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California training programs, and what happened to the people who took them

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Electrical and Electronics Drafters

SOC 17-3012 · 2024-2034

Prepare wiring diagrams, circuit board assembly diagrams, and layout drawings used for the manufacture, installation, or repair of electrical equipment.

How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.

Shrinking -10%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.

What California expects of this job

Typical pay in California
$80,502per year
Projected openings
2,120
Projected change
-10%
Usually needs
Associate's degree

Skills this work uses most

O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.

  1. Active Listening
  2. Critical Thinking
  3. Writing
  4. Judgment and Decision Making
  5. Reading Comprehension
  6. Complex Problem Solving

Pay by region

RegionTypical pay in CaliforniaProjected openings
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties)$104,464530
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties)$101,02290
Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties)$84,802240
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County)$78,54860
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County)$78,097380
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County)$76,946370
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties)$74,881240
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County)$74,574490
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties)$71,676380

What the pay actually ranges across

The lowest-paid tenth earn under
$52,037
A quarter earn under
$64,949
Half earn under
$80,502
Three quarters earn under
$105,400
The highest-paid tenth earn over
$150,920

A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.

Similar work

O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.

OccupationTypical pay in CaliforniaProjected openingsProjected change
Mechanical Drafters$84,8203,040-5.1%
Architectural and Civil Drafters$78,66210,740+7%
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer$165,01311,330+0.5%
Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technologists and Technicians$88,50011,520-2.9%
Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians$89,8363,330+5.4%
Calibration Technologists and Technicians$81,2221,0700%

Programs that train for this job — 12