knowledge
- not needed by the target role regulate traffic skill
- not needed by the target role report analysis results skill
- not needed by the target role restrict bridge traffic skill
- not needed by the target role road traffic laws knowledge
- not needed by the target role run preventive simulations skill
- not needed by the target role statistical analysis system software knowledge
- not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role study traffic flow skill
2 further entries not listed here
14 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 engineering processes required
- still to learn road transport legislation required
- still to learn transportation methods required
- still to learn construction methods required
- still to learn design principles required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- still to learn mathematics required
- still to learn technical drawings required
- still to learn transportation engineering required
- optional, not held environmental engineering optional
- optional, not held green logistics optional
- optional, not held health and safety regulations optional
- optional, not held multimodal transport logistics optional
- optional, not held safety engineering optional
Other moves recorded from transport planner
Common questions about this move
Can a transport planner become a transport engineer?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A transport planner already covers 18% of what a transport engineer is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 3 of which the transport engineer role treats as required.
What skills does a transport planner need to become a transport engineer?
17 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is apply transportation management concepts.
How hard is the move from transport planner to transport engineer?
Its learning distance is 78.3 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.