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What does a design technician do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
Quoted expert
Dan Rodenbaugh
What does a design technician do

A design technician's role revolves around conducting extensive research and analysis to determine a company's needs. The technician will develop system plans and collaborate with fellow technicians and engineers. There are also instances where a design technician has to craft presentations and hand in proposals, revising them when necessary. Furthermore, a design technician must produce progress reports, abide by managers' directions, and adhere to the company's policies and regulations.

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Design technician responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real design technician resumes:

  • Manage the life cycle of the product using PLM from creation to the top of production sample.
  • Lead team in Revit modeling and documentation including precise replication of intricate detention security hardware.
  • Job duties include but not limit to assisting professional engineers in designing HVAC and plumbing systems.
  • Experience in draft beer equipment (jockey box, taps, lines, etc . )
  • Assist customer with IP addressing.
  • Used Carlson plugin software with AutoCAD.
  • Develop company BIM coordination and design standards.
  • Clean and repair beer lines and taps.
  • Map contours, elevations, and aerial photography.
  • Assign to special projects using BIM software for electrical drawings.
  • Develop, submit, and process right-of-way permits with the state.
  • Convert AutoCAD files of final product to PDF images for delivery.
  • Conduct failure analysis and data crunching to diagnose and troubleshoot problems.
  • Generate the BOM and routings for assembly and part files in MRP system.
  • Assemble right-of-way maps used in acquiring permits from state and federal governments for fieldwork.

Design technician skills and personality traits

We calculated that 8% of Design Technicians are proficient in Revit, Civil 3D, and Aided Design. They’re also known for soft skills such as Reading skills, Writing skills, and Problem-solving skills.

We break down the percentage of Design Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Revit, 8%

    Modified commercial building plans in Architectural AutoCAD and REVIT.

  • Civil 3D, 6%

    Provided Subsurface designs and utility coordination using topographic survey data in AutoCAD Civil 3D.

  • Aided Design, 5%

    Used Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools to develop and maintain mechanical/electrical/civil/structural engineering product definition for ICBM ground support equipment.

  • Sketch, 4%

    Create detailed spec sheet, grading, detailed corrections and comments including sketch and photo using Excel and digital camera.

  • Auto CAD, 4%

    Produce Auto Cad drawings for Project Managers on Various Construction projects and prepare them for final presentation to contractors.

  • Work Ethic, 4%

    Improved overall productivity of company with dynamic work ethic and positive attitude.

Common skills that a design technician uses to do their job include "revit," "civil 3d," and "aided design." You can find details on the most important design technician responsibilities below.

Writing skills. Another essential skill to perform design technician duties is writing skills. Design technicians responsibilities require that "civil engineering technologists and technicians must be able to prepare reports that are well organized and clearly convey information." Design technicians also use writing skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "served as member of a team responsible for writing technical manuals for the gps system. "

Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of design technicians is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday design technician duties, as "as assistants to civil engineers, these technologists and technicians must be able to help engineers identify problems and design projects to solve them." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "travel for the resolution of field issues, construction observations, time studies and product development. "

Math skills. A big part of what design technicians do relies on "math skills." You can see how essential it is to design technician responsibilities because "civil engineering technologists and technicians use math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical design technician tasks: "analyzed, checked, and released part designs by applying gd&t;, ansi/asme y14.5, and fundamental engineering math. "

Most common design technician skills

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Compare different design technicians

Design technician vs. Computer aided drafter

A computer-aided drafter is responsible for creating designs, usually for industrial manufacturing and construction projects, using computer-aided software systems and applications. Computer-aided drafters should have excellent command in programming languages and navigating computer system codes to develop a technical output, following the clients' specifications and business requirements. They also work closely with design engineers to discuss dimensions, costs, materials, and production processes. A computer-aided drafter must be highly communicative and organizational, incorporating all the schematics, developing operational manuals, and performing draft adjustment as needed.

We looked at the average design technician salary and compared it with the wages of a computer aided drafter. Generally speaking, computer aided drafters are paid $18,768 lower than design technicians per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between design technicians and computer aided drafters are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like revit, aided design, and sketch.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a design technician are more likely to require skills like "civil 3d," "work ethic," "html css," and "java." On the other hand, a job as a computer aided drafter requires skills like "cad standards," "cad drawings," "autocad release," and "layout drawings." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

On average, computer aided drafters reach similar levels of education than design technicians. Computer aided drafters are 1.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Design technician vs. Engineering internship

An engineering intern is responsible for assisting the overall project development under the supervision of a head engineer. Engineering interns' duties vary in every industry but generally include generating reports, analyzing budget goals and cost estimates, reaching out to clients for important updates, and providing project improvement recommendations. Engineering interns must have strong attention to detail, as well as excellent critical-thinking and project management skills. An engineering intern should be able to communicate effectively and use their logical judgments, especially when dealing with adjustments and meeting deadlines.

Engineering internship positions earn lower pay than design technician roles. They earn a $20,370 lower salary than design technicians per year.A few skills overlap for design technicians and engineering interns. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "civil 3d," "aided design," and "sketch. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real design technician resumes. While design technician responsibilities can utilize skills like "revit," "design drawings," "html css," and "bim," engineering interns use skills like "engineering intern," "python," "c++," and "c #."

Average education levels between the two professions vary. Engineering interns tend to reach higher levels of education than design technicians. In fact, they're 6.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for design technicians in the next 3-5 years?

Dan RodenbaughDan Rodenbaugh LinkedIn profile

Vice President of Education, Director, ADDA

Personal computers and internet, better off-site interaction.

Design technician vs. Drafter

The duties of a drafter vary on one's line of work or industry of employment. In the information technology setting, a drafter specializes in creating a three-dimensional model for software and other applications upon gathering details and specifications from designers and other personnel. A drafter usually works with a team and is supervised by a manager or a more experienced colleague. Furthermore, it is essential to coordinate with the team involved, all while adhering to the policies and standards of the company.

On average, drafters earn lower salaries than design technicians, with a $18,746 difference per year.By looking over several design technicians and drafters resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "revit," "aided design," and "sketch." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from design technician resumes include skills like "civil 3d," "work ethic," "html css," and "bim," whereas a drafter is more likely to list skills in "layout drawings," "gd," "mechanical drawings," and "drawing packages. "

When it comes to education, drafters tend to earn similar degree levels compared to design technicians. In fact, they're 2.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Design technician vs. Project engineer internship

When it comes to a project engineer internship, one of the primary responsibilities is to follow the directives of engineers and managers while earning practical experience. Most of the duties will revolve around processing documents, answering calls and correspondence, participating in various projects, assisting engineers in basic tasks, and organizing inventory and supplies. There may also be instances when an intern may take part in presentations and attend meetings. Furthermore, it is essential to coordinate with supervising managers while adhering to all rules.

Project engineer interns average a lower salary than the annual salary of design technicians. The difference is about $21,932 per year.While both design technicians and project engineer interns complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like aided design, gis, and windows, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between design technicians and project engineer interns, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a design technician might have more use for skills like "revit," "civil 3d," "sketch," and "auto cad." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of project engineer interns require skills like "rfi," "cad," "meeting minutes," and "data collection. "

The average resume of project engineer interns showed that they earn higher levels of education compared to design technicians. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 11.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.8%.

Types of design technician

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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