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Drafting Technician Job Overview

Drafting technicians are involved in the preparation of technical drawings and plans. These drawings are used for the construction of office buildings, houses, gas pipelines and even in the manufacturing of toys, toasters and industrial machinery. Earlier, drafters or drafting technicians sat at drawing boards and drew with the help of pencils, protractors, triangles, pens and other drafting devices. But today, drafting technicians make use of Computer Aided Design and Drafting systems. Therefore, drafting technicians are also called CADD operators.

Drafting Technician Schools and Degrees

To be a proficient drafting technician, post-secondary school training in drafting through a community college, university or technical institute is vital. These courses will take 2 to 4 years to complete. High school courses in mathematics, computer technology, design, science, computer graphics and drafting are an added advantage. With an associate’s degree, one can obtain a job as a drafter or drafting technician. A drafter can become a senior drafter, supervisor or designer with sufficient experience.

Job Requirements

The American Design Drafting Association offers certification program to those interested. To obtain the certificate, the drafting technician has to qualify for the Draft Certification Test, which is administered from time to time at an ADDA-authorized site. The test is comprised of questions related to basic drafting concepts like working drawings, geometric construction and architectural terms and standards.

Technical institutes also provide certificates or diplomas to drafting technicians. Technical training that is provided by the Armed Forces is applicable in the civilian drafting jobs also, with some need for additional training.

Drafting technicians must possess the visual aptitude and mechanical ability to go about their task of technical planning and drawing. They must have the capacity to draw well and finish their work in a neat and detailed manner. Certain fields also require artistic ability. Drafting technicians must also have good interpersonal skills to be able to work closely with customers, professionals, architects, surveyors and engineers.

Nature of Work

The drawings of the drafting technicians reveal how a product or structure has to be built. The drawings have technical detailing, accurate specifications regarding materials, dimensions and procedures. Drafters today use tables, technical handbooks, computers and calculators. Standardized building techniques are used for drawing the details of a structure.

Drafting technicians normally have to work from the comfort of their own office. They sit at drawing boards when handling manual drawings and at computer terminals for the rest of the drawings. Usually, drafters work 40 hours in a week. Very few drafters work part time.

Drafting Technician Jobs and Outlook

According to the 2006 US Department of Labor survey, about 253,000 jobs were held by the drafting technicians in United States. Employment was highest in the following fields:

• Architectural and Civil
• Electronics
• Mechanical

The mean hourly wage for a drafting technician was around $22.76 in 2006, while the mean annual wages were estimated to be about $47,340.

Job Numbers and Growth

About 25,000 drafting technicians are employed nationally. Workers can expect a low level of unemployment, if history can be used as a guide. In 2008, 4% of employees could not find jobs.

Area Job Conditions

Popular locations for drafting technicians include Lafayette (Louisiana), New Orleans (Louisiana), and Fort Walton Beach (Florida). Fewer are found in Richmond (Virginia), Phoenix (Arizona), and Philadelphia (Pennsylvania).

Workers looking for high salaries should look at Oakland (California), Anchorage (Alaska), and Haverhill (Massachusetts), and should avoid Baltimore (Maryland), Shreveport (Louisiana), and Knoxville (Tennessee).

Training and Education

Employees often obtain a postsecondary vocational award before starting. The percentage of drafting technicians with college degrees is 25%. Workers with some college (less than a bachelor's degree) represent about 62% of the total. Some employees, about 13%, had a high-school education. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Part-time drafting technicians are 6% of all surveyed. Some workers, about 5%, work for themselves.

Drafting Technicians by Metropolitan Area (city and its surroundings)

In the table below, a Job Density near 0% means the area has an average number of people in this occupation, for its population. A higher or lower Job Density (e.g., +22% or -45%) tells you there are that many more or fewer workers of that type there than in the average US metro area. So, the higher the number, the more common the occupation.

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

Washington

Wisconsin