Mechanical draftsman vs senior design drafter

The differences between mechanical draftsmen and senior 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 mechanical draftsman and a senior design drafter. Additionally, a senior design drafter has an average salary of $50,329, which is higher than the $40,926 average annual salary of a mechanical draftsman.

The top three skills for a mechanical draftsman include auto cad, assembly drawings and HVAC. The most important skills for a senior design drafter are engineering drawings, aided design, and assembly drawings.

Mechanical draftsman vs senior design drafter overview

	Mechanical Draftsman	Senior Design Drafter
Yearly salary	$40,926	$50,329
Hourly rate	$19.68	$24.20
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	17,516	37,776
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 54%	Associate Degree, 71%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	4

Mechanical draftsman vs senior design drafter salary

Mechanical draftsmen and senior design drafters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mechanical Draftsman	Senior Design Drafter
Average salary	$40,926	$50,329
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $50,000	Between $33,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between mechanical draftsman and senior design drafter education

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

	Mechanical Draftsman	Senior Design Drafter
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 54%	Associate Degree, 71%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Drafting And Design
Most common college	Northwestern University	LeTourneau University

Mechanical draftsman vs senior design drafter demographics

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

	Mechanical Draftsman	Senior Design Drafter
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 94.1% Female, 5.9%	Male, 82.5% Female, 17.5%
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 mechanical draftsman and senior design drafter duties and responsibilities

Mechanical draftsman example responsibilities.

Manage ECR and ECO packets to alter documentation specifications.
Manage document collation for field distribution of MEP plans to shop and field.
Manage and supervise other draftsmen.
Design, revise and update mechanical drawings for an automate trash baler, HVAC and conveyor systems.
Coordinate between MEP and prepare project deliverables.
Revise and update mechanical drawing and BOM as required.

Senior design drafter example responsibilities.

Develop custom macros for SolidWorks to automate many redundant processes.
Create design layouts, parts drawings and assembly drawings using Solidworks.
Check drawings accordingly to ANSI Y14.5.
Produce drawing changes through ECO process.
Provide drafting support to the HVAC engineering team.
Organize and file drawing file according to company's PDM system (Windhill).

Mechanical draftsman vs senior design drafter skills

Common mechanical draftsman skills

Auto CAD, 12%
Assembly Drawings, 8%
HVAC, 7%
R, 5%
Mechanical Drawings, 5%
BOM, 5%

Common senior design drafter skills

Engineering Drawings, 10%
Aided Design, 8%
Assembly Drawings, 6%
GD, 6%
Autodesk, 5%
Design Drawings, 5%

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Mechanical Draftsman vs Senior Design Drafter

Updated January 8, 2025

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