What is a Draftsman

A draftsman's main job is to take the designs of an Architect or Engineer and apply that company's standards along with local and national building standards to produce a final set of construction drawings.  To start with, right out of trade school, no draftsman knows enough to handle the intricacies to complete a set of drawings.  Most Engineers & Architects all must learn on the job as well.  Your schooling can open some wonderful & fantastic doors, though you must be ready to always learn and always be professional.  One point to remember about your job as a draftsman is, your job depends on making an Architect or Engineer's life easier.

My career began in 1998.  I begin taking drafting classes at a community college.  I networked and finally talked an Architect into letting me come draft for him for free.  Architecture & the Arts have always been my greatest passion, so I was happy just to have a shot at learning more about the trade.  After awhile of free work, I knew the Architect's system well enough that they offered me a job.  This allowed me to enter the world of Design and have a wonderful family life where I continue to raise three lovely children.

Back at the office, I was overwhelmed with the amount of differing designs & expectations the firm handed to me to draw.  On most of my drawings, there was a lot of "red ink" when I handed them back to be reviewed, it was a learning process.  After a few years I became the lead draftsman in the firm and began to teach new hires our CAD system.  As my experience grew, the Architectural firm allowed me to take on more responsibilities.  Eventually I was handling full project management under the firm's supervision.  From meeting clients to producing final designs and construction drawings based on those designs.

When the firm moved out of state, I opened my own business.  This opportunity really allowed me to take far more creative license with my own clients and not be bound by the voice and designs of another Designer's view.  As a business model, I catered to home Owner's wanting to renovate or build new, and other Architect's and Engineer's whom needed production drafting.  I continued to expand my business to offer logo and web design.  In this field, especially under today's climate, one has to wear many hats.  So I drew upon my earlier days of working on house renovations and decided to open a 'One Stop Shop' as a Design-Build firm.  This worked beautifully.  I completed several buildings to be exactly what I had envisioned.  When the housing market crashed in 2008, I was lucky enough to have foreseen financial trouble and had taken steps months prior to secure a position with ATT as a lineman.  I really enjoyed that job though I had always thought I would find my way back into the world of Design. So this month (August 2012) I was able to partner with some wonderful people who knew my talents and limitations and we've started drawing again.