South Carolina·Architecture and Engineering Occupations·SOC 17-3012

Best Electrical programs in South Carolina, ranked by enrollment

Prepare wiring diagrams, circuit board assembly diagrams, and layout drawings used for the manufacture, installation, or repair of electrical.

14 schools in South Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 145 people a year. The job pays a median of $76,440 in South Carolina across about 290 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledDrafterElectrical DesignerComputer-Aided Design OperatorStaking Technician (Staking Tech)DesignerLine StakerMask DesignerDesign Drafter
Graduates / yr
145
in South Carolina
Median pay · South Carolina
$76,440
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
290
people employed
Schools
14
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
30%
across those schools
Median net price
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in South Carolina that lead to this job

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

3 programs in South Carolina that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in South Carolina (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 South Carolina page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1103
71.0%
11$59,859$15,372
240
27.6%
5$44,946$12,992
32
1.4%
1$60,286$15,383

Top 14 schools in South Carolina

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 2 of the 14 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Orangeburg Calhoun Technical College
Orangeburg, SC Public · 2 feeder programs
25Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician$67,40632%
2Greenville Technical College
Greenville, SC Public · 2 feeder programs
18Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician$69,79721%
3Horry - Georgetown Technical College
Conway, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
16Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician38%
4Spartanburg Community College
Spartanburg, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
15Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician28%
5Florence - Darlington Technical College
Florence, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
14Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician34%
6Central Carolina Technical College
Sumter, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
13Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General34%
7Tri - County Technical College
Pendleton, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
12Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General42%
8Piedmont Technical College
Greenwood, SC Public · 2 feeder programs
10Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician33%
9Midlands Technical College
West Columbia, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
7Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician18%
10York Technical College
Rock Hill, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
7Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician30%
11Aiken Technical College
Graniteville, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
3Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician34%
12Denmark Technical College
Denmark, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
2Electromechanical/Electromechanical Engineering Technology/Technician13%
13Trident Technical College
Charleston, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
2Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician30%
14South Carolina State University
Orangeburg, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
1Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician37%83%

All 14 schools in South Carolina

Every school in South Carolina 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 South Carolina that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Orangeburg Calhoun Technical CollegeOrangeburgPublic252
Greenville Technical CollegeGreenvillePublic182
Horry - Georgetown Technical CollegeConwayPublic161
Spartanburg Community CollegeSpartanburgPublic151
Florence - Darlington Technical CollegeFlorencePublic141
Central Carolina Technical CollegeSumterPublic131
Tri - County Technical CollegePendletonPublic121
Piedmont Technical CollegeGreenwoodPublic102
Midlands Technical CollegeWest ColumbiaPublic71
York Technical CollegeRock HillPublic71
Aiken Technical CollegeGranitevillePublic31
Denmark Technical CollegeDenmarkPublic21
Trident Technical CollegeCharlestonPublic21
South Carolina State UniversityOrangeburgPublic11

What electrical and electronics drafters earn in South Carolina

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

Median annual in South Carolina
$76,440
Mean annual
$74,920
Jobs in state
290
What the range looks like
10th pct$55,720Median$76,44090th pct$92,060
Versus the national median
-0.6%

U.S. median $76,870. South Carolina pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.09×

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

Metro areas in South Carolina

Charleston-North Charleston, SC
$79,990median
60 jobs
Columbia, SC
$74,590median
40 jobs
Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC
$77,120median
70 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-5.6%
Decline
Openings per year
1,700
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-1,200
21,600 → 20,400
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 Electrical and Electronics Drafters page.

How to become a Electrical

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
Associate's degree

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

Active ListeningCritical ThinkingWritingReading ComprehensionActive LearningSpeaking

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in South Carolina

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 7 majors mapped to Electrical and Electronics Drafters7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 15.0303Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician
  • 15.0306Integrated Circuit Design Technology/Technician
  • 15.0403Electromechanical/Electromechanical Engineering Technology/Technician
  • 15.1301Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General
  • 15.1302CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician
  • 15.1305Electrical/Electronics Drafting and Electrical/Electronics CAD/CADD
  • 15.13073-D Modeling and Design Technology/Technician

Common questions

Answers for people weighing electrical and electronics drafters programs in South Carolina.

What degree do you need to become an Electrical?+

Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician, which awarded 103 degrees in South Carolina in 2024-25, 71.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Electrical?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 145 people a year in South Carolina.

How much do electrical and electronics drafters earn in South Carolina?+

The median is $76,440 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 0.6% below the U.S. median of $76,870. 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 electrical and electronics drafters growing?+

BLS projects a -5.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 1,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in South Carolina?+

14 institutions in South Carolina reported graduates from at least one of the 3 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.

What other job titles do electrical and electronics drafters work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Drafter, Electrical Designer, Computer-Aided Design Operator, Staking Technician (Staking Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-3012.

Electrical and Electronics Drafters in other statesTexasIllinoisFloridaVirginiaCaliforniaOhioArizonaGeorgia

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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