Wave soldering machine operator to printed circuit board assembler
A wave soldering machine operator already meets 46% of what the printed circuit board assembler role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
59.1/ 100
1 How much of what a printed circuit board assembler is expected to do is already part of a wave soldering machine operator’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 printed circuit board assembler role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A printed circuit board assembler role treats 9 of its required skills as things a wave soldering machine operator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assemble printed circuit boards
- ensure conformity to specifications
- ensure public safety and security
- interpret circuit diagrams
- prepare board for soldering
- printed circuit boards
What stands in the way is 7 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 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A printed circuit board assembler role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a wave soldering machine operator background worth leading with.
- already held prepare board for soldering handling and moving
- already held clean printed circuit board handling and moving
- already held operate wave soldering machine working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held through-hole technology engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held IPC standards engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held printed circuit boards testing methods information and communication technologies (icts)
All 19 carried skills, including the 9 the printed circuit board assembler role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 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 electronics required
- still to learn integrated circuits required
- still to learn semiconductors required
- optional, not held electroplating optional
- optional, not held maintenance operations optional
- optional, not held microelectronics optional
- still to learn operate insertion mount machine required
- still to learn coat printed circuit board required
- optional, not held maintain microelectronics optional
- optional, not held operate SMT placement equipment optional
- optional, not held operate printing machinery optional
- optional, not held operate precision machinery optional
- optional, not held replace defect components optional
- optional, not held use diagnostic tools for electronic repairs optional
- still to learn meet deadlines required
- still to learn apply through-hole technology manually required
- optional, not held 3D printing process optional
- optional, not held maintenance of printing machines optional
- optional, not held printing materials optional
- optional, not held printing on large scale machines optional
- optional, not held printing techniques optional
- optional, not held pack electronic equipment optional
- optional, not held clean components during assembly optional
- optional, not held dispose of hazardous waste optional
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a printed circuit board assembler role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply through-hole technology manually practise this
- 02 operate insertion mount machine practise this
- 03 coat printed circuit board 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 19 skills that carry over
- already held assemble printed circuit boards skill
- already held ensure conformity to specifications skill
- already held ensure public safety and security skill
- already held interpret circuit diagrams skill
- already held prepare board for soldering skill
- already held printed circuit boards knowledge
- already held read assembly drawings skill
- already held solder components onto electronic board skill
- already held through-hole technology knowledge
- already held IPC standards knowledge
- already held check for solder defects skill
- already held clean printed circuit board skill
- already held keep records of work progress skill
- already held operate wave soldering machine skill
- already held oversee logistics of finished products skill
- already held printed circuit boards testing methods knowledge
- already held resolve equipment malfunctions skill
- already held surface-mount technology knowledge
- already held test printed circuit boards skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held operate 3D computer graphics software optional
- optional, not held determine suitability of materials optional
- optional, not held test microelectronics optional
- optional, not held microprocessors optional
- optional, not held electrochemistry optional
22 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held 3D printing process optional
- optional, not held electrochemistry optional
- optional, not held maintain microelectronics optional
- optional, not held maintenance of printing machines optional
- optional, not held operate 3D computer graphics software optional
- optional, not held operate SMT placement equipment optional
- optional, not held operate printing machinery optional
- optional, not held pack electronic equipment optional
- optional, not held printing materials optional
- optional, not held printing on large scale machines optional
- optional, not held test microelectronics optional
- optional, not held clean components during assembly optional
- optional, not held determine suitability of materials optional
- optional, not held dispose of hazardous waste optional
- optional, not held electroplating optional
- optional, not held maintenance operations optional
- optional, not held microelectronics optional
- optional, not held microprocessors optional
- optional, not held operate precision machinery optional
- optional, not held printing techniques optional
- optional, not held replace defect components optional
- optional, not held use diagnostic tools for electronic repairs optional
14 held skills the printed circuit board assembler role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply health and safety standards skill
- not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills skill
- not needed by the target role dispose of soldering waste skill
- not needed by the target role inspect quality of products skill
- not needed by the target role maintain furnace temperature skill
- not needed by the target role measure furnace temperature skill
- not needed by the target role monitor machine operations skill
- not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role read standard blueprints skill
- not needed by the target role repair electronic components skill
- not needed by the target role report defective manufacturing materials skill
- not needed by the target role temperature scales knowledge
- not needed by the target role use CAM software skill
- not needed by the target role write records for repairs 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 electronics required
- still to learn integrated circuits required
- still to learn semiconductors required
- optional, not held 3D printing process optional
- optional, not held electrochemistry optional
- optional, not held maintenance of printing machines optional
- optional, not held printing materials optional
- optional, not held printing on large scale machines optional
- optional, not held electroplating optional
- optional, not held maintenance operations optional
- optional, not held microelectronics optional
- optional, not held microprocessors optional
- optional, not held printing techniques optional
Other moves recorded from wave soldering machine operator
Common questions about this move
Can a wave soldering machine operator become a printed circuit board assembler?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A wave soldering machine operator already covers 46% of what a printed circuit board assembler is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 9 of which the printed circuit board assembler role treats as required.
What skills does a wave soldering machine operator need to become a printed circuit board assembler?
7 required skills are missing, plus 22 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is apply through-hole technology manually.
How hard is the move from wave soldering machine operator to printed circuit board assembler?
Its learning distance is 59.1 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.