How To Become A Tool Design Drafter: What It Is and Career Path

What is a tool design drafter and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a tool design drafter. For example, did you know that they make an average of $29.31 an hour? That's $60,965 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -6,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreTool Design DrafterUS Average

Salary

4.8

Avg. Salary $60,965

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.3

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.16%

Asian 5.73%

Black or African American 3.03%

Hispanic or Latino 13.06%

Unknown 4.14%

White 73.89%

Gender

female 13.51%

male 86.49%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

5.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.2

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a tool design drafter

Explore tool design drafter education requirements

Most common tool design drafter degrees

Associate

69.6 %

Bachelor's

26.1 %

Master's

4.3 %

Start to develop specific tool design drafter skills

Skills	Percentages
CAD	50.77%
Engineering Drawings	39.02%
Autocad	10.22%

Complete relevant tool design drafter training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New tool design drafters learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a tool design drafter based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real tool design drafter resumes.

Research tool design drafter duties and responsibilities

Manage the ECN process by assigning the highest priority requests through coordination between engineering staff and drafting personnel.
Transfer data electronically and manipulate product data files in Unigraphics NX9.
Assist engineers with ECOs and ECRs occasionally.
Use ACAD to create/modify installation diagrams for manufacturing.

Prepare your tool design drafter resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your tool design drafter resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a tool design drafter resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable tool design drafter resume templates

Build a professional tool design drafter resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your tool design drafter resume.