Architectural and Civil Drafters
Architectural Drafter,
Draftsman,
Civil Drafter,
Computer-Aided Drafting Designer (CAD Designer)
What they do: Prepare detailed drawings of architectural and structural features of buildings or drawings and topographical relief maps used in civil engineering projects, such as highways, bridges, and public works. Use knowledge of building materials, engineering practices, and mathematics to complete drawings.
- DemandNeutral
- state Avg. Salary $$$$$$55,640Download Career Flyer
What do they typically do on the job?
- Produce drawings, using computer-assisted drafting systems (CAD) or drafting machines, or by hand, using compasses, dividers, protractors, triangles, and other drafting devices.
- Draft plans and detailed drawings for structures, installations, and construction projects, such as highways, sewage disposal systems, and dikes, working from sketches or notes.
- Coordinate structural, electrical, and mechanical designs and determine a method of presentation to graphically represent building plans.
Personality
Interests
Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.
Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz
Knowledge
People who want to pursue this career have knowledge in these areas.
Engineering and Technology
Design
Building and construction
Arts and Humanities
English language
Math and Science
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics
Safety and Government
Public safety and security
Abilities
Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.
Verbal
Communicate by writing
Listen and understand what people say
Ideas and Logic
Use rules to solve problems
Come up with lots of ideas
Math
Choose the right type of math to solve a problem
Add, subtract, multiply, or divide
Skills
People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.
Basic Skills
Reading work related information
Figuring out how to use new ideas or things
Problem Solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it
Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
Work Values
Work values describe how your core beliefs align with those commonly needed for this career.
Support
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Working Conditions
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Achievement
Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Does this sound like something you'd like to do?
1. Do some research
- Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
- Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
- Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career
2. Plan your next move
- Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
- Connect with a career advisor or mentor
- Visit Idaho Launch
- Search for available Architectural and Civil Drafters jobs on Idaho Works
Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop