---
title: "Mechanical Drafter"
description: "Prepare detailed working diagrams of machinery and mechanical devices, including dimensions, fastening methods, and other engineering information."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/mechanical-drafter"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Mechanical Drafter

**Category:** Architecture and Engineering · **SOC code:** 17-3013 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 17-3013.00

Prepare detailed working diagrams of machinery and mechanical devices, including dimensions, fastening methods, and other engineering information.

Also advertised as: CAD Designer (Computer Aided Design Designer); CAD Operator (Computer Aided Design Operator); CAM Specialist (Computer Aided Manufacturing Specialist); Design Drafter; Die Designer; Drafter; Drafting Technician (Drafting Tech); Mechanical Designer.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $71,550 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $34.40/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $48,360 to $106,580, with the middle half between $58,080 and $86,120
- **Total US employment:** 39,960
- **Typical entry education:** Associate's
- **Preparation required:** Some preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** -6.0% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 2,900 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 13/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 39,960 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $48,360 |
| 25th | $58,080 |
| 50th (median) | $71,550 |
| 75th | $86,120 |
| 90th | $106,580 |
| Mean (average) | $75,060 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| NM | $89,940 | $97,536 | 90 |
| CO | $85,280 | $82,754 | 580 |
| NJ | $83,380 | $76,633 | 690 |
| CA | $82,510 | $74,521 | 3,640 |
| TX | $79,380 | $81,787 | 4,630 |
| LA | $77,730 | $88,122 | 420 |
| ND | $77,570 | $87,197 | 100 |
| WA | $76,820 | $71,786 | 1,690 |
| MD | $76,740 | $73,114 | 360 |
| NY | $76,490 | $70,876 | 1,940 |
| ME | $76,360 | $78,681 | 620 |
| NV | $75,830 | $75,846 | 250 |
| MA | $75,490 | $71,381 | 620 |
| OR | $74,000 | $71,594 | 410 |
| MN | $73,090 | $74,112 | 1,220 |

33 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 48 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/mechanical-drafter/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/mechanical-drafter.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 42,100 in the 2025–2035 base year to 39,600 by the end of the cycle — a loss of 2,500 jobs, or -6.0%. Declining: -6.0% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 2,900 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Associate's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Some preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** None.

## What the work involves

- Modify and revise designs to correct operating deficiencies or to reduce production problems.
- Position instructions and comments onto drawings.
- Produce three-dimensional models, using computer-aided design (CAD) software.
- Coordinate with and consult other workers to design, lay out, or detail components and systems and to resolve design or other problems.
- Lay out and draw schematic, orthographic, or angle views to depict functional relationships of components, assemblies, systems, and machines.
- Develop detailed design drawings and specifications for mechanical equipment, dies, tools, and controls, using computer-assisted drafting (CAD) equipment.
- Create bills of materials.
- Review and analyze specifications, sketches, drawings, ideas, and related data to assess factors affecting component designs and the procedures and instructions to be followed.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Critical Thinking — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Operations Analysis — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Instructing — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Design — importance 4.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Engineering and Technology — importance 4.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 4.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Near Vision — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Visualization — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematical Reasoning — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 5.96 |
| C — Conventional | 4.85 |
| I — Investigative | 3.79 |
| A — Artistic | 3.62 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.36 |
| S — Social | 1.21 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 86.2 |
| ISTP | 82.1 |
| INTJ | 78.4 |
| ISFJ | 66.8 |
| INTP | 62.8 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ, ISTP. The bank also flags this occupation as introvert-friendly, meaning O\*NET work-context ratings put it low on public contact and performing for the public.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Electrical and Electronics Drafter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-and-electronics-drafter) — median $76,870
- [Architectural and Civil Drafter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/architectural-and-civil-drafter) — median $66,150
- [Mechanical Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mechanical-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $74,510
- [Model Maker, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/model-maker-metal-and-plastic) — median $63,340
- [Commercial and Industrial Designer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/commercial-and-industrial-designer) — median $83,910
- [Layout Worker, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/layout-worker-metal-and-plastic) — median $63,870
- [Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-and-electronic-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $78,190
- [Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/computer-numerically-controlled-tool-programmer) — median $68,120
- [Patternmaker, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/patternmaker-metal-and-plastic) — median $58,000
- [Machinist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/machinist) — median $58,750

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/mechanical-drafter