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Computer aided design designer vs draftsman/designer

The differences between computer aided design designers and draftsman/designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a computer aided design designer, becoming a draftsman/designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a computer aided design designer has an average salary of $60,150, which is higher than the $52,529 average annual salary of a draftsman/designer.

The top three skills for a computer aided design designer include auto cad, revit and aided design. The most important skills for a draftsman/designer are design layouts, solidworks, and shop drawings.

Computer aided design designer vs draftsman/designer overview

Computer Aided Design DesignerDraftsman/Designer
Yearly salary$60,150$52,529
Hourly rate$28.92$25.25
Growth rate-3%-3%
Number of jobs92,50347,341
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 45%Associate Degree, 51%
Average age4545
Years of experience412

Computer aided design designer vs draftsman/designer salary

Computer aided design designers and draftsman/designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Computer Aided Design DesignerDraftsman/Designer
Average salary$60,150$52,529
Salary rangeBetween $40,000 And $89,000Between $30,000 And $89,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew Jersey
Best paying companyMetaTalentBurst
Best paying industryAutomotiveTechnology

Differences between computer aided design designer and draftsman/designer education

There are a few differences between a computer aided design designer and a draftsman/designer in terms of educational background:

Computer Aided Design DesignerDraftsman/Designer
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 45%Associate Degree, 51%
Most common majorDrafting And DesignDrafting And Design
Most common collegeLeTourneau UniversityCarnegie Mellon University

Computer aided design designer vs draftsman/designer demographics

Here are the differences between computer aided design designers' and draftsman/designers' demographics:

Computer Aided Design DesignerDraftsman/Designer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 79.6% Female, 20.4%Male, 92.2% Female, 7.8%
Race ratioBlack 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%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 Percentage6%6%

Differences between computer aided design designer and draftsman/designer duties and responsibilities

Computer aided design designer example responsibilities.

  • Manage the ECN process by assigning the highest priority requests through coordination between engineering staff and drafting personnel.
  • Manage and supervise other draftsmen.
  • Develop a product design to solve the problem of height adjustment of a chair using PTC CreO Direct/Elements & parametric.
  • Used primiarly pro-e with some autocad.
  • Work with both Intralink and Windchill.
  • Create blueprints/drawings of unique grille designs for glass windows using computer program
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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.
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Computer aided design designer vs draftsman/designer skills

Common computer aided design designer skills
  • Auto CAD, 8%
  • Revit, 8%
  • Aided Design, 7%
  • Construction Drawings, 4%
  • Engineering Drawings, 4%
  • Design Drawings, 4%
Common draftsman/designer skills
  • Design Layouts, 16%
  • Solidworks, 10%
  • Shop Drawings, 5%
  • R, 4%
  • HVAC, 4%
  • Customer Specifications, 3%

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