Lead drafter vs computer aided drafter

The differences between lead drafters and computer aided drafters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a lead drafter and a computer aided drafter. Additionally, a lead drafter has an average salary of $47,538, which is higher than the $43,520 average annual salary of a computer aided drafter.

The top three skills for a lead drafter include construction drawings, autocad and engineering drawings. The most important skills for a computer aided drafter are cad standards, revit, and aided design.

Lead drafter vs computer aided drafter overview

	Lead Drafter	Computer Aided Drafter
Yearly salary	$47,538	$43,520
Hourly rate	$22.85	$20.92
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	3,266	16,907
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 65%	Associate Degree, 52%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

Lead drafter vs computer aided drafter salary

Lead drafters and computer aided drafters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Lead Drafter	Computer Aided Drafter
Average salary	$47,538	$43,520
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $63,000	Between $33,000 And $57,000
Highest paying City	-	Kearny, NJ
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Johnson Controls
Best paying industry	-	Professional

Differences between lead drafter and computer aided drafter education

There are a few differences between a lead drafter and a computer aided drafter in terms of educational background:

	Lead Drafter	Computer Aided Drafter
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 65%	Associate Degree, 52%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Drafting And Design
Most common college	Carnegie Mellon University	Carnegie Mellon University

Lead drafter vs computer aided drafter demographics

Here are the differences between lead drafters' and computer aided drafters' demographics:

	Lead Drafter	Computer Aided Drafter
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4%	Male, 74.2% Female, 25.8%
Race ratio	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%	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 Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between lead drafter and computer aided drafter duties and responsibilities

Lead drafter example responsibilities.

Lead and train a drafting team in order to transfer all hand drawn layouts to a digital copy using AutoCAD.
Maintain ECO's numbers and BOM's.
Create and revise BOM's as required per drawings and specifications.
Program and operate CNC routers, including maintenance and general care of the machine.
Design with sheet metal, aluminum, and parts to be mill by a CNC machine.
Provide support regarding AutoCAD operation.

Computer aided drafter example responsibilities.

Clean up architectural drawings to bare walls, convert layers and add masonry reinforcements to walls, doors and windows.
Used VBA to program business tools.
Create detail blue prints for jigs to be build for production.
Translate REVIT (BIM) files into AutoCAD-ready files from contract architect.
Create PowerPoint presentations to introduce the flows of the conveyor belt systems.
Conduct field and sketch analysis to determine the most effective approach for plan development.

Lead drafter vs computer aided drafter skills

Common lead drafter skills

Construction Drawings, 18%
Autocad, 18%
Engineering Drawings, 16%
Aided Design, 14%
Product Line, 10%
CAD Tech, 3%

Common computer aided drafter skills

CAD Standards, 9%
Revit, 7%
Aided Design, 6%
CAD Drawings, 5%
Shop Drawings, 4%
Autocad Release, 4%