URGENT HELP NEEDED - Deciding to become a draftsmen! (Need insight)

[Anonymous]

Hi forum!

I have been a health-science major in university for the past 2 years now, and I am deeply interested in pursuing a different field - one in which I have greater interest in. However, I am in complete haze as to where I should be going (in order to widen the scope of career prospects), and what I should be doing (in regards to the integrity of the position on a long-term basis). For all draftsmen, I have some very important questions that I hope you may answer and provide me with some of your insight and experiences (questions relating to your personal experiences and aspects of your job).

Note: Please forgive me for any questions that may be based off of the inaccuracy of any information found in which does not truly represent the draftsmen career. It is never my intention to deliberately offend anyone on this forum, and I sincerely apologize in advance if any of my questions describe the position inaccurately due to misunderstood research made prior to this post. You do not need to answer any question in which makes you feel uncomfortable or just simply do not wish to disclose information on. 

1. How much time is dedicated between working on paper? - And how much is spent on the computer? (i.e. 60% paper, 40% computer). Similarly, how much of the work was done independently and in a group?

2. How difficult was it to get a job after earning your degree and training in this field (and/or the other sub-fields it contains)?

3. As many people and engineers especially are learning AutoCad (the basics) among other software commonly used by draftsmen, as well as the development of potentially new and easier to use software, do you find this career path as a draftsmen to be sustainable (based on opinion and experience) in the long term? Is it common for draftsmen to get laid off due to competitive demand?

4. If you have been an out-of-work draftsmen before at least once during your career as a professional draftsmen, what did you do? (Did you become a contractor? Can being a contractor generally be more financially rewarding? - Did you take a break from field altogether until finding another work opportunity in drafting? - Or did you go back to school to obtain a different degree in order to diversify and specialize in another sub-field that ties to the core basics?).

5. In a few words, how would you describe your average day-to-day routine as a draftsmen in the workplace? What was the average day-to-day routine?

6. Prior to becoming a professional draftsmen (or beginning the training and education) and having just entered the field (professionally, training, or education), were there aspects of the field that were quite different than what you had initially expected? If so - what? And if so, how did you react to these changed perceptions?

7. Based off of your experience (from professionally, training, and education), what were some of the best and worst things you had to deal with going into this field? 

8. What was your average working hours as a draftsmen (per day and per week)? And what was your annual salary?

9. What type of growth opportunities are there as a draftsmen (in regards to seniority as a draftsmen or moving up the corporate ladder)?

10. Tell me anything about the field based on your experience and/or knowledge that you think someone considering becoming a draftsmen, such as myself, should know prior to entering the field (something that is not answered to from the questions above).

Thank you all so much for clicking this post. I have been very stressed out as to what I actually want to do with my future and where I can apply my skills in. As I have just turned 20, and am now switching fields for the first time - understandably, it is a very exciting but scary thing to dive into. Thank you so much again for taking time out of your busy schedules to read and perhaps respond to this post and answering some questions. It is very much appreciated. Thank you, thank you, and thank you - once again.

- Ryan

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous, Welcome to the Autodesk Community!

I suggest that you dig deeper than a role as a draftsman.  While this function still exists in the workplace, I think it is evolving. With the power and ease of design software, the draftsperson role is being replaced by designers that can design, document, and create without assistance. Therefore, I suggest that you explore the field you are interested in as a design/implement role rather than just as a drafting tool for others.

I think that you should be able to draft as well as design in order to be competitive in today's marketplace and certainly in the future.

This is of course my two cents. Certain drafting roles will be in the market place for a long time but I think it is dependent on the field an application.

[pendean]

Go to your favorite job-hunting website, find such jobs if any, and see what the exact job and experience requirements are: as noted by others, that's a fast vanishing line of work in many fields of work.

[Anonymous]

Hey, John!

