Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between drafting technicians and technical design engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become a drafting technician, becoming a technical design engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a technical design engineer has an average salary of $75,599, which is higher than the $45,318 average annual salary of a drafting technician.
The top three skills for a drafting technician include engineering drawings, solidworks and revit. The most important skills for a technical design engineer are design drawings, windows, and infrastructure.
| Drafting Technician | Technical Design Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $45,318 | $75,599 |
| Hourly rate | $21.79 | $36.35 |
| Growth rate | - | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 32,427 | 173,548 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 45 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 6 |
A Drafting Technician prepares and supervises the preparation of engineering schematics and drawings, charts, graphs, maps, and illustrations. They work closely with engineers, architects, and technologists.
A technical design engineer specializes in designing a company's products and systems, ensuring quality and efficiency. Among their responsibilities include performing extensive research and analysis, understanding and identifying the needs of every project, developing prototypes and test structures, and coordinating with experts. There are also instances when they must conduct maintenance checks on current systems, executing repairs when necessary. Furthermore, as a technical design engineer, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with staff, coordinating them while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
Drafting technicians and technical design engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Drafting Technician | Technical Design Engineer | |
| Average salary | $45,318 | $75,599 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $65,000 | Between $49,000 And $116,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | City of Detroit | Western Digital |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Technology |
There are a few differences between a drafting technician and a technical design engineer in terms of educational background:
| Drafting Technician | Technical Design Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Drafting And Design | Drafting And Design |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between drafting technicians' and technical design engineers' demographics:
| Drafting Technician | Technical Design Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 76.4% Female, 23.6% | Male, 83.7% Female, 16.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 7.5% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 10.3% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 5% |