Find a Computer Aided Design and Drafting CAD School
Those in a computer aided drafters and design career prepare technical drawings and plans used by production and construction workers to build everything from manufactured products, such as toys, toasters, industrial machinery, and spacecraft, to structures, such as houses, office buildings, and oil and gas pipelines. Their computer drawings provide visual guidelines, show the technical details of the products and structures, and specify dimensions, materials, and procedures. Computer drafters fill in technical details, using drawings, rough sketches, specifications, codes, and calculations previously made by engineers, surveyors, architects, or scientists. For example, they use their knowledge of standardized building techniques to draw in the details of a structure. Some in a drafting career use their knowledge of engineering and manufacturing theory and standards to draw the parts of a machine in order to determine design elements, such as the numbers and kinds of fasteners needed to assemble the machine. CAD professional use technical handbooks, tables, calculators, and computers to complete their work.
Traditionally, drafters sat at drawing boards and used standard pencils, pens, compasses, rulers, triangles, and other drafting equipment to prepare a drawing manually. Today most in a CAD career use computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) systems to prepare drawings. Consequently, some computer aided drafters are referred to as CAD operators. Those in a CAD career use systems that employ computer workstations to create a drawing on a video screen. The computer drawings are stored electronically to facilitate revisions and create duplications easily. These drafting systems also permit those in a CAD career s to quickly prepare variations of a design. Although drafters use CAD extensively, it is only a tool: Persons who produce technical drawings with CAD still function as drafters and need the knowledge of traditional drafters, in addition to CAD skills. Despite the near-universal use of CAD systems, manual drafting and sketching still is used in certain applications.
Earnings for computer drafting careers vary by specialty and level of responsibility. Median annual earnings of architectural and civil computer drafters were $37,000 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $30,000 and $45,000. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $24,000, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $56,000. Median annual earnings for architectural and civil drafters in architectural, engineering, and related services were $36,000.
Median annual earnings of mechanical drafters were $40,000 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $32,000 and $51,000. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $25,000, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $64,000. Median annual earnings for mechanical drafters in architectural, engineering, and related services were $41,000.
Median annual earnings of electrical and electronics drafters were $41,000 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $32,000 and $53,000. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $25,710, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $68,000. In architectural, engineering, and related services, median annual earnings for electrical and electronics drafters were $39,000.
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