What does a structural drafter do?
A structural drafter creates technical drawings, plans, and cost estimations. They prepare guidelines and for building bridges, lodges, and manufacturing plants. They typically work for construction companies, transportation firms, or manufacturing firms. They prepare drafts, present them to clients, and complete any revisions requested.
Structural drafter responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real structural drafter resumes:
- Create as-built AutoCAD and Revit structural drawings for existing conditions.
- Create CNC nesting programs for wood, plastic, and graphics.
- Create automated schedules, sections, views and plans from Revit database content.
- Produce molding samples, analyze pressure & temperature control, CNC part programme adjustments.
- Inspect electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, mold, insulation, damages, & conditions of the house.
- Develop elevations with horizontal and vertical section detail drawings.
- Input bearings and points using LDD software.
Structural drafter skills and personality traits
We calculated that 25% of Structural Drafters are proficient in Revit, Shop Drawings, and Structural Drawings. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Detail oriented, and Technical skills.
We break down the percentage of Structural Drafters that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Revit, 25%
Drafted structural plans for commercial projects using AutoCAD - Modeled commercial structures using Revit - Technical troubleshooting for cad and PC issues
- Shop Drawings, 11%
Review Shop Drawings for compliance with field conditions, Drawings & Specifications, provide mark up's to the Engineering firm.
- Structural Drawings, 8%
Worked with a team to gather relevant information from a broad spectrum of architectural and structural drawings provided by clients.
- Elevations, 6%
Developed elevations with horizontal and vertical section detail drawings.
- BIM, 6%
Develop and coordinate BIM Models and content across architectural and engineering disciplines.
- Construction Drawings, 5%
Drafted substation civil and structural construction drawings.
Most structural drafters use their skills in "revit," "shop drawings," and "structural drawings" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential structural drafter responsibilities here:
Creativity. The most essential soft skill for a structural drafter to carry out their responsibilities is creativity. This skill is important for the role because "drafters must be able to turn plans and ideas into technical drawings of buildings, tools, and systems." Additionally, a structural drafter resume shows how their duties depend on creativity: "inventoried shop drawings and scanned drawings for archiving. "
Detail oriented. Many structural drafter duties rely on detail oriented. "drafters must take care that the plans they convert are technically accurate according to the outlined specifications.," so a structural drafter will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways structural drafter responsibilities rely on detail oriented: "produced layouts and sketches used in detailed construction drawings with autocad software. "
Technical skills. This is an important skill for structural drafters to perform their duties. For an example of how structural drafter responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "drafters in all specialties must be able to use computer software, such as cad, and work with database tools, such as building information modeling (bim)." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a structural drafter: "perform technical reviews on submittals and shop drawings for consistency with design documents and specification requirements. ".
Time-management skills. A big part of what structural drafters do relies on "time-management skills." You can see how essential it is to structural drafter responsibilities because "drafters often work under deadline." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical structural drafter tasks: "checked shop drawings with end results being fastest fabrication time in the shop without errors. "
Math skills. Another crucial skill for a structural drafter to carry out their responsibilities is "math skills." A big part of what structural drafters relies on this skill, since "drafters work on technical drawings." How this skill relates to structural drafter duties can be seen in an example from a structural drafter resume snippet: "performed quantitative analysis to locate drainage and hvac systems. "
The three companies that hire the most structural drafters are:
- Fluor Corporation2 structural drafters jobs
- Jacobs Engineering Group
2 structural drafters jobs
- POWER Engineers2 structural drafters jobs
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Compare different structural drafters
Structural drafter vs. Cadd operator
A truss designer's major responsibility is to design layouts for floors and roofs. They work with architects and engineers to ensure the feasibility of new designs. They also develop schematics through computer-aided design (CAD) software. They are required to work on layouts for roofs and flooring for both residential and commercial buildings.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between structural drafters and cadd operator. For instance, structural drafter responsibilities require skills such as "elevations," "bim," "ladders," and "sketch." Whereas a cadd operator is skilled in "civil engineering," "cost estimates," "plumbing," and "survey data." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Cadd operators tend to reach similar levels of education than structural drafters. In fact, cadd operators are 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Structural drafter vs. Autocad operator
Drafting interns perform jobs like designing engineering drawings and visual aids, forming the detailed layout execution of distinct mechanical parts, resolve design problems in BIM models and visual presentations. Also, the pattern of new products, alter existing products using SOLIDWORKS, estimate the shipboard pipe systems, and develop a superficial model of NIDA glider using CATIA V5. Additionally, they aid field technicians in gathering field information points with GPS units, counsel less experience BIM designers in discrete parts of the country through the phone, and enhance drawings in both Revit and AutoCAD in line with the instructions provided by the architect.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, structural drafter responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "elevations," "bim," "ladders," and "structural design." Meanwhile, an autocad operator has duties that require skills in areas such as "plumbing," "cnc," "stairs," and "line diagrams." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Autocad operators earn similar levels of education than structural drafters in general. They're 1.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for structural drafters in the next 3-5 years?
Dan Rodenbaugh
Vice President of Education, Director, ADDA
Structural drafter vs. Truss designer
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from structural drafter resumes include skills like "revit," "structural drawings," "elevations," and "bim," whereas a truss designer is more likely to list skills in "mitek," "design software," "layout design," and "roof trusses. "
When it comes to education, truss designers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to structural drafters. In fact, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Structural drafter vs. Drafting internship
Types of structural drafter
Updated January 8, 2025
