Major: Drafting and Design Technology
Behind every product, building, or process are drawings and models created by someone using the techniques and principles taught in drafting courses. If you study drafting, you'll learn the math and drawing techniques you'll need to represent three-dimensional buildings and objects. Your classes will cover such topics as interpreting specifications and estimating materials.
You'll not only learn to draw plans on paper. You'll also learn how to use computers. With computer-assisted drafting programs, you can make changes and add detail to your plans quickly. Increasingly sophisticated technology allows drafters to create more realistic images that almost seem like three-dimensional models, making it easy to imagine the finished structure or object.
Students of drafting and design technology learn to use technical skills to create drawings, plans, and computer models that will be used in constructing a building or manufacturing a product.
Did You Know?
- Drafting experts draw plans for much more than just buildings -- they also create plans for machines, airplanes, and construction works such as dams.
Are You Ready To...?
- Draw and make models
- Develop product specifications
- Use CAD and solid modeling software
- Learn about manufacturing processes and materials
- Read blueprints
It Helps to Be...
Attentive to detail, able to concentrate for long stretches of time, and interested in how things are put together. You should also be able to work well with a team.
College Checklist
- Is the program certified by the American Design Drafting Association?
- Which does the program stress more -- the theories and fundamentals of drafting or the latest technologies?
- What types of computer software and hardware are used in the courses? Are they up-to-date?
- Is the software widely used in key industries? In the industry or geographic location in which you’d like to work?
Did You Know?
- The ability to imagine an object in three dimensions is a skill that most drafting majors must learn -- it rarely comes naturally.
Course Spotlight
As a drafting and design major, you may want to specialize in drawing architectural plans. With a course or a series of courses in architectural drafting, you can build skills in this area. Through lectures and lab work, you’ll learn the tools and techniques of drawing plans for buildings. Course work may include designing a small home and creating a complete set of working drawings (drawings used by carpenters and other construction workers) for the house.
