A truss designer creates designs and layouts for truss systems for residential and commercial properties. They collaborate with the construction team, engineers, and architects to verify the suitability and viability of the designs concerning the project goals and deadlines.
The main tools to get their job done are computer-aided design (CAD) software and other computer applications. Using their mathematical skills, they settle measurements and proper placements of the trusses. They report the development in their designs, participate in the procurement of materials, and perform clerical duties such as registering blueprints. Generally, they spend most of their work hours in the office, but sometimes they need to visit the construction sites.
An aspiring truss designer must have an associate or a bachelor's degree in drafting and design, mechanical engineering, or other business-related fields. In-depth knowledge and experience in AutoCAD, design applications, and architectural design grant candidates a considerable advantage to grab this position. On average, a truss designer makes $23.34 an hour, amounting to an annual salary of $48,553.
Truss Designer Overview
Truss Designer Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a truss designer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $29.36 an hour? That's $61,065 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 0% and produce -700 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Truss Designer Do
There are certain skills that many truss designers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed technical skills, math skills and time-management skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a truss designer, we found that a lot of resumes listed 18.9% of truss designers included mitek, while 16.3% of resumes included design software, and 15.4% of resumes included cad. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the truss designer job title. But what industry to start with? Most truss designers actually find jobs in the construction and retail industries.
How To Become a Truss Designer
If you're interested in becoming a truss designer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 35.7% of truss designers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.5% of truss designers have master's degrees. Even though some truss designers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a truss designer. When we researched the most common majors for a truss designer, we found that they most commonly earn associate degree degrees or bachelor's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on truss designer resumes include high school diploma degrees or master's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a truss designer. In fact, many truss designer jobs require experience in a role such as designer. Meanwhile, many truss designers also have previous career experience in roles such as draftsman or carpenter.
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Truss Designer Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of design manager you might progress to a role such as project manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title construction manager.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Truss Designer
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
84 Lumber Remote Senior Truss Designer Remote Senior Truss Designer | 84 Lumber 84 Lumber | 11/04/2020 11/04/2020 | $40,00011/04/2020 $40,000 |
Selectek Truss Designer (Remote) Truss Designer (Remote) | Selectek Selectek | 10/23/2020 10/23/2020 | $41,74010/23/2020 $41,740 |
Selectek Truss Designer Truss Designer | Selectek Selectek | 10/22/2020 10/22/2020 | $58,43610/22/2020 $58,436 |
84 Lumber Senior Truss Designer Senior Truss Designer | 84 Lumber 84 Lumber | 10/07/2020 10/07/2020 | $40,00010/07/2020 $40,000 |
Allsearch Professional Staffing Truss Designer Truss Designer | Allsearch Professional Staffing Allsearch Professional Staffing | 09/26/2019 09/26/2019 | $45,00009/26/2019 $45,000 |
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Top Colleges for Truss Designers
1. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
2. Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL • Private
3. LeTourneau University
Longview, TX • Private
4. Dunwoody College of Technology
Minneapolis, MN • Private
5. SUNY College of Technology at Alfred
Alfred, NY • Public
Top Skills For a Truss Designer
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 18.9% of truss designers listed mitek on their resume, but soft skills such as technical skills and math skills are important as well.
- Mitek, 18.9%
- Design Software, 16.3%
- CAD, 15.4%
- Layout, 12.3%
- Roof Systems, 10.0%
- Other Skills, 27.1% See All Truss Designer Skills
How Do Truss Designer Rate Their Jobs?
Top Truss Designer Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ truss designers and discovered their number of truss designer opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Builders FirstSource was the best, especially with an average salary of $63,940. BMC Stock Holdings follows up with an average salary of $62,832, and then comes 84 Lumber with an average of $55,208. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a truss designer. The employers include 84 Lumber, Structural Component Systems, and Selectek