Drafting

Draft your future

Learn about internship opportunities through Cooperative Education

Employers are interested in more than just your degree. It’s important that you’re able to show that you have relevant, real world work experience. Our Cooperative Education department partners with local businesses and organizations to provide internships for students in their field of study. Many students even continue on to paid employment at their former internship site.

Get work experience and make career connections while earning credit through a Cooperative Education internship, all as a part of your degree!

What you’ll earn

In this program, you can customize your degree through career pathways certificates.

Associate Degree

Drafters work with architects, engineers, designers, and technicians as part of construction, manufacturing, and engineering teams. By earning your degree in drafting at Lane Community College, you’ll be ready to enter the workforce and start your career. Your classes will cover a diverse range of skills and topics that employers ask for in a professional drafter. When you’ve completed your degree, you’ll be ready to go to work making drawings for manufacturing or construction projects as a qualified member of a professional team.

Learn more about the Drafting, Associate of Applied Science

2 years full-time

$19,221 Full program

Learn more about program costs

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

To use computer programs including AutoCAD, SolidWorks, and Revit
Visualization: how to start with a two-dimensional drawing to visualize the three-dimensional object it represents, and how to start with a three-dimensional object and create a two-dimensional working drawing so the object can be made
Drawing standards used by mechanical designers
How to put dimensions on drawings
How to determine tolerances, clearances, and fits for mechanical parts
How to apply symbols on mechanical drawings including surface finish, weld symbols, and geometric tolerances
How to make parts lists and revisions
How to use speed ratios to design belt drives and gear trains
Hands-on familiarity with electrical circuits and hydraulic systems
Drawing standards used by architects
How to make drawings as part of a set of house plans
How to set up drawings as part of commercial building projects
Principles of the systems used in green buildings, including energy, water, light, heat, and cooling
How to communicate in a professional office setting
How to communicate with engineers and architects using the right vocabulary
Basic engineering calculations including force and stress

AFTER LANE

Local employers are eager to hire drafters. Drafters have found careers in a variety of specialties, from microscope parts to hydraulic cylinders to heavy equipment; from alarm systems to trusses, custom ceiling design, retail store interiors, structural steel, or general contractors.

Once you start work, your skill set will continue to grow as you learn on the job, and over time you will take on increasing levels of responsibility. Some drafters even choose to further their career by pursuing a degree in engineering, industrial design, or architecture. The courses you study in your drafting degree will provide a solid foundation of knowledge for your career.

While your program only has one primary outcome, it can have many secondary outcomes. Usually, these are certificates that are a part of your program. These can be kind of confusing, so here’s a reminder of what the example looks like: