How To Become An Autocad Draftsman: What It Is and Career Path

What is an autocad draftsman and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average autocad draftsman salary is $40,443. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an drafting and design major. It usually takes 6-12 months of experience to become an autocad draftsman. Autocad draftsmen with a AutoCAD Certified Professional certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -6,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAutocad DraftsmanUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,443

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.3

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.70%

Asian 7.02%

Black or African American 3.09%

Hispanic or Latino 11.66%

Unknown 5.20%

White 72.33%

Gender

female 10.00%

male 90.00%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

4.3

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an autocad draftsman

Explore autocad draftsman education requirements

Most common autocad draftsman degrees

Bachelor's

42.1 %

Associate

36.7 %

High School Diploma

8.1 %

Start to develop specific autocad draftsman skills

Skills	Percentages
Shop Drawings	16.25%
Auto CAD	11.60%
Elevations	7.88%
As-Built Drawings	4.95%
Sketch	4.21%

Complete relevant autocad draftsman training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 4-10 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New autocad draftsmen learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an autocad draftsman based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real autocad draftsman resumes.

Research autocad draftsman duties and responsibilities

Install and configure vehicle GPS tracking systems.
Create piping drawings per rough sketch and verbal instructions.
Draft piping and HVAC plans for various civil and mechanical engineering projects
Calculate total lengths of ductwork, piping and number of HVAC units need for projects.

Prepare your autocad draftsman resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your autocad draftsman resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an autocad draftsman resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable autocad draftsman resume templates

Build a professional autocad draftsman resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your autocad draftsman resume.