How To Become A Drafting Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a drafting technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A drafting technician is an individual who uses specialized computer software to prepare technical designs and drawings. He/she interprets concepts and then uses a computer-aided design (CAD) to convert designs of architects, engineers, or designers into technical drawings. He/she creates a 2D or 3D display of a structure.

A drafting technician can decide to specialize in architectural, mechanical, electrical, or civil drafting. Drafting technicians usually work very closely with engineers, architects, and industrial designers. He/she can get employed in architectural firms, construction companies, manufacturing companies, consulting firms, or even government. A successful drafting technician has technical skills, artistic ability, communication skills, and is detail-oriented.

Drafting technicians mostly work on computers in an office setting and occasionally make site visits to liaise with engineers. Their work schedule is 40 hours a week, Monday to Friday, but they may be required to work late hours to meet urgent deadlines.

ScoreDrafting TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $45,318

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

6.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.68%

Asian 7.52%

Black or African American 9.32%

Hispanic or Latino 16.41%

Unknown 4.86%

White 61.21%

Gender

female 23.57%

male 76.43%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress Level

5.6

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

Newest jobs for Drafting Technician in Joliet, IL

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Key steps to become a drafting technician

Explore drafting technician education requirements

Most common drafting technician degrees

Associate

50.7 %

Bachelor's

30.8 %

High School Diploma

11.2 %

Start to develop specific drafting technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Engineering Drawings	10.05%
Solidworks	8.86%
Revit	8.53%
Auto CAD	6.23%
Aided Design	5.96%

Complete relevant drafting technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New drafting technicians 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 drafting technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real drafting technician resumes.

Research drafting technician duties and responsibilities

Manage database and set projects against MEP, HSE, and ADA requirements.
Manage the life cycle of the product using PLM from creation to the top of production sample.
Prepare construction drawings for documentation using AutoCAD and Revit.
Draft boundary, topographic, and alta surveys.

Prepare your drafting technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your drafting technician 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 drafting technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Drafting Technician Resume templates

Build a professional Drafting Technician 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 Drafting Technician resume.

Apply for drafting technician jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a drafting technician job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Drafting Technician Job

Dawit Haile

Drafting Technician

Typically, it takes three to four years to become a drafting technician:
Year 1: Get a certificate in a relevant field, such as engineering, architecture, or drafting
Years 2-3: Gain work experience in drafting, technical skills, and design
Year 4: Complete on-the-job and on-site training in technical drawing, drafting and design software, and industry standards

How do drafting technicians rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

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1 Star

Drafting Technician reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019

Pros

comfortable environment

Cons

stressful work. negative response is related in anyway to the job you'll be doing. So if the job is boring and a lot of repetitive tasks are involved and you say you don't like to do something daily they might weed you out. My answer would be, I really can't think of something I dislike doing every single day. Just because they ask the question doesn't mean you have to have a negative answer!