surface engineertoflight test engineer
A surface engineer already meets 50% of what the flight test engineer role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
50%
54.1/ 100
1 Share of the flight test engineer role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the surface engineer profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.
Why this move works
A flight test engineer role treats 11 of its required skills as things a surface engineer already does. These are the ones it depends on most.
- adjust engineering designs
- analyse test data
- approve engineering design
- engineering principles
- engineering processes
- industrial engineering
What stands in the way is 8 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 flight test 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 production processes engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held analyse test data information skills
- 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 11 the flight test engineer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you would need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.
- required, not held operate two-way radio systems required
- required, not held operate radio navigation instruments required
- optional, not held perform flight manoeuvres optional
- optional, not held perform take off and landing optional
- optional, not held operate cockpit control panels optional
- required, not held aircraft flight control systems required
- required, not held aviation meteorology required
- optional, not held visual flight rules optional
- required, not held oversee aircraft sensor and recording systems required
- optional, not held conduct performance tests optional
- required, not held ensure aircraft compliance with regulation required
- required, not held common aviation safety regulations required
- required, not held plan test flights required
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a flight test engineer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 aircraft flight control systems knowledge · sector specific
- 02 aviation meteorology knowledge · sector specific
- 03 common aviation safety regulations knowledge · sector specific
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 analyse test data 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 perform scientific research skill
- already held production processes knowledge
- already held technical drawings knowledge
- already held use technical drawing software skill
- already held electrical engineering knowledge
- already held mechanical engineering knowledge
- already held record test data skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held aerodynamics optional
- optional, not held aerospace engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held instrumentation engineering optional
- optional, not held instrumentation equipment optional
- optional, not held perform routine flight operations checks optional
- optional, not held inspect aircraft manufacturing optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held perform flight manoeuvres optional
- optional, not held perform routine flight operations checks optional
- optional, not held perform take off and landing optional
- optional, not held aerodynamics optional
- optional, not held aerospace engineering optional
- optional, not held conduct performance tests optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held inspect aircraft manufacturing optional
- optional, not held instrumentation engineering optional
- optional, not held instrumentation equipment optional
- optional, not held operate cockpit control panels optional
- optional, not held visual flight rules optional
24 held skills the flight test engineer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse stress resistance of materials 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 environmental legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- 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 material mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role mathematics 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 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
9 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- required, not held aircraft flight control systems required
- required, not held aviation meteorology required
- required, not held common aviation safety regulations required
- optional, not held aerodynamics optional
- optional, not held aerospace engineering optional
- optional, not held electronics optional
- optional, not held instrumentation engineering optional
- optional, not held instrumentation equipment optional
- optional, not held visual flight rules optional
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.