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Brayden Mayo
BUS-1010-414
Professor Michael Russell
26 February 2016
Engineering Drafting and Designing Paper
I have learned that there are a wide variety of jobs associated with being a drafting and
designing engineer. You can get the drafting and designing degree and start working or continue
going to school at get a bachelor's degree in another field but still have the drafting and designing
background.
I want to get a drafting and designing degree and start working so I have money to put
myself through the rest of a bachelors degree. By doing this I will be able to make more money
in the long run because I will have more education. I wish I could just go to school and finish
the bachelors degree without having to jump in the field and work full time while studying, but I
will need to work in order to pay for my education. In some ways this will be a benefit to me
because I will be entering the workforce with my bachelor's degree and will have a leg up on my
competition because I will have lots of work experience.
Job Description
There are a number of different options with this degree and the job descriptions vary for
each of them I am going to explain a few including the specific job that I would like to have in
this field.
Drafting and Design Engineering is a career where engineers are involved in all stages of
the design process. It starts with conception and goes all the way to presentation of the finished
plans. This career requires a working knowledge of design and drafting principles. Drafting and
design engineers make drawings or blueprints and models to help guide workers in the building
process. The engineers typically use (CAD) which is a computer-aided drafting software to help
draw the parts. Drafting and Design Engineers create detailed plans for many things that are
built. Some of these things include buildings, bridges, parts that can be used for just about

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anything. A typical day in this profession would be that the engineer would spend a lot of time at
the computer designing parts and plans.
General Career Path
There are a couple paths someone can take in order to become a Drafting and Design Engineer.
One of these paths would be to seek a professional certification as a technologist and then move
on later and get an engineering degree program. I am currently working on certification and
should have my certification finished at the end of this semester. After I have my certification I
will move on and try to complete an engineering degree program. Another option for people
seeking this degree would be to start off from the get go pursuing an Associate's or Bachelors
program in drafting and designing.
General Educational Experience
According to Kelsey Sheehy with US New and World report,she stated the following
about Engineering Technology: High-tech employers are looking for specific skills over degrees.
This is especially the case in manufacturing, where employers have a hard time filling open
positions, says Jason Premo, founder of Adex Machining Technologies, an aerospace
manufacturing company in South Carolina.
"Proficiency on a variety of modern technologies used in the actual field, especially individual
certifications, is significantly more valuable than the standard degree," says Premo, adding that
the vast majority of jobs he hired for did not require a bachelor's. (Sheehy, online)
Although a bachelors degree is not required, I would strongly recommend it and I am
planning on getting one because the average pay for someone in the field with a bachelors
degree compared to someone without one is significantly more.
Here are some of the milestones in the educational requirements needed for this field.
First of is a certificate. This typically takes two semesters if you are going full time and only
taking classes towards the certificate. The next step is getting an AAS degree, which is an
Associates of Applied Science. This takes an additional two semesters. After earning an AAS
degree, the next step is an AS degree, Associates of Science. This takes an additional semester.

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Once the AS degree is earned, I can either focus on getting a job or going to additional schools
and receiving my bachelors degree. If I do this it will take an additional 2 years. After that
there is a possibility of getting a masters degree, but I am not really planning on that right now.
Average Salary
There are a number of different types of engineering opportunities within this degree and
the pay is different for each of them. Mechanical Engineers earn on average $52,150, with the
highest sector within this category being those working for electrical power companies. They
make on average $73,000 per year. Aerospace engineers are paid the second highest with an
average salary of $67,330. Electrical Engineers earn on average $57,240, with those in the
aerospace industry making the most with an average salary of $72,560. Civil Engineers make on
average $50,160 per year, with the aerospace industry making the most with an average of
$73,710 per year. (Forest Time/Demand Media, Online)
I plan on going into the Mechanical Engineering field because I seem to enjoy it a lot
more that Civil Engineering and Electrical Engineering. It is important for me to do something
that I enjoy and even though I know that Electrical Engineering pays more, it would not be worth
it to me because I dont think that I would enjoy it.
Career Outlook
The outlook for this career is very positive. There is always high demand for engineers.
I was recently talking with one of my professors to find out more about this field and he let me
know that he is extremely busy. He works for a bicycle design company. He also owns his own
business. He told me that he wants to learn Chinese as well because he works a lot with people
in Taiwan and was offered a job there. (Justin Heap, Professor).
My other professor let me know that the job market is really strong. He said that he is
keeping so busy that he cant keep up and that he wished he could refer some of the work to his
students, but that they are not far enough along in their education to be able to perform the jobs.

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He currently works for the federal government and is modeling an F22, which is an airplane. He
receives a weekly email that shows jobs that are available in the field and says that there are
always a lot of jobs available. (Michael Stenquist, Professor)
Bio of someone in the profession
Henry Ford was one of the most influential engineers of all time. He ushered in the era
of mass production with his assembly line for making automobiles. He lived from 1863 to 1947.
Ford demonstrated very little interest in farming and preferred instead to tinker with
mechanical devices. At age 16, Ford left the farm to work in nearby Detroit as an apprentice
machinist, a job he held for three years before returning to Dearborn. He married Clara Bryant in
1888 and supported himself and his wife by running a sawmill. From 1891 to 1899, he worked as
a mechanical engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit. (Tom Ricci, online).
In his free time, Ford spent time designing gasoline engines. Ford created something called the
Quadricycle, which was the first horseless carriage. Ford was very influential in the
development of the automobile and also in establishing the assembly line to become more
efficient at manufacturing the automobile quicker. Ford is still very well known and the Ford
brand of cars still has a large presence in today's market. I hope to be successful and use my
talents the same way Ford did.
Pros and Cons
Pros of this job is that there is always a demand for it. Another pro is that it pays more
than most jobs. Another pro is that there is a lot of opportunity to be your own boss or even
work at home even if you are not your own boss.
Cons of this job are that if you are hired only for specific jobs instead of being a full-time
employee you may find yourself without work for periods of time. Another con of this job is that
there are always people inventing new things and it could be difficult to get credit for all you do
because people may try to steal or take credit for your inventions. This happened to my neighbor

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who designed something to make ziplines stronger and more efficient and someone he was
working with stole the designs and sold them for a significant amount of money.
My fit: with this career
The reason I feel I am well suited for this career is because I really enjoy math and
designing things and I like to try to solve problems. To be a good engineer you need to be good
at solving problems and be able to find a solution to things that others may feel are impossible.
With the fact that I enjoy this and do not look at it as a chore, I think I am well suited to be an
excellent engineer.

Works Cited
Biography.com Editors. "Henry Ford Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web.
26 Feb. 2016.
Clarkston, Joel, and Michael Stenquist. "SLCC General Catalog." Engineering Design / Drafting
Technology AAS. SLCC, 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.
Heap, Justin. "Talking with Justin Heap." Personal interview. 22 Feb. 2016.

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Perez, Elias. "Engineering Drafting and Design Technology: CC." Find A Degree at Utah State
University. USU, 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2016.
Sheehy, Kelsey. "4 Degrees That Are Better to Earn at a Community College." US News.
U.S.News & World Report, 3 Dec. 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.
Stenquist, Michael. "Talking with Michael Stenquist." Personal interview. 10 Feb. 2016.
Time, Forest. "What Is the Salary of a Drafting Engineer?" What Is the Salary of a Drafting
Engineer? Demand Media, May 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.