# Architectural and Civil Drafters

> Prepare detailed drawings of architectural and structural features of buildings or drawings and topographical relief maps used in civil engineering projects, such as highways, bridges, and public works. Use knowledge of building materials, engineering practices, and mathematics to complete drawings.

- **SOC code:** 17-3011.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-3011-00
- **Also known as:** Architectural Drafter, Civil Drafter, Computer-Aided Drafting Designer (CAD Designer), Draftsman, Architectural Designer, Architectural Draftsman, Computer-Aided Design Designer (CAD Designer), Computer-Aided Drafting and Design Drafter (CADD Drafter)
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Produce drawings, using computer-assisted drafting systems (CAD) or drafting machines, or by hand, using compasses, dividers, protractors, triangles, and other drafting devices.
- Draft plans and detailed drawings for structures, installations, and construction projects, such as highways, sewage disposal systems, and dikes, working from sketches or notes.
- Coordinate structural, electrical, and mechanical designs and determine a method of presentation to graphically represent building plans.
- Analyze building codes, by-laws, space and site requirements, and other technical documents and reports to determine their effect on architectural designs.
- Draw maps, diagrams, and profiles, using cross-sections and surveys, to represent elevations, topographical contours, subsurface formations, and structures.
- Lay out and plan interior room arrangements for commercial buildings, using computer-assisted drafting (CAD) equipment and software.
- Supervise and train other technologists, technicians, and drafters.
- Determine the order of work and method of presentation, such as orthographic or isometric drawing.
- Finish and duplicate drawings and documentation packages according to required mediums and specifications for reproduction, using blueprinting, photography, or other duplicating methods.
- Draw rough and detailed scale plans for foundations, buildings, and structures, based on preliminary concepts, sketches, engineering calculations, specification sheets, and other data.
- Correlate, interpret, and modify data obtained from topographical surveys, well logs, and geophysical prospecting reports.
- Check dimensions of materials to be used and assign numbers to lists of materials.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Use drone technology to capture aerial views and topographical data for civil engineering projects.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Design _(knowledge)_
- Building and Construction _(knowledge)_
- Engineering and Technology _(knowledge)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Computers and Electronics _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Written Expression _(ability)_
- Visualization _(ability)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Mathematics _(knowledge)_

**Skills in demand:**
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Visualization _(Specialized Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Systems Analysis _(Specialized Skill)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- Autodesk Revit _(Specialized Skill)_
- Adobe Photoshop _(Specialized Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Adobe Creative Cloud software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe Illustrator _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe Photoshop _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Autodesk AutoCAD _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Autodesk Revit _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Bentley MicroStation _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Trimble SketchUp Pro _(hot technology, in demand)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 80th percentile (High) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 71st percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 88th percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 74th percentile (High) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 47th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 4.1% growth (About average); 10k annual openings; 110.5k → 115.1k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $64,280; 109,550 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-3011-00_