A Day in the Life of an Architectural Drafter

Technical jobs are in high demand these days and the architectural world is booming.  There are hundreds of thousands of drafters all working to design and create buildings and sites.  Through specialized training, these drafters have developed the skills and technology ability needed in order to create plans.  Those who are looking to get into a brand new career field need to take a walk in the shoes of a real architectural drafter.

At a young age we are all taught the importance of holding some sort of job skill. We learn that a college degree gives us more yearly salary than those who simply hold a high school diploma.  As a drafter you will wake up every morning ready to face some new and exciting challenges.  Drafters are trained to pay close attention to small details.  If anything has been miscalculated or you have used the wrong tool for your calculations, you could throw everything off balance.

Your design scale will need to be set above standards.  This is not the type of position that allows you to sit back and relax at your desk. While you will be using your computer, most often it will be simply to use CAD software.  Your skills will be needed both in the office as well as at the job site.  If the plans are in any way wrong, you will need to be the first one to show up with a brand new set of revised plans for the builders.

As mentioned above, you will be using your CPU as your main everyday tool.  During your training, you will also become familiar with tools such as the common protractor, scale rulers, triangles, and even your own hand.  Drawing out rough drafts of your plans will help you to get a better visual. Once you have created your plans and you have had them finalized, they will be ready for submission.  If the client is happy with the drawings that you have created, the building process will move forward.  Do not think that your job is done just yet!  There are many more drawings that will need to be revised and fixed.  The drawings that you link together will come in handy for these revisions.

You will begin to advance within your career.  After a few years, you will be working with a team of junior drafters, all looking to learn from you.  This is a very big step for an architectural drafter, simply because it adds more responsibility to the workload.  Throughout your day you will be presented with a number of tasks that need to be addressed.  Your communication and problem-solving skills will enable you to become a highly qualified drafter.

Architectural drafters will always remain in a high-demand job position.  Junior drafters are always looking to climb the ladder and learn new job skills.  Throughout your days as a drafter, you will become familiar with brand-new technology systems and methods.  Keeping up with this technology will only allow you to become much stronger.  Your days will never be dull as a drafter, and as long as civilization continues to grow, so will the need for new buildings and plans!