Alabama·Architecture and Engineering Occupations·SOC 17-3019

Best Drafter, All Other programs in Alabama, ranked by enrollment

All drafters not listed.

12 schools in Alabama run programs that feed this job, graduating 258 people a year. The job pays a median of $47,320 in Alabama across about 50 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledTracerDetailerDraughtsmanJob CaptainHull DrafterChief DrafterForm DesignerDetail Drafter
Graduates / yr
258
in Alabama
Median pay · Alabama
$47,320
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
50
people employed
Schools
12
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
37%
across those schools
Median net price
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Alabama that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

2 programs in Alabama that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Alabama (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Alabama page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 15.1301In Alabama
249
96.5%
11$44,946$12,992
2
CIP 15.1102In Alabama
9
3.5%
1$59,013

Top 12 schools in Alabama

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 0 of the 12 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Bevill State Community College
Jasper, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
58Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General38%
2J F Ingram State Technical College
Deatsville, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
48Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General21%
3George C Wallace Community College - Dothan
Dothan, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
40Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General35%
4Southern Union State Community College
Wadley, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
28Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General36%
5Coastal Alabama Community College
Bay Minette, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
25Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General31%
6Shelton State Community College
Tuscaloosa, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
20Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General30%
7Northwest Shoals Community College
Muscle Shoals, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
14Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General39%
8Troy University
Troy, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
9Surveying Technology/Surveying50%96%
9Bishop State Community College
Mobile, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
7Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General36%
10George C Wallace State Community College - Selma
Selma, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
5Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General41%
11Lawson State Community College
Birmingham, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
3Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General27%
12Northeast Alabama Community College
Rainsville, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
1Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General56%

All 12 schools in Alabama

Every school in Alabama with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Alabama that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Bevill State Community CollegeJasperPublic581
J F Ingram State Technical CollegeDeatsvillePublic481
George C Wallace Community College - DothanDothanPublic401
Southern Union State Community CollegeWadleyPublic281
Coastal Alabama Community CollegeBay MinettePublic251
Shelton State Community CollegeTuscaloosaPublic201
Northwest Shoals Community CollegeMuscle ShoalsPublic141
Troy UniversityTroyPublic91
Bishop State Community CollegeMobilePublic71
George C Wallace State Community College - SelmaSelmaPublic51
Lawson State Community CollegeBirminghamPublic31
Northeast Alabama Community CollegeRainsvillePublic11

What drafters, all other earn in Alabama

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Alabama
$47,320
Mean annual
$52,460
Jobs in state
50
What the range looks like
10th pct$34,120Median$47,32090th pct$80,030
Versus the national median
-25.5%

U.S. median $63,520. Alabama pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.24×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-6.9%
Decline
Openings per year
1,300
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-1,200
17,100 → 15,900
Typical entry education
Associate's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Drafters, All Other page.

How to become a Drafter, All Other

Typical entry education
Associate's degree

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Alabama

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 5 majors mapped to Drafters, All Other5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 15.1102Surveying Technology/Surveying
  • 15.1301Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General
  • 15.1302CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician
  • 15.13073-D Modeling and Design Technology/Technician
  • 15.1399Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Other

Common questions

Answers for people weighing drafters, all other programs in Alabama.

What degree do you need to become a Drafter, All Other?+

Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General, which awarded 249 degrees in Alabama in 2024-25, 96.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Drafter, All Other?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 258 people a year in Alabama.

How much do drafters, all other earn in Alabama?+

The median is $47,320 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 25.5% below the U.S. median of $63,520. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for drafters, all other growing?+

BLS projects a -6.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 1,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Alabama?+

12 institutions in Alabama reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+

BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'None' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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