In the Drafting Divisions
For drafting in the engineering department the qualifications are somewhat similar to those for design engineering. Draftsmen are, however, ordinarily not so well informed or so well paid as engineers and frequently an able man is promoted from drafting to engineering work. When a man starts at drafting, if he has had no experience, his first task is likely to be that of tracing—he copies, in ink, on a sheet of transparent tracing cloth, a drawing which was made in pencil on drawing paper by a draftsman. In thus tracing a design, he can become familiar with many of the mechanical principles of the devices, and also with the drafting-room and machine-shop practices of the concern which employs him. By observing and asking questions he can learn much. After he has become a proficient tracer, he may be required to “work up” dimension drawings from rough sketches, or to design minor details. Thus he can progress, step by step, until his accumulated experience enables him to perform the work of an experienced draftsman. A man who has had previous drafting experience may not have to start in at the bottom, but may begin with such work as he is qualified to undertake.
To enable him to become a good draftsman, a man should be able to see well, and he should have the use of both hands. One hand or even both hands may, however, be artificial. Men who have had previous shop or electrical construction experience, but whose disabilities disqualify them for further rough work, may adopt the vocation of design draftsman with entire success.
Many draftsmen with the equivalent of only a common-school education have been able by application and attention to business to advance themselves very satisfactorily. On the other hand, the equivalent of a high-school education with an elementary knowledge of algebra, trigonometry, mechanics, heat, and the other scientific subjects involved, is of very material benefit. If a man’s education is deficient he can often correct this by attending a night-school.
Draftsmen ordinarily receive weekly salaries. A beginner in a drafting department with little or no previous experience may expect from $50 to $70 per month at the start. A competent design draftsman will receive probably from $100 to $200 monthly. Some receive considerably more. The work is wholly indoors and over a drafting board.