truewise Honest US education data

Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians

Engineering Technologies

Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians graduates with a bachelor's typically earned about $70,040, measured a few years after finishing (median across US programs, College Scorecard).
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Median earnings by degree level

Earnings range across schools, by degree levelEach row is a degree level: the bar is the middle half of schools' program medians (25th to 75th percentile) and the dot is the overall median. Certificate median $58,066, $51,284 to $60,667; Associate's median $56,122, $52,694 to $63,310; Bachelor's median $70,040, $65,442 to $79,154.$51k$65k$79kCertificate$58,066Associate's$56,122Bachelor's$70,040
Earnings range across schools, by degree levelEach row is a degree level: the bar is the middle half of schools' program medians (25th to 75th percentile) and the dot is the overall median. Certificate median $58,066, $51,284 to $60,667; Associate's median $56,122, $52,694 to $63,310; Bachelor's median $70,040, $65,442 to $79,154.$51k$65k$79kCertificate$58,066Associate's$56,122Bachelor's$70,040
DegreeMedian earningsTypical rangeSchoolsClear the bar
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$58,066$51,284 to $60,6671694%
Associate's Degree$56,122$52,694 to $63,3104698%
Bachelor's Degree$70,040$65,442 to $79,1548100%

"Clear the bar" is the share of programs whose graduates out-earn a typical high-school graduate (the federal earnings-premium test). Typical range is the 25th to 75th percentile of program medians.

Job outlook

Projected employment growth -5% (2025 to 2035), about 14,400 openings a year across the occupations this field commonly leads to.

OccupationMedian payGrowthOpenings/yr
Architectural and Civil Drafters$66,150+5.2%9,100
Mechanical Drafters$71,550-6%2,900
Electrical and Electronics Drafters$76,870-3.4%1,400
Drafters, All Other$63,520-7.3%1,000

Occupation pay and outlook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wages, Employment Projections). A field maps to several occupations, and the same occupations serve many majors, so these are the jobs this major commonly leads to, not positions reserved for its graduates; the openings should not be added up across majors.

Where this is studied

The 8 colleges where the most students complete a drafting/design engineering technologies/technicians program, of 498 that report one. Ordered by number of completions only: this is where people study it, not a judgement about where to.

Earnings source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (release 2026-06-10), median earnings of graduates measured up to four years after completing. Figures describe past graduates and are never a promise. Method: methodology. Report an error.