Duties and job titles of drafters vary between companies, but their focus is to create the technical drawings to meet industry specifications. They need to be able to visualize and interpret directions given to them, make sketches, prepare drawings to scale, and specify details. They may also need to calculate the strength, quantity, quality, and cost of materials. It is not uncommon for a drafter to specialize in a particular field, such as mechanical, aerospace, electrical, architectural, or structural.

Although there are many specialized fields of drafting for the various industries, the tools and techniques used are the very similar. This course focuses on the basics of using a computer aided design (CAD) software, Autodesk Inc's AutoCAD, to create technical drawings. It is essential that those who are designing or implementing the design can also read and understand the drawings, this includes, but is not limited to, engineers, architects, industrial designers, interior designers, and construction managers.