Associate drafter vs draftsman/designer

The differences between associate drafters and draftsman/designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an associate drafter and a draftsman/designer. Additionally, a draftsman/designer has an average salary of $52,529, which is higher than the $52,051 average annual salary of an associate drafter.

The top three skills for an associate drafter include GD, shop drawings and technical drawings. The most important skills for a draftsman/designer are design layouts, solidworks, and shop drawings.

Associate drafter vs draftsman/designer overview

	Associate Drafter	Draftsman/Designer
Yearly salary	$52,051	$52,529
Hourly rate	$25.02	$25.25
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	2,109	47,341
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 55%	Associate Degree, 51%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

Associate drafter vs draftsman/designer salary

Associate drafters and draftsman/designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Associate Drafter	Draftsman/Designer
Average salary	$52,051	$52,529
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $69,000	Between $30,000 And $89,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	TalentBurst
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between associate drafter and draftsman/designer education

There are a few differences between an associate drafter and a draftsman/designer in terms of educational background:

	Associate Drafter	Draftsman/Designer
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 55%	Associate Degree, 51%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Drafting And Design
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Carnegie Mellon University

Associate drafter vs draftsman/designer demographics

Here are the differences between associate drafters' and draftsman/designers' demographics:

	Associate Drafter	Draftsman/Designer
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 56.3% Female, 43.7%	Male, 92.2% Female, 7.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 7.0% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 7.0% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between associate drafter and draftsman/designer duties and responsibilities

Associate drafter example responsibilities.

Manage the design history of 3D part models, assemblies, and drawings using PDM software.
Develop, organize and maintain AutoCAD standards for designers to use resulting in efficient production and time management.
Update stock plans as necessary according to AMDA standards.

Draftsman/designer example responsibilities.

Manage and supervise other draftsmen.
Assist with structural steel detailing, machine design, CNC graphics and ceramics machine design projects.
Detail preliminary design drawings to create BOM's, production use shop layouts, and specific details.
Travele to various work sites to dimension and sketch details of the projects.
Develop and maintain current Revit templates for consistency and overall visual quality of projects.
Design and draft building components from red lines create by MEP engineers with revit software.

Associate drafter vs draftsman/designer skills

Common associate drafter skills

GD, 73%
Shop Drawings, 13%
Technical Drawings, 9%
Autodesk, 5%

Common draftsman/designer skills

Design Layouts, 16%
Solidworks, 10%
Shop Drawings, 5%
R, 4%
HVAC, 4%
Customer Specifications, 3%