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Drafter Salary

dlk127

I've been offered a drafting position in LA area. as an entry level with less than a year's experience, how much should i expect to get paid? And how much is a reasonable amount to negotiate for?

 
Jul 8, 13 11:43 pm
Archinect

Have you looked at salaries.archinect.com?

Jul 8, 13 11:45 pm  · 
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MyDream

O man am i starting to see what people are talking about when it comes to low wages in architecture.I would love to see what you ended up with compared to my position's salary as a Revit draftsman.( I have been doing a lot of auto cad lately though)

Sep 10, 13 4:05 pm  · 
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ArchNyen

MyDream, are you sure your title is not entry level Revit draftsman.. heheh jk. how is your job coming along and are you getting the hang of Revit yet? are they training you in Revit at your new job place?

I have been working w/ Revit for roughly 3 years now fresh out of architecture graduate school. I am making a little above 25$ / hour in the Washington DC area...

But remember most importantly is love what you do, the people that you work w/ and the $ is secondary.

Sep 10, 13 11:08 pm  · 
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backbay

yeah mydream, how'd everything turn out?  last i thought i heard you didn't have a job in your field.  congrats!  remember its just a window to gaining more experience that will eventually translate into either $$$ or :-) :-) :-) or some mix of the two.

But remember most importantly is love what you do, the people that you work w/ and the $ is secondary.

ehhhhh... i hate when people say this, because its not that cut and dry.  if you're one of the lucky people that enjoys each and every hour of the work day, sure.  but i'd suffer a bit of the boring, uninspiring, uninteresting, and tedious so i could enjoy some non work-related things.  its more about finding a tolerable balance.  i don't think any of us worked our high school summer jobs just because they were fun.  there's value to financial stability and not always being strapped for cash.

Sep 10, 13 11:21 pm  · 
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zonker

$20/hr - hate to say it - but with less than a years exp., I don't know what to tell you. There ar an awful lot of Revit drafter/modelers now.

Sep 10, 13 11:25 pm  · 
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zonker

I have 5 years exp and am still making $20/hour and am competing with people with 0 - 2 years exp. - it's tough if you are just a drafter/modeler and not progressing to be an architect. 

Sep 10, 13 11:28 pm  · 
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LITS4FormZ
MyDream, you should contribute your salary info to the archinect salary poll.
Sep 11, 13 2:19 pm  · 
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MyDream

I am paid minimum wage for the first 90 days then i will be getting a raise to 10 bucks an hour. I LOVE MY JOB when i first started 12th of august (i don't want to disclose where i'm working or the names of the principals) my boss really wanted me to get out of the in school thoughts (because some of the things they were teaching me in school are no longer used in the profession like platform framing and i get technical language wrong also). I'm really learning about what is required of me and THE L.O.D'S OF REVIT, but i haven't gotten a chance to be apart of a under construction project in Revit. The project that i'm working on is an existing building that has a basement renovation( THAT'S RIGHT A BASEMENT IN FL.....WTF...).  

Auto cad, which they started me working on the day after labor day is a new project that is in a conceptual stage were using a past project with some altercations because there almost identical (a rodeo arena) it should take a year to complete so i'm told. Things are so laid back in architecture firms and so friendly work days go by so fast i can hardly catch my lunch breaks. As far as school goes you guys know i have a lot of issues with my record from driving and i'm trying to get those privileges back, should be by the end of the month and then i'l' be starting Valencia/Ucf/Uf in the spring of 2014. I really had no idea how laid back it is in architecture firms if you have a doctors appointment, school hours, etc just write it on the board.Valencia/ucf/uf has night courses available.  (driving from Daytona to Orlando in one hour is going to be difficult)

Sep 11, 13 3:23 pm  · 
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MyDream

LITS4FORMZ i don't think i should post that because it might look bad... :)... Keep the hopes high for newbies.

Sep 11, 13 3:30 pm  · 
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backbay

platform framing... is not in the profession anymore? pretty sure i used it like 6 hours ago.

good to hear everything is working out.  you're very lucky to get something.  are you planning on going to school and work at the same time?  days will probably go by slower when it stops being new, unfortunately.  drafting can get old fast.

Sep 11, 13 11:03 pm  · 
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MyDream

He said that the construction language was not used anymore like for instance balloon framing is no longer used in the profession so there is no difference in framing there is just framing(which is platform). I have read in my building codes book that there are different ways you can space wood studs 16 o.c can be built only so tall in contrast if you space them 24 o.c can only go two like two stories, but the construction of.... in most cases will be a home with wood studs there is platform framing.

Sep 12, 13 11:58 am  · 
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Mydearm Congrats on the job, I hope you take time to visit a construction site soon, things can be greatly enlightening to see what you have drawn transformed into real material results. I am confident you are on the right track and you dogged determination should make you a valuable asset for the firms that you are working for. Keep up the good work and the good news.
Drafting salaries will vary depending on the market and the two variables are cost of living and supply. Omaha may have a low cost of living but since not too many drafters are out there the wages may be higher than in LA or New York where you can swing a cat and hit an architecture school and hundreds of recent graduates. So I think look at your own personal budget and give them a range bottom being you can pay rent and student loans but you eat ramen every night and the top you can live comfortably decent apartment, reasonable commute times, and still some money for fun. It will not help you or the firm if you can’t make ends meet and you are starving or miserable so make a budget there are real-estate websites that are good at giving you utility and services cost estimates and comparisons to other cities and towns. If you are desperate bid low but if you are not about to be homeless don’t put yourself into an untenable situation be honest about what you need to live on not survive.

Sep 12, 13 5:38 pm  · 
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MyDream

thank you for all your support i greatly appreciate it, so has anybody heard from the OP i wonder if he got the position and if he got more per hour than me?

Sep 13, 13 8:11 am  · 
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