Career Explorer Engineering and architecture
Grows with AI
Architectural and civil drafters
Prepare detailed drawings of architectural and structural features of buildings or drawings and topographical relief maps used in civil engineering projects, such as highways, bridges, and public works. Use knowledge of building materials, engineering practices, and mathematics to complete drawings.
In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 46% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it high), and US jobs are projected to change by +5.2% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on creative vision.
AI can help with many of the tasks, and demand is still growing. Being fluent with AI is the edge here.
- Median pay (2025)
- $66,150
- Job growth to 2035
- +5.2%
- Openings a year
- 9,100
- People doing it (2025)
- 104,000
- Usual route in
- Associate's degree
Where people already use AI for this work
- Create visual designs or displays
- Evaluate designs, specifications, or other technical data
- Determine resource needs of projects or operations
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Supervise personnel activities
- Estimate project development or operational costs
- Analyze data to improve operations
What the work looks like
- Produce drawings, using computer-assisted drafting systems (CAD) or drafting machines, or by hand, using compasses, dividers, protractors, triangles, and other drafting devices.
- Analyze building codes, by-laws, space and site requirements, and other technical documents and reports to determine their effect on architectural designs.
- Draw rough and detailed scale plans for foundations, buildings, and structures, based on preliminary concepts, sketches, engineering calculations, specification sheets, and other data.
- Coordinate structural, electrical, and mechanical designs and determine a method of presentation to graphically represent building plans.
- Explain drawings to production or construction teams and provide adjustments as necessary.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Agricultural engineersGrows with AI, Index 66, +6.9%
- Industrial engineering technologists and techniciansChanging shape, Index 47, +3.1%
- Marine engineers and naval architectsGrows with AI, Index 51, +6.7%
- Materials engineersGrows with AI, Index 61, +7.5%
Also known as: Architectural Designer, Architectural Drafter, CAD Tech (Computer-Aided Design Technician), Draftsman, Architectural Draftsman, CAD Designer (Computer-Aided Design Designer), CADD Drafter (Computer-Aided Drafting and Design Drafter), Civil Drafter.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.