Santa Fe Drafting Jobs Overview
Do you have a hard time choosing between a creative and technical career? Consider applying for drafting jobs, where you can combine your artistic abilities with your computer skills to help craft new buildings, machinery, and infrastructure. Drafters—also known as draftsmen, draftspeople, or drafting technicians—translate the ideas of architects and engineers into technical drawings that are easy for construction or manufacturing crews to read and build. In this career, you'll be following in the footsteps of Leonardo da Vinci, who many consider to be one of the first master drafters—his technical drawings of inventions were revolutionary.
Today, most drafters use computer-aided design (CAD) software or computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) software. Drafters can also draw by hand using a tilting table or a drafting machine, but this is mostly limited to the concept stage. Software is used for the final design.
Drafters usually specialize in one of the following areas:
- Mechanical drafters prepare diagrams of machinery and mechanical devices.
- Architectural drafters work with architects to produce designs for buildings and infrastructure.
- Civil drafters work with civil engineers to create maps, drawings, and diagrams of buildings and infrastructure.
- Electrical and electronic drafters work with electrical and electronic engineers to produce diagrams and drawings of equipment and parts.
You can expand your search for engineering jobs by checking out these similar positions:
About Working in Santa Fe, New Mexico
When you think of looking for Santa Fe jobs, you may imagine working in a high-desert community with pueblo-style architecture and fresh tostadas, chalupas, and taquitos. While you will see the beautiful red clay homes and smell the mouth-watering Mexican cuisine, Santa Fe has all four seasons, allowing residents to hike, camp, golf, and ski. At 7,000 feet above sea level, the city gets 300 days of sunshine each year and an average of 32 inches of snow in Santa Fe and about 300 inches in the mountains. It has four distinct seasons, and nights are cool and refreshing, even in the summer.
As for Santa Fe’s culture, New Mexico is home to 23 Native American tribes, nations, and pueblos that each have their own histories, traditions, and communities. Art is a huge part of life in Santa Fe. The city has more than 250 art galleries, with 100 of them on a one-mile strip of Canyon Road, while summer is the season of art festivals and markets. You can also consider other cities in New Mexico as possible job locations, including Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, and Farmington—there, you’ll find some of the same New Mexican flavor, along with the city’s own unique blend of culture and community.
Update Your Santa Fe Drafting Resume
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How Much Do Drafting Jobs Pay in Santa Fe, New Mexico?
Got money on your mind? You should! Make sure you’re getting paid what you’re worth. Our Salary Tools can help you understand what you can expect to make in drafting jobs in Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as the skills that can boost your value and what the next steps in your career might be. Right now, the median drafter pay in Santa Fe is $22.76 per hour, which is 6% lower than the national average.
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