Lead drafter vs senior drafter

The differences between lead drafters and senior 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 senior drafter. Additionally, a lead drafter has an average salary of $47,538, which is higher than the $44,988 average annual salary of a senior drafter.

The top three skills for a lead drafter include construction drawings, autocad and engineering drawings. The most important skills for a senior drafter are autocad, layout drawings, and cad standards.

Lead drafter vs senior drafter overview

	Lead Drafter	Senior Drafter
Yearly salary	$47,538	$44,988
Hourly rate	$22.85	$21.63
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	3,266	3,189
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 65%	Associate Degree, 61%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

Lead drafter vs senior drafter salary

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

	Lead Drafter	Senior Drafter
Average salary	$47,538	$44,988
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $63,000	Between $33,000 And $60,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between lead drafter and senior drafter education

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

	Lead Drafter	Senior Drafter
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 65%	Associate Degree, 61%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Drafting And Design
Most common college	Carnegie Mellon University	Carnegie Mellon University

Lead drafter vs senior drafter demographics

Here are the differences between lead drafters' and senior drafters' demographics:

	Lead Drafter	Senior Drafter
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4%	Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6%
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 senior 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.

Senior drafter example responsibilities.

Manage the design history of 3D part models, assemblies, and drawings using PDM software.
Produce design and construction drawings electrical and HVAC departments for commercial and residential projects per applicable national codes and regulations.
Create BIM design from concept.
Detail and draft structures in Revit.
Maintain an engineering change notice (ECN) system.
Design HVAC and plumbing layouts on existing architectural xrefs.

Lead drafter vs senior drafter skills

Common lead drafter skills

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

Common senior drafter skills

Autocad, 25%
Layout Drawings, 7%
CAD Standards, 5%
Engineering Drawings, 4%
Aided Design, 4%
Revit, 4%