← All 785 jobsFile 17-3011
Architectural and Civil Drafters
Lightly edited
AI performs some of this work. Most of it still needs a person. The BLS expects 5.2% more of these jobs by 2035, faster than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- #320 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +5.2% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $66,150 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 104,100 in the US, with about 9,100 openings a year
The work, 14 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
AI helps with this: Create visual designs or displays46%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 78 conversations, and it got them there 40% of the time.
AI helps with this: Evaluate designs, specifications, or other technical data8%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 903 conversations, and it got them there 86% of the time.
AI helps with this: Determine resource needs of projects or operations7%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,590 conversations, and it got them there 92% of the time.
AI does this: Document technical designs, procedures, or activities5%
AI performed this in about 1 in 779 Copilot conversations and completed it 93% of the time.
Still yours: Supervise personnel activities5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Plan work activities4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 720 Copilot conversations and completed it 92% of the time.
AI does this: Evaluate the quality or accuracy of data4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 683 Copilot conversations and completed it 82% of the time.
AI does this: Determine operational methods or procedures4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 461 Copilot conversations and completed it 93% of the time.
Still yours: Estimate project development or operational costs4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Analyze data to improve operations3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Gather data about operational or development activities3%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 251 conversations, and it got them there 88% of the time.
AI does this: Explain technical details of products or services3%
AI performed this in about 1 in 43 Copilot conversations and completed it 91% of the time.
Still yours: Assess characteristics of land or property3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Read documents or materials to inform work processes3%
AI performed this in about 1 in 214 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 105 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 9,100 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 31% of the workArchitects16% AI does, against 22% here+4.3% by 2035 · $99,280 · Bachelor’s degree
- Shares 21% of the workFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers13% AI does, against 22% here+5% by 2035 · $79,920 · High school diploma
- Shares 21% of the workTraffic Technicians12% AI does, against 22% here+4% by 2035 · $59,090 · High school diploma
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Work front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.22, higher than 74% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 17-3011 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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