Mechanical detailer vs mechanical design drafter

The differences between mechanical detailers and mechanical design drafters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a mechanical detailer, becoming a mechanical design drafter takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a mechanical design drafter has an average salary of $58,371, which is higher than the $41,030 average annual salary of a mechanical detailer.

The top three skills for a mechanical detailer include customer vehicles, CAD and solidworks. The most important skills for a mechanical design drafter are design layouts, creo, and assembly drawings.

Mechanical detailer vs mechanical design drafter overview

	Mechanical Detailer	Mechanical Design Drafter
Yearly salary	$41,030	$58,371
Hourly rate	$19.73	$28.06
Growth rate	1%	-3%
Number of jobs	24,721	54,189
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	Associate Degree, 56%
Average age	40	45
Years of experience	2	4

Mechanical detailer vs mechanical design drafter salary

Mechanical detailers and mechanical design drafters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mechanical Detailer	Mechanical Design Drafter
Average salary	$41,030	$58,371
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $55,000	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 mechanical detailer and mechanical design drafter education

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

	Mechanical Detailer	Mechanical Design Drafter
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	Associate Degree, 56%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Drafting And Design
Most common college	-	Northwestern University

Mechanical detailer vs mechanical design drafter demographics

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

	Mechanical Detailer	Mechanical Design Drafter
Average age	40	45
Gender ratio	Male, 91.7% Female, 8.3%	Male, 87.7% Female, 12.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 5.1% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	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	2%	6%

Differences between mechanical detailer and mechanical design drafter duties and responsibilities

Mechanical detailer example responsibilities.

Manage document collation for field distribution of MEP plans to shop and field.
Heat treat of metal.operate CNC lathes, CNC mills, CNC grinders.
Do mostly foreign and domestic cars, SUV and commercial diesel truck.
Maintain equipment, rebuild spindles, install motors, gearboxes, perform preventative maintenance.
Provide professional automobile detailing services with a variety of cleaning techniques and products to ensure the desired level of superior cleanliness.
Operate and troubleshoot production line machinery and computers.

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.

Mechanical detailer vs mechanical design drafter skills

Common mechanical detailer skills

Customer Vehicles, 18%
CAD, 17%
Solidworks, 13%
Shop Drawings, 12%
HVAC, 9%
Plumbing, 8%

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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Mechanical Detailer
Mechanical Detailer vs Mechanical Design Drafter

Updated January 8, 2025

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