Building drafter vs architectural technician

The differences between building drafters and architectural technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a building drafter and an architectural technician. Additionally, an architectural technician has an average salary of $83,667, which is higher than the $53,715 average annual salary of a building drafter.

The top three skills for a building drafter include autocad, and . The most important skills for an architectural technician are sketch, revit, and construction drawings.

Building drafter vs architectural technician overview

	Building Drafter	Architectural Technician
Yearly salary	$53,715	$83,667
Hourly rate	$25.82	$40.22
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	6,879	9,495
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

Building drafter vs architectural technician salary

Building drafters and architectural technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Building Drafter	Architectural Technician
Average salary	$53,715	$83,667
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $79,000	Between $56,000 And $123,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Google
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between building drafter and architectural technician education

There are a few differences between a building drafter and an architectural technician in terms of educational background:

	Building Drafter	Architectural Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Architecture
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Carnegie Mellon University

Building drafter vs architectural technician demographics

Here are the differences between building drafters' and architectural technicians' demographics:

	Building Drafter	Architectural Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%	Male, 78.5% Female, 21.5%
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 building drafter and architectural technician duties and responsibilities

Building drafter example responsibilities.

Learned and utilize AutoCAD by practicing several drawing types from restaurants to hotels.
Render complete assemblies of conveyor systems to customer's specifications using SolidWorks.
Utilize extensive skills in CADD technology, complement by construction industry expertise to provide tailor designs meeting customer needs.

Architectural technician example responsibilities.

Lead the development of BIM modeling content for the architecture team as a direct report to the executive and lead architects.
Train employees on Revit basics and provide AutoCad support.
Work with architects and project managers to produce 3d models and detail drawings for various types of large facilities using Revit.
Prepare and administer construction documents MEP and blue prints using computer assist draw software and other computer applications.
Edit and render high quality video animation to provide the story frame-by-frame of modeling and surroundings.

Building drafter vs architectural technician skills

Common building drafter skills

Autocad, 100%

Common architectural technician skills

Sketch, 30%
Revit, 23%
Construction Drawings, 8%
BIM, 5%
Design Development, 5%
Architectural Drawings, 4%

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Building Drafter vs Architectural Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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