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What does a draftsman/designer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
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Dan Rodenbaugh
What does a draftsman/designer do
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Draftsman/designer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real draftsman/designer resumes:

  • 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.
  • Work with production and document control to reduce number of missing components and help improve BOM.
  • Update numerous architectural and mechanical (HVAC and process piping) drawings into the IBM mainframe CADAM database.
  • Provide drafting services for this national industrial refrigeration and HVAC contractor.
  • Design enclosures for CNC equipment to increase operator safety while maximizing access to equipment.
  • Produce PowerPoint presentations to clarify aircraft engine support cost, effectiveness, reliability and maintainability.
  • Used AutoCad, plotter and large copier machines.
  • Operate and maintain blue print machine, plotter and scanner.
  • Research NYC zoning codes for various project types and coordinate with various consultants.
  • Produce NYC filing sets, construction and bidding sets for a wide range of projects.

Draftsman/designer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 16% of Draftsman/Designers are proficient in Design Layouts, Solidworks, and Shop Drawings. They’re also known for soft skills such as Technical skills, Time-management skills, and Math skills.

We break down the percentage of Draftsman/Designers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Design Layouts, 16%

    Prepared design layouts from customer specifications.

  • Solidworks, 10%

    Create various Library Features in SolidWorks to assist engineers, co-workers, and self with ease of modeling.

  • Shop Drawings, 5%

    Assisted the manufacturing engineer by applying document control practices for preliminary and released production shop drawings.

  • R, 4%

    Worked with R &D department for the development of new play equipment.

  • HVAC, 4%

    Provided drafting services for this national industrial refrigeration and HVAC contractor.

  • Customer Specifications, 3%

    Produced timely sales drawings to customer specifications using AutoCAD 2010.

Most draftsman/designers use their skills in "design layouts," "solidworks," and "shop drawings" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential draftsman/designer responsibilities here:

Technical skills. One of the key soft skills for a draftsman/designer to have is technical skills. You can see how this relates to what draftsman/designers do because "drafters in all specialties must be able to use computer software, such as cad, and work with database tools, such as building information modeling (bim)." Additionally, a draftsman/designer resume shows how draftsman/designers use technical skills: "created isometric exploded assembly drawings used on highly technical assembly manuals. "

Time-management skills. Many draftsman/designer duties rely on time-management skills. "drafters often work under deadline," so a draftsman/designer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways draftsman/designer responsibilities rely on time-management skills: "assist and follow instructions of the engineer/designer to prepare working engineering drawings, maintain consistency, and meet deadlines. "

Math skills. draftsman/designers are also known for math skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to draftsman/designer responsibilities, because "drafters work on technical drawings." A draftsman/designer resume example shows how math skills is used in the workplace: "utilize unigraphics (ug) nx cad to create detailed model geometry. "

Detail oriented. draftsman/designer responsibilities often require "detail oriented." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "drafters must take care that the plans they convert are technically accurate according to the outlined specifications." This resume example shows what draftsman/designers do with detail oriented on a typical day: "maintained accurate project files to ensure proper documentation of all construction drawings and also created detail libraries for future drawing references. "

Creativity. A commonly-found skill in draftsman/designer job descriptions, "creativity" is essential to what draftsman/designers do. Draftsman/designer responsibilities rely on this skill because "drafters must be able to turn plans and ideas into technical drawings of buildings, tools, and systems." You can also see how draftsman/designer duties rely on creativity in this resume example: "designed and detailed mechanical drawings, including pipe spools,using 3-d inventor 2015 and autocad. "

All draftsman/designer skills

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Compare different draftsman/designers

Draftsman/designer vs. Architectural internship

The job of architectural interns is to assist an architect with all aspects of architectural work. Their duties and responsibilities may include maintaining project files, conducting research on construction sites such as zoning laws and regulations, and preparing presentations for clients. They are also expected to create 3D models and do drafting. The skills and qualifications required for this role include a degree in architecture or a related field, in-depth knowledge of 3D modeling software such as Autodesk and AutoCAD, and hand drafting skills.

The annual salary of architectural interns is $1,385 higher than the average salary of draftsman/designers.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between draftsman/designers and architectural interns are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like shop drawings, auto cad, and construction drawings.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between draftsman/designers and architectural internship. For instance, draftsman/designer responsibilities require skills such as "design layouts," "solidworks," "r," and "hvac." Whereas a architectural internship is skilled in "bim," "adobe photoshop," "adobe creative suite," and "java." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Architectural interns earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $58,087. On the other hand, draftsman/designers are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $56,766.On average, architectural interns reach higher levels of education than draftsman/designers. Architectural interns are 11.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Draftsman/designer 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.

Computer aided drafter positions earn lower pay than draftsman/designer roles. They earn a $9,009 lower salary than draftsman/designers per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Draftsman/designers and computer aided drafters both require similar skills like "design layouts," "shop drawings," and "r" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that draftsman/designer responsibilities requires skills like "solidworks," "ansi," "structural design," and "cost estimates." But a computer aided drafter might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "cad standards," "cad drawings," "autocad release," and "civil engineering."

On average, computer aided drafters earn a lower salary than draftsman/designers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, computer aided drafters earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $46,473. Whereas draftsman/designers have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $56,766.computer aided drafters earn similar levels of education than draftsman/designers in general. They're 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for draftsman/designers 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.

Draftsman/designer vs. Architectural drafter

Architectural drafters are skilled professionals who work alongside architects and engineers to craft technical drawings of construction projects. They use computer software to render technical models of designs made by architects. They create these designs in great detail to ensure that everything is captured perfectly. Architectural drafters may specialize in different design areas, such as building or infrastructure type and materials used for construction. Architectural drafters need to visit the site for a better appreciation of the project. They may also use this time to coordinate with engineers and architects.

An average architectural drafter eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of draftsman/designers. The difference in salaries amounts to architectural drafters earning a $2,585 lower average salary than draftsman/designers.By looking over several draftsman/designers and architectural drafters resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "shop drawings," "hvac," and "aided design." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, draftsman/designers are more likely to have skills like "design layouts," "solidworks," "r," and "customer specifications." But a architectural drafter is more likely to have skills like "building codes," "schematic design," "sketchup," and "adobe photoshop."

Architectural drafters earn the best pay in the professional industry, where they command an average salary of $53,917. Draftsman/designers earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $56,766.Most architectural drafters achieve a similar degree level compared to draftsman/designers. For example, they're 2.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Draftsman/designer vs. Autocad drafter

An Autocad Drafter develops drawings and plans for the construction and manufacturing industries. They use various types of computer-aided design and drafting software.

Autocad drafters average a lower salary than the annual salary of draftsman/designers. The difference is about $10,545 per year.While their salaries may vary, draftsman/designers and autocad drafters both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "solidworks," "shop drawings," and "hvac. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between draftsman/designers and autocad drafters, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a draftsman/designer might have more use for skills like "design layouts," "r," "ansi," and "gd." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of autocad drafters require skills like "gps," "autodesk," "google earth," and "extrusion. "

Autocad drafters enjoy the best pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $45,111. For comparison, draftsman/designers earn the highest salary in the technology industry.In general, autocad drafters hold similar degree levels compared to draftsman/designers. Autocad drafters are 2.2% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of draftsman/designer

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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