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Electrical designer vs draftsman/designer

The differences between electrical designers and draftsman/designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an electrical designer, becoming a draftsman/designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an electrical designer has an average salary of $64,930, which is higher than the $52,529 average annual salary of a draftsman/designer.

The top three skills for an electrical designer include revit, electrical design and autocad electrical. The most important skills for a draftsman/designer are design layouts, solidworks, and shop drawings.

Electrical designer vs draftsman/designer overview

Electrical DesignerDraftsman/Designer
Yearly salary$64,930$52,529
Hourly rate$31.22$25.25
Growth rate3%-3%
Number of jobs82,33247,341
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 47%Associate Degree, 51%
Average age4545
Years of experience212

Electrical designer vs draftsman/designer salary

Electrical designers and draftsman/designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Electrical DesignerDraftsman/Designer
Average salary$64,930$52,529
Salary rangeBetween $47,000 And $89,000Between $30,000 And $89,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew Jersey
Best paying companyAmdTalentBurst
Best paying industryManufacturingTechnology

Differences between electrical designer and draftsman/designer education

There are a few differences between an electrical designer and a draftsman/designer in terms of educational background:

Electrical DesignerDraftsman/Designer
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 47%Associate Degree, 51%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringDrafting And Design
Most common collegeMichigan Technological UniversityCarnegie Mellon University

Electrical designer vs draftsman/designer demographics

Here are the differences between electrical designers' and draftsman/designers' demographics:

Electrical DesignerDraftsman/Designer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 82.9% Female, 17.1%Male, 92.2% Female, 7.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 14.4% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 7.0% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between electrical designer and draftsman/designer duties and responsibilities

Electrical designer example responsibilities.

  • Manage database for PDF drawings and other electronic files.
  • Design control systems to NFPA, UL, and CE specifications to comply with country-specific standards.
  • Work conduct using PDMS, NavisWorks and AutoCAD.
  • Used INTOOLS to input instrument tags into index, customize reports & import data from PDMS into INTOOLS.
  • Integrate electrical & electronic designs into custom automation equipment using 2D & 3D design software (AutoCAD & SolidWorks).
  • Convert various units to DCS for ExxonMobil.
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Draftsman/designer example responsibilities.

  • 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.
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Electrical designer vs draftsman/designer skills

Common electrical designer skills
  • Revit, 14%
  • Electrical Design, 11%
  • Autocad Electrical, 5%
  • UL, 5%
  • Electrical Systems, 5%
  • Electrical Schematics, 4%
Common draftsman/designer skills
  • Design Layouts, 16%
  • Solidworks, 10%
  • Shop Drawings, 5%
  • R, 4%
  • HVAC, 4%
  • Customer Specifications, 3%

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