Salary Range
$25,000 to $100,000
Computer-aided design (CAD) drafters and technicians, sometimes called CAD operators, use computer-based systems to produce or revise technical illustrations needed in the design and development of machines, products, buildings, electronic components, manufacturing processes, and other work. They use CAD (also known as CADD, computer-aided design and drafting) machinery to manipulate and create design concepts so that they are feasible to produce and use in the real world. Approximately 199,900 drafters work in the United States.
Minimum Education Level
Associate's DegreeCertification/License
RequiredOutlook
Little Change or More Slowly than the AverageHands On
Problem-Solving
Technical

Experienced CAD Drafter/Technician

Entry-Level CAD Drafter/Technician
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- Diesel Mechanics
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- Drywall Installers and Finishers
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- Electricians
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- Engineering Technicians
- Engineers
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- Industrial Engineers
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- Manufacturing Engineers
- Manufacturing Production Technicians
- Manufacturing Supervisors
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- Materials Engineers
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- Mechanical Engineers
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- Metallurgical Technicians
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- Millwrights
- Molders
- Non-Destructive Testing Specialists
- Numerical Control Tool Programmers
- Occupational Safety and Health Workers
- Operating Engineers
- Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians
- Optical Engineers
- Optics Technicians
- Packaging Engineers
- Packaging Machinery Technicians
- Painters and Paperhangers
- Paper Processing Workers
- Personal Privacy Advisors
- Pharmaceutical Industry Workers
- Plasterers
- Plastics Engineers and Technicians
- Plastics Products Manufacturing Workers
- Plumbers and Pipefitters
- Precision Machinists
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- Prepress Workers
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- Product Management Directors
- Product Managers
- Production Designers and Art Directors
- Quality Control Engineers and Technicians
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- Remote Health Care Engineers
- Robotics Engineers and Technicians
- Roofers
- Rubber Goods Production Workers
- Sales Managers
- Sales Representatives
- Semiconductor Technicians
- Sheet Metal Workers
- Silverware Artisans and Workers
- Site Reliability Engineers
- Smart Building Systems Designers
- Software Designers
- Software Engineers
- Sporting Goods Production Workers
- Stationary Engineers
- Steel Industry Workers
- Supply Chain Managers
- Surveying and Mapping Technicians
- Surveyors
- Systems Setup Specialists
- Technical Support Specialists
- Technical Writers and Editors
- Test Drivers
- Textile Manufacturing Workers
- Tobacco Products Industry Workers
- Toy Industry Workers
- Traffic Managers
- Urban and Regional Planners
- User Experience Designers
- Welders and Welding Technicians
- Wood Science and Technology Workers