Michigan·Architecture and Engineering Occupations·SOC 17-3019

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

All drafters not listed.

22 schools in Michigan run programs that feed this job, graduating 223 people a year. The job pays a median of $67,750 in Michigan across about 360 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledTracerDetailerDraughtsmanJob CaptainHull DrafterChief DrafterForm DesignerDetail Drafter
Graduates / yr
223
in Michigan
Median pay · Michigan
$67,750
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
360
people employed
Schools
22
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
38%
across those schools
Median net price
$32,153
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Michigan that lead to this job

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

5 programs in Michigan that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Michigan (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 Michigan 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 Michigan
124
55.6%
10$44,946$12,992
2
CIP 15.1302In Michigan
42
18.8%
7$44,946$12,992
3
CIP 15.1399In Michigan
23
10.3%
2$44,946$12,992
4
CIP 15.1307In Michigan
22
9.9%
3$44,946$12,992
5
CIP 15.1102In Michigan
12
5.4%
2$59,013

Top 22 schools in Michigan

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 5 of the 22 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1College for Creative Studies
Detroit, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
74Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General71%$32,15392%
2Oakland Community College
Auburn Hills, MI Public · 3 feeder programs
233-D Modeling and Design Technology/Technician$45,84421%
3Henry Ford College
Dearborn, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
18CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician17%
4Schoolcraft Community College District
Livonia, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
15Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General18%
5Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
14Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Other$63,86259%90%
6Macomb Community College
Warren, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
123-D Modeling and Design Technology/Technician$44,70118%
7Kalamazoo Valley Community College
Kalamazoo, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
9CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician28%
8Mott Community College
Flint, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
9Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General$44,90332%
9Muskegon Community College
Muskegon, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
8CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician28%
10Northwestern Michigan College
Traverse City, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
7Surveying Technology/Surveying25%
11St Clair County Community College
Port Huron, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
6Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General34%
12Ferris State University
Big Rapids, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
5Surveying Technology/Surveying47%91%
13Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
5Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General$60,15358%85%
14Glen Oaks Community College
Centreville, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
4Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General43%
15Delta College
University Center, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
3Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General27%
16Northern Michigan University
Marquette, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
3CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician52%84%
17Alpena Community College
Alpena, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
2CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician52%
18North Central Michigan College
Petoskey, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
2Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General29%
19Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
1CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician46%80%
20Lawrence Technological University
Southfield, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician61%$32,67956%
21Siena Heights University
Adrian, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General39%$17,01569%
22Wayne County Community College District
Detroit, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
13-D Modeling and Design Technology/Technician22%

All 22 schools in Michigan

Every school in Michigan 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 Michigan that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
College for Creative StudiesDetroitPrivate not-for-profit741
Oakland Community CollegeAuburn HillsPublic233
Henry Ford CollegeDearbornPublic181
Schoolcraft Community College DistrictLivoniaPublic151
Central Michigan UniversityMount PleasantPublic141
Macomb Community CollegeWarrenPublic121
Kalamazoo Valley Community CollegeKalamazooPublic91
Mott Community CollegeFlintPublic91
Muskegon Community CollegeMuskegonPublic81
Northwestern Michigan CollegeTraverse CityPublic71
St Clair County Community CollegePort HuronPublic61
Ferris State UniversityBig RapidsPublic51
Western Michigan UniversityKalamazooPublic51
Glen Oaks Community CollegeCentrevillePublic41
Delta CollegeUniversity CenterPublic31

What drafters, all other earn in Michigan

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

Median annual in Michigan
$67,750
Mean annual
$75,180
Jobs in state
360
What the range looks like
10th pct$47,500Median$67,75090th pct$115,640
Versus the national median
+6.7%

U.S. median $63,520. Michigan pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
0.87×

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

Metro areas in Michigan

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
$79,960median
180 jobs
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI
$66,240median
50 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 Michigan

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 Michigan.

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 124 degrees in Michigan in 2024-25, 55.6% 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 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 223 people a year in Michigan.

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

The median is $67,750 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 6.7% above 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 Michigan?+

22 institutions in Michigan reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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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