Thank you so much for your insight and advice, I really appreciate it! I have been hearing from other online e-boards that nowadays solely earning a living through drafting can be a very challenging path to take - given the amount of available jobs, both short-term and long-term, as well as the evolution of the entire field as you had mentioned. I have read a number of other posts on this forum by other users who either are in my position or are already in drafting and are struggling to find a career in which best utilizes their creativity, experience, and knowledge. And so in the end, I've read that many users (whom are already draftsmen) seem to now lean towards returning to school to either obtain a higher education or a different degree in which can be "combined" with their experience, knowledge, and credentials as a draftsmen (ultimately to increase their professional assets and become a more "desirable candidate to employers in a very competitive market). In the end, most of what I have read seemed to follow along the lines of "drafting should be a pit-stop, and not your end goal" and that it would be wiser to pursue a degree that is not only higher but more specialized in a particular field. Needless to say, I definitely agree with you all. However, I am still struggling as to what sort of field(s) there are available that I can specialize in, other than architecture and electrical. 

I hope you can provide me with some insight again based on your experience and what you know of the industry and other areas in which one can specialize in.

Thanks,

- Ryan

[pkolarik]

As far as what fields are available;

Talk a walk down a city street and look around you. Literally everything you see there probably needs someone to draft/design the systems at work. Architecture for the "look" and form of a building or facility, structural to make sure it doesn't fall over. It'll have electrical to run all the systems inside it, plumbing to service people and other systems, hvac for the same purposes. There'll be civil/site concerns on the outside of the building.

Beyond simply an office building (or other typical city building) there's things like water/wastewater, or industrial facilities that can be vastly different than an office building, per se.

On somewhat smaller scales (per facility, anyway), there's things like working for a utility company providing some of those services to those buildings, etc. Everything you see that was man-made needs someone to figure out what's going to be made.

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

Again, in my opinion only, I think you should explore the field for which you have some serious interest or passion.  Building Information Modeling is the future when it comes to facilities.  However, if you want to get away from architecture and electrical perhaps you might consider exploring Inventor and Fusion and the related fields in which they can be used.

If you like drawing you might consider looking at becoming a 3D rendering specialist (3DS Max)  Anyone can do it but to do it well takes experience and an eye for detail.

Feel free to continue this thread as you explore your options. I am confident the community can offer additional insight.

[Anonymous]

I am 34 years old and have been a drafter/designer for about 13 years. The pay will start off low but you can end up making a pretty decent living if you stick with it. If you can get into a specialty field you can go above 6 figures. I only have a certificate from a technical school and have earned over 70k a year for the past several years. Living in kansas city that is plenty of money. It is also fun in your 20's to go contract. I was able to live in many different places while earning enough money to have fun on the weekends.

[zph]

Ryan,

Are you able visualize a SIMPLE object, in your mind, and sketch it semi-accurately on paper (not perfectly sketched, but sketched to a degree so that another person could discern what the object is from your sketch without you telling them)?

Test it...try it out...try it a few times even.

If you answered 'No' to each effort, you can still pursue drafting, but you will be pushing against a virtual wall with every job/task; I would caution you to place your efforts/time toward learning about a field other than drafting.

If you pulled it off, go for it.  Attend some courses to learn the drafting concepts and other courses to learn/use the software (AutoCAD, Microstation, PRO-E, Solid Works, etc...).

---

Drafting isn't a difficult field to enter, and some of the drafters I've worked with also pursued technical degrees and, after completing these, moved to more hands-on fields.

Good luck, Ryan!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your insight, I really appreciate it! I definitely have thought about it a lot recently despite how many draftsmen now seem to be replaced by some other work positions that have proficiency in the field of drafting. With many turning to contract work, pursuing a higher degree or perhaps something entirely different - I have realized that despite all that, there is definitely great versatility in the field of drafting when it comes to engineering of any product, however big or small, made by man - as you have described, and I feel well assured that there is much more that is promising in this huge field of work. I'll definitely continue to think about this more from this fresh perspective as to what career prospects an education in drafting and perhaps something else -can provide. Again, thank you for your insight. I really appreciate it!

