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Electrical and Electronics Drafters

Prepare wiring diagrams, circuit board assembly diagrams, and layout drawings used for the manufacture, installation, or repair of electrical equipment.
Related: Architectural & Civil Drafters  Electrical & Electronic Engineering Technologists & Technicians  Electronics Engineers  Mechanical Drafters  Mechanical Engineering Technologists & Technicians 
Industries: Professional, Science, & Technical  Manufacturing  Construction  Utilities 

  • Summary

  • Details

    • Work Activities

    • Assemble documentation packages and produce drawing sets to be checked by an engineer or an architect.
    • Assemble documentation packages and produce drawing sets to be checked by an engineer or an architect.
    • Review blueprints to determine customer requirements and consult with assembler regarding schematics, wiring procedures, or conductor paths.
    • Review work orders or procedural manuals and confer with vendors or design staff to resolve problems or modify design.
    • Measure factors that affect installation and arrangement of equipment, such as distances to be spanned by wire and cable.
    • Draft working drawings, wiring diagrams, wiring connection specifications, or cross-sections of underground cables, as required for instructions to installation crew.
    • Examine electronic schematics and supporting documents to develop, compute, and verify specifications for drafting data, such as configuration of parts, dimensions, or tolerances.
    • Determine the order of work and the method of presentation, such as orthographic or isometric drawing.
    • Review blueprints to determine customer requirements and consult with assembler regarding schematics, wiring procedures, or conductor paths.
    • Reproduce working drawings on copy machines or trace drawings in ink.
    • Copy drawings of printed circuit board fabrication using print machine or blueprinting procedure.
    • Supervise and coordinate work activities of workers engaged in drafting, designing layouts, assembling, or testing printed circuit boards.
    • Review completed construction drawings and cost estimates for accuracy and conformity to standards and regulations.
    • Compare logic element configuration on display screen with engineering schematics and calculate figures to convert, redesign, or modify element.
    • Locate files relating to specified design project in database library, load program into computer, and record completed job data.
    • Confer with engineering staff and other personnel to resolve problems.
    • Select drill size to drill test head, according to test design and specifications, and submit guide layout to designated department.
    • Visit proposed installation sites and draw rough sketches of location.
    • Explain drawings to production or construction teams and provide adjustments, as necessary.
    • Review work orders or procedural manuals and confer with vendors or design staff to resolve problems or modify design.
    • Design electrical systems, such as lighting systems.
    • Draw master sketches to scale showing relation of proposed installations to existing facilities and exact specifications and dimensions.
    • Study work order requests to determine type of service, such as lighting or power, demanded by installation.
    • Generate computer tapes of final layout design to produce layered photo masks or photo plotting design onto film.
    • Key and program specified commands and engineering specifications into computer system to change functions and test final layout.
    • Draft detail and assembly drawings of design components, circuitry or printed circuit boards, using computer-assisted equipment or standard drafting techniques and devices.
    • Plot electrical test points on layout sheets and draw schematics for wiring test fixture heads to frames.
    • Write technical reports and draw charts that display statistics and data.
    • Train students to use drafting machines and to prepare schematic diagrams, block diagrams, control drawings, logic diagrams, integrated circuit drawings, or interconnection diagrams.
    • Consult with engineers to discuss or interpret design concepts, or determine requirements of detailed working drawings.

    Skills

    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    Abilities

    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    Knowledge

    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    Education

    Education
    Associate's degree
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    No on-the-job training
    Education and Training Opportunities

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    68580/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    32.97/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    560
    Yearly Projected Openings
    60

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Initiative
    • Cooperation
    • Analytical Thinking
    • Adaptability/Flexibility

    Tools

    • Compasses
    • Curves
    • Desktop computers
    • Drafting kits or sets
    • Personal computers
    • Protractors
    • Rulers
    • T squares
    • Triangles

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Application server software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Development environment software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Geographic information system
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Industrial control software
    • Object or component oriented development software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Process mapping and design software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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