Skip to content
Singulariki

Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment

Work activity group · O*NET

Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment is one of the 41 Generalized Work Activities at the top of O*NET's work-activity hierarchy — the broadest description of what people do on the job, sitting above the more specific intermediate and detailed work activities. Across the 894 occupations O*NET rates on it, it scores an average importance of 2.11 of 5 — 1st percentile among all activity groups.

Intermediate activities it contains

The intermediate work activities O*NET groups under Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment, ranked by how many occupations perform each. Each links to its own page.

Intermediate activity Occupations AI applied
Develop operational or technical procedures or standards 102 80th pct
Develop technical specifications for products or operations 42 75th pct
Design industrial systems or equipment 32 25th pct
Develop models of systems, processes, or products 32 77th pct
Design electrical or electronic systems or equipment 24 22nd pct
Design structures or facilities 22 41st pct

How AI is applied to this activity group

Microsoft's "Working with AI" study measured how often an AI assistant performs each work activity in real Bing Copilot conversations. Averaged across the 6 intermediate activities under Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment that the study measured, this group ranks in the 53rd percentile for how frequently AI is applied — a description of how AI is used today, not a forecast that the activity will be automated.

The figure is the mean of the child activities' applied-percentiles; open any activity above to see its underlying Microsoft measurements. Every occupation blends many activities, so a high AI-applied rank for one group does not mean a job is being automated.

Occupations that rely on this activity group most

Ranked by O*NET importance rating (1–5) for Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment. Wages are BLS OEWS May 2024 national medians.

Occupation Importance Median pay Employment
Mechanical Engineers 4.82 $102,320 286,760
Mechanical Drafters 4.71 $68,510 39,900
Electrical and Electronics Drafters 4.66 $73,720 20,020
Architectural and Civil Drafters 4.58 $64,280 109,550
Commercial and Industrial Designers 4.57 $79,450 30,250
Landscape Architects 4.55 $79,660 19,580
Set and Exhibit Designers 4.52 $66,280 10,850
Architects, Except Landscape and Naval 4.48 $96,690 111,140
Patternmakers, Wood 4.46 $52,520 180
Mechatronics Engineers 4.40 $117,750 150,750
Electrical Engineers 4.37 $111,910 188,790
Architectural and Engineering Managers 4.32 $167,740 210,340
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer 4.29 $127,590 93,940
Interior Designers 4.25 $63,490 69,580
Robotics Engineers 4.23 $117,750 150,750
Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers 4.19 $109,660 23,220
Civil Engineers 4.14 $99,590 355,410
Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians 4.05 $64,790 73,410
Manufacturing Engineers 4.04 $101,140 350,230
Solar Energy Systems Engineers 4.04 $117,750 150,750
Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians 4.01 $68,730 37,450
Millwrights 4.00 $65,170 40,660
Microsystems Engineers 3.99 $117,750 150,750
Agricultural Engineers 3.95 $84,630 1,680
Environmental Engineers 3.90 $104,170 37,950
Water/Wastewater Engineers 3.87 $99,590 355,410
Transportation Engineers 3.86 $99,590 355,410
Photonics Engineers 3.83 $117,750 150,750
Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary 3.83 $101,480 9,120
Computer Hardware Engineers 3.82 $155,020 75,710
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 3.79 $48,620 18,970
Helpers--Electricians 3.77 $39,890 64,440
Robotics Technicians 3.73 $70,760 14,680
Industrial Engineers 3.70 $101,140 350,230
Facilities Managers 3.69 $104,690 141,090
Tool and Die Makers 3.68 $63,180 55,130
Wind Energy Operations Managers 3.67 $136,550 630,980
Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians 3.66 $64,200 62,130
Chemical Engineers 3.65 $121,860 20,330
Freight Forwarders 3.63 $49,900 97,800
Stone Cutters and Carvers, Manufacturing 3.62 $45,690 34,750
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers 3.62 $65,670 28,230
Carpenters 3.60 $59,310 697,740
Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers 3.60 $64,190 11,400
Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic 3.58 $61,870 5,610
Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic 3.58 $54,540 1,570
Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians 3.57 $77,180 92,710
Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers 3.57 $106,580 23,340
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand 3.57 $41,690 11,850
Marine Engineers and Naval Architects 3.50 $105,670 8,440
Wind Energy Engineers 3.49 $117,750 150,750
Electricians 3.48 $62,350 742,580
Sheet Metal Workers 3.48 $60,850 117,470
Aerospace Engineers 3.45 $134,830 68,440
Non-Destructive Testing Specialists 3.45 $77,390 64,410
Solar Energy Installation Managers 3.43 $78,690 806,080
First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers 3.43 $78,300 600,680
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters 3.42 $49,900 53,380
Watch and Clock Repairers 3.42 $60,690 1,300
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters 3.41 $62,970 455,940

Showing 60 of 894 occupations.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/activity-groups/drafting-laying-out-and-specifying-technical-devices-parts-and-equipment

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/activity-groups/drafting-laying-out-and-specifying-technical-devices-parts-and-equipment

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-drafting-laying-out-and-specifying-technical-devices-parts-and-equipment,
  title  = {Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/activity-groups/drafting-laying-out-and-specifying-technical-devices-parts-and-equipment}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.