Becoming an electrical draftsman involves creating technical drawings for wiring systems and electrical equipment. Education can be obtained through an associate degree in CAD or a bachelor’s degree, which includes courses in engineering, electrical systems, and technical design. A well-rounded education can increase job opportunities and earning potential.
Becoming an electrical draftsman entails being a professional trained in creating technical drawings for the installation, maintenance, and repair of wiring systems and electrical equipment for all types of buildings. An electrical draftsman belongs to a category of professionals called draftsmen, or computer-aided design (CAD) draftsmen to indicate the use of computer systems, who prepare documents or plans for the creation of a wide variety of products in all types of industries. Products range from kitchenware, calculators and MP3 players to buildings, highways and aircraft components. In order to become an electrical draftsman, you would need to obtain a certain level of formal education.
Most people attend a community college or technical school to earn an associate degree. Some educational institutions offer the specialty of electrical design, which includes courses in areas such as engineering, electrical systems and technical design. You would also learn how to use computer systems and software to create two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) documents or drawings. A popular drafting software program is AutoCAD, which US design technology company Autodesk Inc. produces.
Most degree programs, however, are electrical design programs, combining another specialty: electronics design. It is about creating plans for the manufacture, installation, maintenance and repair of electronic products. A program like this exists because of the occasional overlap between the two specialties.
Generally though, electrical drawing programs are extremely rare. To become an electrical draftsman, you may have a better chance of going to a higher education institution that offers an associate’s degree in CAD. Not only does this program contain one or two courses that focus on electrical design, but its more general scope can prepare you as a well-rounded professional. You can also take courses in areas such as materials science and tool design, or even other drawing specialties such as mechanical or civil drawing.
While it is not entirely necessary to earn a bachelor’s degree to become an electrical draftsman, you can still opt for this over the associate’s degree. You can also earn a bachelor’s degree in addition to an associate’s degree. The main advantage of having a bachelor’s degree is the higher level of training and knowledge. Additionally, this can help you find candidates with an associate’s degree when applying for a job and increase your earning potential.
The associate degree takes two years to complete, while the bachelor’s degree takes twice as long. In addition, colleges and universities have traditionally required general education requirements for completion of a bachelor’s degree program. These requirements may include writing in English, mathematics, communication, physics, chemistry, or physical education.
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