Electrical and Electronics Drafters
Prepare wiring diagrams, circuit board assembly diagrams, and layout drawings used for the manufacture, installation, or repair of electrical equipment.
17,920 people do this job in the US. $76,870 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 83%
- 7%
- 10%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 26%. Today's estimate: 38%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 30 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft working drawings, wiring diagrams, wiring connection specifications, or cross-sections of underground cables, as required for instructions to installation crew.Done daily by most who do it. | 14% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 1 work day | 36%Half by Dec 2026 | |
| Draft detail and assembly drawings of design components, circuitry or printed circuit boards, using computer-assisted equipment or standard drafting techniques and devices.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 14% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | 27%Half by Jan 2027 | |
| Draw master sketches to scale showing relation of proposed installations to existing facilities and exact specifications and dimensions.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 10% | 4.2 h1.3 h to 1.3 work days | 23%Half by Mar 2027 | |
| Design electrical systems, such as lighting systems.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 10% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 2.5 work days | 10%Half by May 2027 | |
| Examine electronic schematics and supporting documents to develop, compute, and verify specifications for drafting data, such as configuration of parts, dimensions, or tolerances.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 2.1 h50 min to 5 h | 65%Half by now | |
| Assemble documentation packages and produce drawing sets to be checked by an engineer or an architect.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 h50 min to 4.2 h | 82%Half by now | |
| Compare logic element configuration on display screen with engineering schematics and calculate figures to convert, redesign, or modify element.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | 80%Half by now | |
| Review completed construction drawings and cost estimates for accuracy and conformity to standards and regulations.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 3% | 2.1 h50 min to 5 h | 65%Half by now | |
| Prepare and interpret specifications, calculating weights, volumes, or stress factors. | 3% | 2.5 h50 min to 1 work day | 40%Half by Dec 2026 | |
| Use computer-aided drafting equipment or conventional drafting stations, technical handbooks, tables, calculators, or traditional drafting tools, such as boards, pencils, protractors, or T-squares. | 3% | 2.5 h25 min to 1 work day | Stays with people | |
| Consult with engineers to discuss or interpret design concepts, or determine requirements of detailed working drawings.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Plot electrical test points on layout sheets and draw schematics for wiring test fixture heads to frames.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 2% | 2.5 h50 min to 5.8 h | 50%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Mechanical Drafters24% now, 95% by 2028
- Architectural and Civil Drafters22% now, 87% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians17% now, 49% by 2028
- Electronics Engineers, Except Computer5% now, 52% by 2028
- Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians16% now, 49% by 2028
- Electrical Engineers3% now, 46% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services5,240 people
- Building Equipment Contractors3,470 people
- Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution1,900 people
- Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing1,120 people
- Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing720 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).