How To Become A Draftsman: What It Is and Career Path

What is a draftsman and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A draftsman draws plans for buildings and machines. Draftsmen frequently work with other professionals such as architects, engineers, and scientists. Your responsibilities include following specifications and calculations to create technical drawings, using CADD systems to prepare both rough sketches and detailed work, and ensuring final designs are in line with building regulations. You must also be able to identify potential design problems and communicate them to the rest of the team. You must be able to incorporate knowledge gained from architects and engineers into your drawings. Your duty might also include redesigning products to improve their functionality or creating products manuals or building descriptions.

You should also be able to follow specifications and be fully trained in using Computer-Aided Design and Drafting processes. A bachelor's of science in engineering or architecture is required for this role. You must also be able to work well in a team and communicate effectively. The average draftsman makes about $46,942 per year, which is about $22.57 per hour.

ScoreDraftsmanUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $42,908

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.3

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.16%

Asian 5.73%

Black or African American 3.03%

Hispanic or Latino 13.06%

Unknown 4.14%

White 73.89%

Gender

female 9.01%

male 90.99%

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

5.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.2

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a draftsman

Explore draftsman education requirements

Most common draftsman degrees

Associate

47.3 %

Bachelor's

33.6 %

High School Diploma

8.9 %

Start to develop specific draftsman skills

Skills	Percentages
Autocad LT	16.77%
Auto CAD	9.96%
Layout Drawings	6.85%
Shop Drawings	6.12%
Engineering Drawings	3.40%

Complete relevant draftsman training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New draftsmen 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 draftsman based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real draftsman resumes.

Research draftsman duties and responsibilities

Manage and supervise other draftsmen.
Create architectural drawings using AutoCAD and Revit.
Locate correct cut length for windows, doors and electrical wiring.
Complete assignments in compliance with NRC, ANSI and AMSE regulations.

Prepare your draftsman resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your draftsman 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 draftsman resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable draftsman resume templates

Build a professional draftsman 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 draftsman resume.