Mechanical Drafters
Prepare detailed working diagrams of machinery and mechanical devices, including dimensions, fastening methods, and other engineering information.
- Median pay
- $71,550
- Doing it now
- 42,100
- By 2035
- Down 6%
- Usually needs
- Associate's degree
a year
across the country
2,900 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Develop detailed design drawings and specifications for mechanical equipment, dies, tools, and controls, using computer-assisted drafting (CAD) equipment.
- Coordinate with and consult other workers to design, lay out, or detail components and systems and to resolve design or other problems.
- Review and analyze specifications, sketches, drawings, ideas, and related data to assess factors affecting component designs and the procedures and instructions to be followed.
- Compute mathematical formulas to develop and design detailed specifications for components or machinery, using computer-assisted equipment.
- Position instructions and comments onto drawings.
- Modify and revise designs to correct operating deficiencies or to reduce production problems.
- Design scale or full-size blueprints of specialty items, such as furniture and automobile body or chassis components.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/TechniciansSee 103 colleges that teach it
- Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/TechniciansSee 25 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Analytical and curious
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $71,550 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.