Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

wave soldering machine operatortoprinted circuit board test technician

A wave soldering machine operator already meets 39% of what the printed circuit board test technician role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.

From wave soldering machine operator
39%
Overlap1
To printed circuit board test technician
19 Skills carried over
16 Required, not held
66.2 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

39%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

66.2/ 100

1 Share of the printed circuit board test technician role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the wave soldering machine operator 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

Why this move works

A printed circuit board test technician role treats 10 of its required skills as things a wave soldering machine operator already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • check for solder defects
  • ensure conformity to specifications
  • inspect quality of products
  • interpret circuit diagrams
  • printed circuit boards
  • printed circuit boards testing methods

What stands in the way is 16 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

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 test technician 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.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held through-hole technology engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held printed circuit boards testing methods information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held test printed circuit boards constructing
  • already held IPC standards engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held check for solder defects constructing
  • already held surface-mount technology engineering, manufacturing and construction

All 19 carried skills, including the 10 the printed circuit board test technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 29 missing skills fall into 12 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.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 engineering, manufacturing and construction 5 required, 2 supplementary
  • required, not held in-circuit test required
  • required, not held electronic equipment standards required
  • required, not held electronics required
  • required, not held instrument performance elements required
  • required, not held integrated circuits required
  • optional, not held microelectronics optional
  • optional, not held semiconductors optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 3 supplementary
  • required, not held communicate test results to other departments required
  • required, not held troubleshoot required
  • optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
  • optional, not held research equipment needs optional
  • optional, not held write inspection reports optional
03 constructing 2 required, 3 supplementary
  • required, not held perform in-circuit test required
  • required, not held perform test run required
  • optional, not held apply soldering techniques optional
  • optional, not held maintain test equipment optional
  • optional, not held test hardware optional
04 assisting and caring 2 required
  • required, not held abide by regulations on banned materials required
  • required, not held process customer requests based on the REACh Regulation 1907 2006 required
05 information skills 2 required
  • required, not held ensure material compliance required
  • required, not held measure electrical characteristics required
06 handling and moving 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • required, not held send faulty equipment back to assembly line required
  • optional, not held remove defective products optional

6 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a printed circuit board test technician 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

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 19 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held check for solder defects skill
  • already held ensure conformity to specifications skill
  • already held inspect quality of products skill
  • already held interpret circuit diagrams skill
  • already held printed circuit boards knowledge
  • already held printed circuit boards testing methods knowledge
  • already held read assembly drawings skill
  • already held read standard blueprints skill
  • already held report defective manufacturing materials skill
  • already held test printed circuit boards skill
  • already held IPC standards knowledge
  • already held apply technical communication skills skill
  • already held keep records of work progress skill
  • already held monitor machine operations skill
  • already held quality standards knowledge
  • already held resolve equipment malfunctions skill
  • already held surface-mount technology knowledge
  • already held through-hole technology knowledge
  • already held write records for repairs skill
The 6 learning areas not shown above
Skill to acquire Tier
07 business, administration and law 1 required
  • required, not held quality assurance procedures required
08 management skills 1 required
  • required, not held meet deadlines required
09 health and welfare 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held automated optical inspection optional
10 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held hardware testing methods optional
11 services 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held waste removal regulations optional
12 working with machinery and specialised equipment 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held operate automated optical inspection machine optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • optional, not held automated optical inspection optional
  • optional, not held operate automated optical inspection machine optional
  • optional, not held waste removal regulations optional
  • optional, not held apply soldering techniques optional
  • optional, not held hardware testing methods optional
  • optional, not held liaise with engineers optional
  • optional, not held maintain test equipment optional
  • optional, not held microelectronics optional
  • optional, not held remove defective products optional
  • optional, not held research equipment needs optional
  • optional, not held semiconductors optional
  • optional, not held test hardware optional
  • optional, not held write inspection reports optional
14 held skills the printed circuit board test technician role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role apply health and safety standards skill
  • not needed by the target role assemble printed circuit boards skill
  • not needed by the target role clean printed circuit board skill
  • not needed by the target role dispose of soldering waste skill
  • not needed by the target role ensure public safety and security 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 operate wave soldering machine skill
  • not needed by the target role oversee logistics of finished products skill
  • not needed by the target role prepare board for soldering skill
  • not needed by the target role repair electronic components skill
  • not needed by the target role solder components onto electronic board skill
  • not needed by the target role temperature scales knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use CAM software skill
11 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • required, not held in-circuit test required
  • required, not held electronic equipment standards required
  • required, not held electronics required
  • required, not held instrument performance elements required
  • required, not held integrated circuits required
  • required, not held quality assurance procedures required
  • optional, not held automated optical inspection optional
  • optional, not held waste removal regulations optional
  • optional, not held hardware testing methods optional
  • optional, not held microelectronics optional
  • optional, not held semiconductors optional
Index

Other moves recorded from wave soldering machine operator

Full index of moves from wave soldering machine operator

Note

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.