Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between electrical drafters and designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an electrical drafter, becoming a designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a designer has an average salary of $66,347, which is higher than the $52,027 average annual salary of an electrical drafter.
The top three skills for an electrical drafter include autocad electrical, revit and design software. The most important skills for a designer are sketch, customer service, and graphic design.
| Electrical Drafter | Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $52,027 | $66,347 |
| Hourly rate | $25.01 | $31.90 |
| Growth rate | -3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 30,376 | 52,433 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 45 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
An electrical drafter specializes in designing electrical wiring systems in coordination with engineers and architects, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities include performing extensive research and analysis, drawing detailed diagrams, examining sites and available resources, and establishing technical guidelines. They may also review installation diagrams and documentation, assist technicians, and address issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently. Furthermore, as an electrical drafter, it is essential to adhere to deadlines and goals, including the company's safety policies and regulations.
A designer is someone who creates a master plan of the look or workings of something before it will be made. It could be tangible or intangible objects, products, procedures, laws, events, games, graphics, services, and even experiences. Designers are creative thinkers with a great eye to configure the skeletal and structural properties of the targeted output. They work in several fields, such as fashion, architecture, web graphics, and user experience. In spite of the variety of professionals in the design industry, all of them are artistic, passionate, inspiring, and emotionally connected to their projects and brands.
Electrical drafters and designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Electrical Drafter | Designer | |
| Average salary | $52,027 | $66,347 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $66,000 | Between $45,000 And $97,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | Washington |
| Best paying company | Stantec | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Utilities | Technology |
There are a few differences between an electrical drafter and a designer in terms of educational background:
| Electrical Drafter | Designer | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Drafting And Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between electrical drafters' and designers' demographics:
| Electrical Drafter | Designer | |
| Average age | 45 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.8% Female, 27.2% | Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 5.7% White, 73.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 13% |