Tom Martin is a freelance mechanical drafter-designer. He has been in the
field for 25 years and has worked on many different types of projects. He
even worked as a designer-drafter of roller-coasters for seven years!
Martin can't discuss his current projects because of non-disclosure agreements.
"I can say those projects and the clients I [have] worked with are always
very interesting -- usually a new idea or concept that has never been thought
about before," says Martin. "These projects can take a few years to develop,
and so are not on the market as of yet."
Martin says a mechanical drafter should be "a natural inventor of ideas,
and understand the spacial relationships/mathematics of parts/assemblies."
He or she should have an "overwhelming curiosity of how things generally
work -- one example may be an internal combustion engine," he says.
Martin himself, for example, says he was obsessed at the age of nine with
how an engine actually works.
Christina Heinrick teaches computer aided design and drafting (CADD) at
a college. She was drawn to drafting by the variety of projects that the work
involves. Her drafting experience is mostly in architectural drafting.
"When many students come to our program they think drafting is floor plans
of houses," says Heinrick. "That's a really small percentage of what we do.
I always explain to students that everything that's built has to be first
drawn, so if you think of it that way, anything from a pen to a bridge or
a high-rise, there's a ton of variety."
Heinrick says attention to detail is one very important quality for drafters
to have. But there are others.
"Working within teams is huge, and working independently," says Heinrick.
"We encourage students to become problem solvers and critical thinkers. They
need to research answers, so they're not waiting around. Those are the attributes
I find probably serve them the best in industry."
Although mechanical drafters are in demand, Heinrick says there can be
challenges for some drafters when it comes to job stability.
"There used to be a time where you'd go work for an engineering firm and
that was your career, you'd stay with them," says Heinrick. "But now it seems
that more employers are hiring on a contract basis because they don't know
when the next job is coming.
"We're living in a globalized world now where a lot of the work can be
done overseas at a cheaper rate, and I see that in manufacturing quite a bit
already. Most of our products are being manufactured overseas,
so some of that design work is going as well," Heinrick says. "It's still
being managed by... U.S. companies, but [much of the] work is being done elsewhere.
So I think that's probably our biggest challenge right now."
Charles Bales was drawn to mechanical drafting by the chance to design
new devices, machines and structures. Bales liked the idea of making things
and improving existing designs. He teaches mechanical drafting and design
at Moraine Valley Community College, in Illinois.
"There is a lot of depth to design, including optimization, efficiency,
innovation, production issues [and] safety," says Bales. "Not to mention the
aesthetic qualities of the design."
Bales offers the following advice to young people considering this career:
"You have to stay in school and keep computer skills updated. When you're
in school, focus on school and don't get distracted by work, home, friends,
etc. Don't sacrifice your long-term future for short-term fun."