Gage designer vs mechanical design drafter

The differences between gage designers and mechanical design drafters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a gage designer and a mechanical design drafter. Additionally, a gage designer has an average salary of $91,515, which is higher than the $58,371 average annual salary of a mechanical design drafter.

The top three skills for a gage designer include assembly fixtures, autocad and GD. The most important skills for a mechanical design drafter are design layouts, creo, and assembly drawings.

Gage designer vs mechanical design drafter overview

	Gage Designer	Mechanical Design Drafter
Yearly salary	$91,515	$58,371
Hourly rate	$44.00	$28.06
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	43,996	54,189
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Associate Degree, 56%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	4

Gage designer vs mechanical design drafter salary

Gage designers and mechanical design drafters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Gage Designer	Mechanical Design Drafter
Average salary	$91,515	$58,371
Salary range	Between $51,000 And $161,000	Between $45,000 And $75,000
Highest paying City	-	Fremont, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Salt River Project
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between gage designer and mechanical design drafter education

There are a few differences between a gage designer and a mechanical design drafter in terms of educational background:

	Gage Designer	Mechanical Design Drafter
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Associate Degree, 56%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Drafting And Design
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Gage designer vs mechanical design drafter demographics

Here are the differences between gage designers' and mechanical design drafters' demographics:

	Gage Designer	Mechanical Design Drafter
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 95.2% Female, 4.8%	Male, 87.7% Female, 12.3%
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, 3.0% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 5.7% White, 73.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between gage designer and mechanical design drafter duties and responsibilities

Gage designer example responsibilities.

Utilize SolidWorks to create 3D modeling to manage design and development of proprietary machine design.
Contract out services in AutoCAD and SolidWorks.
Develop test solutions to assist manufactures to quickly and accurately analyze, troubleshoot and identify root cause failure analysis.
Develop test solutions to assist manufactures to quickly and accurately analyze, troubleshoot and identify root cause failure analysis.

Mechanical design drafter example responsibilities.

Calculate requirements and manage HVAC systems, including design, development, compliance, testing, troubleshooting and repair.
Incorporate ECO's to update and revise the drawings and BOM's on military aircraft antenna test equipment.
Generate ECR's and ECN's to accommodate customer's requirements.
Convert 2D drawings into 3D assemblies that can be include into SolidWork's PDM environment.
Train manufacturing employees on CNC tube benders and how to utilize manufacturing jig and fixtures.
Supervise 8-member shop including : 2 CNC lathes , 2 manual lathes , 1 milling machine and 3 motor technicians.

Gage designer vs mechanical design drafter skills

Common gage designer skills

Assembly Fixtures, 38%
Autocad, 28%
GD, 17%
CNC, 16%

Common mechanical design drafter skills

Design Layouts, 6%
Creo, 6%
Assembly Drawings, 6%
Aided Design, 5%
GD, 5%
Auto CAD, 4%

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Gage Designer
Gage Designer vs Mechanical Design Drafter

Updated January 8, 2025

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