Lead drafter vs contract-drafter

The differences between lead drafters and contract-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 contract-drafter. Additionally, a lead drafter has an average salary of $47,538, which is higher than the $45,330 average annual salary of a contract-drafter.

The top three skills for a lead drafter include construction drawings, autocad and engineering drawings. The most important skills for a contract-drafter are autocad, solidworks, and auto-cad.

Lead drafter vs contract-drafter overview

	Lead Drafter	Contract-Drafter
Yearly salary	$47,538	$45,330
Hourly rate	$22.85	$21.79
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	3,266	10,033
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 65%	Associate Degree, 52%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

Lead drafter vs contract-drafter salary

Lead drafters and contract-drafters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Lead Drafter	Contract-Drafter
Average salary	$47,538	$45,330
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $63,000	Between $33,000 And $61,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between lead drafter and contract-drafter education

There are a few differences between a lead drafter and a contract-drafter in terms of educational background:

	Lead Drafter	Contract-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 contract-drafter demographics

Here are the differences between lead drafters' and contract-drafters' demographics:

	Lead Drafter	Contract-Drafter
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4%	Male, 73.4% Female, 26.6%
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 contract-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.

Contract-drafter example responsibilities.

Manage the design history of 3D part models, assemblies, and drawings using PDM software.
Produce HVAC and plumbing drawings in AutoCADD MEP, complete mark ups, and create designs from rough sketches.
Develop elevations with horizontal and vertical section detail drawings.
Create detailed drawings of parts for manufacture with BOMs.
Create detailed drawings of parts for manufacture with BOMs, including sheet metal and plastic molding.
Experience with Intralink and PDM.

Lead drafter vs contract-drafter skills

Common lead drafter skills

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

Common contract-drafter skills

Autocad, 34%
Solidworks, 13%
Auto-Cad, 11%
R, 6%
Revit, 6%
Creo, 6%