Autocad operator vs draftsman/designer

The differences between autocad operators 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 autocad operator and a draftsman/designer. Additionally, a draftsman/designer has an average salary of $52,529, which is higher than the $44,278 average annual salary of an autocad operator.

The top three skills for an autocad operator include shop drawings, plumbing and HVAC. The most important skills for a draftsman/designer are design layouts, solidworks, and shop drawings.

Autocad operator vs draftsman/designer overview

	Autocad Operator	Draftsman/Designer
Yearly salary	$44,278	$52,529
Hourly rate	$21.29	$25.25
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	27,082	47,341
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Associate Degree, 51%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

Autocad operator vs draftsman/designer salary

Autocad operators and draftsman/designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Autocad Operator	Draftsman/Designer
Average salary	$44,278	$52,529
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $62,000	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 autocad operator and draftsman/designer education

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

	Autocad Operator	Draftsman/Designer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Associate Degree, 51%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Drafting And Design
Most common college	Carnegie Mellon University	Carnegie Mellon University

Autocad operator vs draftsman/designer demographics

Here are the differences between autocad operators' and draftsman/designers' demographics:

	Autocad Operator	Draftsman/Designer
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 77.2% Female, 22.8%	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 autocad operator and draftsman/designer duties and responsibilities

Autocad operator example responsibilities.

Manage Autodesk accounts and train drafters and field crews as well.
Incorporate HVAC construction drawings into coordination drawings
Provide Revit MEP training for employees.
Download data points to GIS software.
Assist with setting up Revit projects.
Expose to CNC machining and assist in programming them.

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.

Autocad operator vs draftsman/designer skills

Common autocad operator skills

Shop Drawings, 10%
Plumbing, 8%
HVAC, 7%
Auto CAD, 7%
CNC, 6%
As-Built Drawings, 6%

Common draftsman/designer skills

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