Compare A Industrial Engineer ↔ B Mechanical Design Drafter
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1 move · -$25,180 a year, Texas medians of each whole occupation, all experience levels
Gates on this route
- Move 1, to Mechanical Design Drafter: no degree, license or hours gate found (O*NET 31.0 and the licensing agencies checked for this job).
Move 1 Transfer move to the side
Industrial Engineer to Mechanical Design Drafter -$25,180 Texas medians of each whole occupation, all experience levels
- Skills and knowledge profile similarity r = 0.90 (one of the 3 most similar occupations, r >= 0.6).
- Gates checked: no degree, license or hours gate found (O*NET 31.0 and the licensing agencies checked for this job).
Side by side
All Mechanical Drafters: Texas median $79,380, $25,180 less a year than all Industrial Engineers ($104,560), every experience level.
Industrial Engineer: 80% work more than 40 hours a week, about 1.8 times the share for Mechanical Design Drafter (44%).
This level's pay
A $101,314 a year H-1B filings, n = 42, TX+AZ, 2026
B No headline record for this level
No published schedule lists both jobs, so no level-specific difference is shown.
Occupation-wide pay all experience levels, not this level's pay; Texas median, base pay, $0 to $300k
Gates checked: No degree, license or hours gate on these moves in O*NET 31.0 and the licensing agencies checked for each job.
Outlook 2024 to 2034 whole occupation
A +20.3% Texas, 2,390 openings a year
B -0.4% Texas, 300 openings a year
Over 40 h a week
Physical load our index from O*NET, 1 to 5; A B; largest differences first
1.8 / 5-0.41.5 / 5
- Hazardous conditions-0.77Hazardous conditions: A 1.92, B 1.15
- Cramped space-0.66Cramped space: A 1.79, B 1.13
- Walking or running-0.61Walking or running: A 2.35, B 1.74
- Protective gear-0.61Protective gear: A 1.75, B 1.14
- Standing-0.60Standing: A 2.65, B 2.05
Degree
A Most people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher (O*NET: 74%).
B Most people in this job do not hold a bachelor's degree (O*NET: 19% do).
License
A Texas PE license (TBPELS) is required for the practice of engineering as defined in Occ. Code 1001.003; whether this job needs it depends on the work.
B No license for this job title at the 8 Texas and federal licensing agencies read on 2026-10-03 (TDLR, TSBPE, TCEQ, TCFP, TEA, TBPELS, NRC and EPA).
Experience
A Most common related work experience: over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (O*NET: 42%).
B Most common related work experience: over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (O*NET: 30%).
Skills O*NET importance, 1 to 5
You likely have: 6
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Active Listening
- Complex Problem Solving
- Mathematics
- Reading Comprehension
To build: 1
- Operations Analysis +0.88
Make this your goal
Save Industrial Engineer to Mechanical Design Drafter as your goal. Each step then shows the hours you have logged toward it, your exam practice and your license, with the one thing to do next and the 1 skills to build as a checklist. Free with an account.
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