Drafting Manager

Have you always been the type of person to doodle out designs during class or grab a bar napkin to outline an idea? If so, working in drafting might be a fulfilling job choice for you. As a Drafting Manager, you’re in charge of the personnel in the drafting department. That means you, the Drafting Manager, oversees their work, offer guidance, and manage the department’s scheduling.

Drafting designs of buildings, ships, airplanes, electronic products, or bridges might start with a penciled sketch on a cocktail napkin, but when a Drafting Manager and their department are done, that idea becomes a colorful, three-dimensional, detailed, and technically accurate template for the project at hand. This requires extensive knowledge of computer-aided design (CAD) software, as well as an understanding of math and engineering concepts.

Creating those designs requires a lot of coordination. It means consulting with Engineers, Scientists, Architects, and Construction Managers or Production Managers to get a clear vision of the project. With this information, you coordinate budgets and time schedules, assign Drafters to the job, and oversee the project from napkin to completion. Along the way, you present updates and facilitate communication with customers.

Accurate and timely completion of projects is your main goal, but you’re also a Manager, so you’re in charge of employee schedules and paychecks, vacation time, sick leave, promotions, layoffs, budgetary decisions, hiring, and training. If that isn’t enough, you also attend conventions, and read trade journals to keep up with current trends and products.