How To Become A Directional Survey Drafter: What It Is and Career Path

What is a directional survey drafter and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a directional survey drafter. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.54 an hour? That's $53,123 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -6,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreDirectional Survey DrafterUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $53,123

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.1

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.70%

Asian 7.02%

Black or African American 3.09%

Hispanic or Latino 11.66%

Unknown 5.20%

White 72.33%

Gender

female 15.71%

male 84.29%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

4.1

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a directional survey drafter

Explore directional survey drafter education requirements

Most common directional survey drafter degrees

Associate

45.9 %

Bachelor's

34.7 %

High School Diploma

9.2 %

Start to develop specific directional survey drafter skills

Skills	Percentages
Carlson	38.71%
GPS	17.92%
Boundary Surveys	15.76%
GIS	5.50%
Civil Engineering	5.48%

Complete relevant directional survey drafter training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New directional survey drafters learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a directional survey drafter based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real directional survey drafter resumes.

Research directional survey drafter duties and responsibilities

Used Microstation V8i, to draft work prints through Verizon s IDDS system.
Advance working knowledge of AutoCAD, Revit/Bim, SPATIALinfo, MicroStation V8i and/or Bentley software s.
Plot and reproduce drawings.-Performs GIS duties.
Determine precise geographic locations using global positioning systems (GPS) equipment.

Prepare your directional survey drafter resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your directional survey drafter resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a directional survey drafter resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable directional survey drafter resume templates

Build a professional directional survey drafter resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your directional survey drafter resume.