Texas·Architecture and Engineering Occupations·SOC 17-3012

Best Electrical programs in Texas, ranked by enrollment

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

45 schools in Texas run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,371 people a year. The job pays a median of $80,620 in Texas across about 1,840 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledDrafterElectrical DesignerComputer-Aided Design OperatorStaking Technician (Staking Tech)DesignerLine StakerMask DesignerDesign Drafter
Graduates / yr
2,371
in Texas
Median pay · Texas
$80,620
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
1,840
people employed
Schools
45
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
35%
across those schools
Median net price
$34,116
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Texas that lead to this job

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

5 programs in Texas that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Texas (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 Texas 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 Texas
969
40.9%
28$44,946$12,992
2
CIP 15.0303In Texas
740
31.2%
15$59,859$15,372
3
CIP 15.0403In Texas
519
21.9%
12$60,286$15,383
4
CIP 15.1302In Texas
127
5.4%
8$44,946$12,992
5
CIP 15.1305In Texas
16
0.7%
2$44,946$12,992

Top 25 schools in Texas

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 9 of the 45 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Dallas College
Dallas, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
343Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician$59,67932%
2Texas A&M University - College Station
College Station, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
209Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician$78,18584%57%
3San Jacinto Community College
Pasadena, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
186Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General30%
4Amarillo College
Amarillo, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
136Electromechanical/Electromechanical Engineering Technology/Technician$54,39632%
5Victoria College
Victoria, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
128Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician$63,90829%
6Collin County Community College District
McKinney, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
124Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General20%
7Lee College
Baytown, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
104Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General53%
8Houston City College
Houston, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
98Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General$45,54817%
9Tulsa Welding School - Houston
Houston, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
97Electromechanical/Electromechanical Engineering Technology/Technician70%$34,116
10Angelina College
Lufkin, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
92Electromechanical/Electromechanical Engineering Technology/Technician$48,69929%
11Austin Community College District
Austin, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
75Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician$51,64020%
12South Texas College
McAllen, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
71Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General27%
13Texas State Technical College
Waco, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
61Electromechanical/Electromechanical Engineering Technology/Technician$59,71946%
14Del Mar College
Corpus Christi, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
59CAD/CADD Drafting and/or Design Technology/Technician11%
15Tyler Junior College
Tyler, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
54Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General27%
16Brazosport College
Lake Jackson, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
46Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General56%
17Midland College
Midland, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
42Electromechanical/Electromechanical Engineering Technology/Technician23%
18Alvin Community College
Alvin, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
40Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General24%
19Texarkana College
Texarkana, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
36Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician47%
20Wharton County Junior College
Wharton, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
34Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician27%
21Lamar Institute of Technology
Beaumont, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
27Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General31%
22Paris Junior College
Paris, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
27Electromechanical/Electromechanical Engineering Technology/Technician38%
23Tarrant County College District
Fort Worth, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
26Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General34%
24McLennan Community College
Waco, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
24Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General39%
25Grayson College
Denison, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
22Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General40%

All 45 schools in Texas

Every school in Texas 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 Texas that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Dallas CollegeDallasPublic3432
Texas A&M University - College StationCollege StationPublic2092
San Jacinto Community CollegePasadenaPublic1861
Amarillo CollegeAmarilloPublic1362
Victoria CollegeVictoriaPublic1281
Collin County Community College DistrictMcKinneyPublic1242
Lee CollegeBaytownPublic1043
Houston City CollegeHoustonPublic982
Tulsa Welding School - HoustonHoustonPrivate for-profit971
Angelina CollegeLufkinPublic923
Austin Community College DistrictAustinPublic753
South Texas CollegeMcAllenPublic711
Texas State Technical CollegeWacoPublic611
Del Mar CollegeCorpus ChristiPublic592
Tyler Junior CollegeTylerPublic542

What electrical and electronics drafters earn in Texas

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

Median annual in Texas
$80,620
Mean annual
$81,470
Jobs in state
1,840
What the range looks like
10th pct$49,920Median$80,62090th pct$107,710
Versus the national median
+4.9%

U.S. median $76,870. Texas pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
1.13×

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

Metro areas in Texas

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
$83,100median
720 jobs
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
$84,680median
230 jobs
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
$79,160median
460 jobs
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
$78,530median
110 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 Texas

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 Texas.

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 Drafting and Design Technology/Technician, General, which awarded 969 degrees in Texas in 2024-25, 40.9% 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 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 2,371 people a year in Texas.

How much do electrical and electronics drafters earn in Texas?+

The median is $80,620 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 4.9% above 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 Texas?+

45 institutions in Texas 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.

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 statesIllinoisFloridaVirginiaCaliforniaOhioArizonaGeorgiaIndiana

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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