Civil drafter vs design drafter

The differences between civil drafters and design drafters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a civil drafter has an average salary of $50,923, which is higher than the $50,021 average annual salary of a design drafter.

The top three skills for a civil drafter include civil 3d, construction drawings and survey data. The most important skills for a design drafter are layout drawings, auto cad, and engineering drawings.

Civil drafter vs design drafter overview

	Civil Drafter	Design Drafter
Yearly salary	$50,923	$50,021
Hourly rate	$24.48	$24.05
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	9,120	39,125
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 65%	Associate Degree, 56%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	4

Civil drafter vs design drafter salary

Civil drafters and design drafters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Civil Drafter	Design Drafter
Average salary	$50,923	$50,021
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $66,000	Between $37,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	Baltimore, MD	Cupertino, CA
Highest paying state	Maryland	California
Best paying company	Shalom Baranes Associates	Apple
Best paying industry	Construction	Finance

Differences between civil drafter and design drafter education

There are a few differences between a civil drafter and a design drafter in terms of educational background:

	Civil Drafter	Design Drafter
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 65%	Associate Degree, 56%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Drafting And Design
Most common college	Carnegie Mellon University	LeTourneau University

Civil drafter vs design drafter demographics

Here are the differences between civil drafters' and design drafters' demographics:

	Civil Drafter	Design Drafter
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6%	Male, 80.1% Female, 19.9%
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, 3.0% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 5.7% White, 73.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between civil drafter and design drafter duties and responsibilities

Civil drafter example responsibilities.

Assist surveyors in the field Revit.
Submit finished plans to TXDOT QC for approval.
Develop attribute links for GIS systems database using AutoCAD.
Prepare complete plan sets for as-built surveys, topo.
Establish fix control points using total stations and GPS equipment.
Involve in the design of subdivisions and commercial sites from conceptual to final.

Design drafter example responsibilities.

Manage the ECN process by assigning the highest priority requests through coordination between engineering staff and drafting personnel.
Use Windchill for file management.
Develop pattern REVIT families for retail fixture manufactures.
Assist with implementation of Revit as main drawing application.
Draft and design mechanical and electrical windows for aircraft and yachts.
Work on plant location to sketch isometric drawings used for pressure analysis.

Civil drafter vs design drafter skills

Common civil drafter skills

Civil 3D, 34%
Construction Drawings, 11%
Survey Data, 7%
Sketch, 5%
Aided Design, 5%
Autodesk, 4%

Common design drafter skills

Layout Drawings, 10%
Auto CAD, 6%
Engineering Drawings, 5%
Aided Design, 5%
Assembly Drawings, 5%
Revit, 4%

Updated January 8, 2025

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