- Ryan

[Anonymous]

That all sounds like an absolute dream, I'm so glad to hear you speak so positively about your professional experiences in drafting. I was hoping you can perhaps tell me a bit more about: what area in drafting you specialize in, how difficult was it to find paid work (both as a contractor and as an employee) and what growth opportunities there were, as well as what I should expect from the industry (competition, corporate ladder, education, etc). And anything else you feel that I should know. 

Thank you for your insight! I greatly appreciate it!

- Ryan

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your advice, it really has helped me look at it from a fresh perspective. Draftsmanship was always a field of work that has been in the back of my mind - even over the course of the past two school years in college where I was majoring in the health-sciences, but wasn't genuinely motivated by what I was learning as I had no passion for it. I have always been extremely interested in architecture (especially modern, religious, traditional, cultural, and/or ancient), and it's always been my first priority in seeing such things whenever I'm abroad. I would used to construct/craft 3D models of my own architectural designs as a hobby, which was a crafting activity in which I genuinely enjoyed I missed doing. I feel I am equally and well-balanced in terms of being both a creative thinker versus being a technical thinker. and have actually taken drafting courses in high-school for a year and a half and really enjoyed it! I feel I would do well with greatest effort in a field as competitive as this, however my main concern is just the practicality of it in regards to finding a job or contract work that would be sustainable in the long run.

[zph]

Well, sounds like you've already dipped your feet in it.

If you have the aptitude for it I say go for architectural engineering.

The question is whether you want to DESIGN the building or do you want to DOCUMENT someone else's design?

In drafting, you will tend to experience less stress, but will also be paid less. As an engineer, you will tend to experience more stressful situations and will be typically be paid more as well.

(Engineer) Do you want to be paid more and take on more responsibility/stress/longer hours?

(Drafter) Do you want to be told what to do by the guy above?

I have seen some job openings where the position requires a drafter with engineering capabilities or an engineer with intermediate level drafting experience. They tend to be less common than straight drafter or engineer positions, though (and for good reason).

[Anonymous]

I've been a "Design Engineer" for a furniture manufacturer for almost 20 years.  I have a degree in Art Education (!) from a prestigious art school where I learned a lot about design because I took a lot of courses outside my major.  After I graduated I taught for a few years then learned AutoCAD and started making furniture.  It evolved from there.

I COMPLETELY agree that if you want to make more money and do more interesting work you need to have some design background and education.  Just doing the drafting is very limiting.

Not sure how you'd start nowadays but I'm pretty sure employers want people with knowledge of a number of different CAD programs as well as Photoshop and general office software.  

I spend about 85-90% of my time on the computer.  It is not a job for someone who needs a lot of social interaction.  You must be able to work for long periods by yourself and being super detail orientated is a must.

[Anonymous]

My best advice would be to find a headhunter in your area.  I have spent 90% of my career in structural design.  I jumped from job to job my first 2 years and doubled my pay.  You have to be careful though and make smart moves.  I have lived in Orlando, Tampa, Philadelphia and now I am back home in KC.  My city hoping days are over after getting to a good pay rate.  It can be a very lucrative career if you stick with it.  No college degree here, I own my own house and drive a BMW to work every day.

[JDMather]

---

Forget the term "drafting" (as a profession).

It sounds like you want to be an architect or an architectural/structural designer (in the field of architecture (or related) as compared to civil or mechanical).

In the 21st century you Design components/systems and "drafting" is largely a secondary function driven by the (3D) design.

I don't even know of any schools that still teach "drafting" as a profession. 

If my assumptions about your intent are correct - then look for a program that teaches Autodesk Revit.

Students can download Revit for free from http://www.autodesk.com/edcommunity

We have no problem placing designers from the school where I teach.