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

What is a senior drafter and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average senior drafter salary is $44,988. The most common degree is a associate degree degree with an drafting and design major. It usually takes 6-12 months of experience to become a senior drafter. Senior drafters with a Certified Agile Developer (CAD) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -6,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSenior DrafterUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $44,988

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.3

Growth Rate -3%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.70%

Asian 7.02%

Black or African American 3.09%

Hispanic or Latino 11.66%

Unknown 5.20%

White 72.33%

Gender

female 24.55%

male 75.45%

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

4.3

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.3

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.0

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior drafter

Explore senior drafter education requirements

Most common senior drafter degrees

Associate

61.5 %

Bachelor's

25.9 %

Diploma

4.6 %

Start to develop specific senior drafter skills

Skills	Percentages
Autocad	25.05%
Layout Drawings	6.62%
CAD Standards	5.35%
Engineering Drawings	4.22%
Aided Design	4.18%

Complete relevant senior drafter training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 4-10 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior 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 senior drafter based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior drafter resumes.

Research senior drafter duties and responsibilities

Manage the design history of 3D part models, assemblies, and drawings using PDM software.
Produce design and construction drawings electrical and HVAC departments for commercial and residential projects per applicable national codes and regulations.
Create BIM design from concept.
Detail and draft structures in Revit.

Get senior drafter experience

Generally, it takes 6-12 months to become a senior drafter. The most common roles before becoming a senior drafter include drafter, mechanical designer team lead and design drafter.

Prepare your senior drafter resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior 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 senior 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 Senior Drafter Resume templates

Build a professional Senior 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 Senior Drafter resume.

Apply for senior drafter jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a senior drafter 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

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