Planning to build your career as an architect? You must have a deeper insight into this vast profession before you move forward! Architecture is undoubtedly one of the oldest professions in the world and has been evolving ever since. Architecture is an amalgamation of design, engineering, and technology. Are you enthusiastic about all the 3 above-mentioned 3 fields? You may already be a step closer to accepting architecture as a job! Let us try to brief out the life of an architect in this article!

What does the Career as an Architect involve?

If one is choosing architecture as a career, one would essentially be responsible for planning, designing, and overseeing the construction of a building. However, the role of an architect extends way beyond this! It is the responsibility of an architect to make the lives of building occupants easier and more comfortable. This is applicable to residential, commercial, as well as industrial properties.

Apart from that, making the structures visually appealing, and designing the interiors, and the landscape; could also fall under the scope of work of an architect, varying from client to client.

Urban planning and town planning are also some of the fields that architects may explore during their careers. In addition to designing, architects are also responsible for coordinating all the building services; including electrical, plumbing, fire safety, etc., within the buildings.

Architects also play a major role in reducing the impact of construction on our environment. The construction materials being used, the techniques being followed, and the design methodologies can reduce a huge amount of pollution being created due to construction activities across the globe. If you wish to bring a change to our environment, a career as an architect can be quite fulfilling!

Who should pursue a Career as an Architect?

If you have all or even a few of the below-mentioned qualities or are eager to build a career with the below-mentioned qualities, you may be the right person to pursue architecture as a job.

Creative problem solver:

Clients keep throwing unique problems at architects. Extracting out more space in an existing house, creating additional space for new employees in an office, drawing inspiration from a client’s beloved building, and many more.  Therefore, a career as an architect might be perfect for you if you have a tendency to try to solve critical problems. Apart from that, being creative enough to provide clients with functional as well as aesthetic designs is also very important to be a successful architect.

Time Management:

Work never stops on construction sites. Clients, contractors, authorities, and project managers would always be after you for drawings, details, documents, and whatnot! Moreover, each passing day for a construction site can cost thousands or even millions. Therefore, to pursue architecture as a job, it is very important to manage your time efficiently.

Effective Communicator:

To persuade a potential client and to explain the project’s design, estimate, and purpose, it is vital for an architect to have good communication skills. Not being able to pitch a good idea to the client can lose you a project. The architects also need to be capable of dealing with contractors, engineers, vendors, and workers on the site for design implementation.

Logical and Mathematical Analyst:

Having just a creative mind might not be enough to pursue architecture as a career. Geometry and trigonometry can play a major role in creating a plan. Apart from that, architects also need to have good mathematical skills to be able to determine project estimates, structural calculations, area measurements, create & read scaled drawings, and many other tasks.

Environment Enthusiast:

Construction has a major role in today’s world’s increasing pollution. Therefore, if you care about our deteriorating nature, you can bring about a change by picking architecture as a job. Determining the right construction techniques, and picking the right and locally available materials can bring a huge change in the microenvironment.

Eager to learn and change constantly:

The design and construction industry is ever-evolving. Therefore, architects need to be up-to-date with the latest materials in the market, along with the latest construction techniques. Also, pitching the clients with the latest and unique designs is very important to pursue architecture as a career successfully.

How to start your career as an Architect?

You may need to put in a lot of hard work to pursue a career as an architect. Moreover, even after earning a degree in architecture, you may only be eligible to pursue architecture as a job. However, to have your very own clients to work for, in most countries, you need to have an architect’s license. To gain a license, architects have to appear for an exam or have a certain amount of professional experience. Below mentioned are the details for you to follow up on.

Bachelor in Architecture:

After completing high school, you can enroll yourself for a bachelor’s in architecture. A Bachelor in Architecture, often termed B.Arch may require 4-5 years, based on your country.

• The courses that might be included are Design, Building Materials & Construction, History of Architecture, and Theory of Architecture. Apart from that, mathematics, basics of structural engineering, professional practice, visualization, and drawing, might also be included.
• Admission to Bachelor in Architecture may require ACT/SAT scores, essays, recommendation letters, and/or local/university exams; depending upon the country/university of admission.
• Successful completion of a bachelor’s degree may also include submitting a thesis and completing internships.

Masters in Architecture:

A Master’s in Architecture allows you to explore the courses taught in a bachelor’s in more depth. Moreover, it allows you to specialize in various fields, including landscape, urban design, town planning, and sustainability, amongst others. Completing a master’s degree requires 2 years.

Admission to a master’s in architecture may evaluate your performance in your bachelor’s degree. Additionally, an interview, and/or your professional working experience may also be required.

Doctoral and post-doctoral in Architecture:

A doctoral and post-doctoral degree in architecture comprises more qualitative and quantitative research. To gain a doctoral degree, one must successfully submit and defend their dissertation on the topic of their choice.

However, only a limited number of universities offer doctoral and post-doctoral degrees each year to limited candidates. Admission criteria may consider your professional experience, master’s in a relevant field, architectural portfolio, and/or an interview.

Get a License to boost your career as an architect:

In most countries, it is mandatory for practicing architects to hold a license from the official Architects Licencing Authority. In most countries, graduate architects need to clear the Architect Registration exam to get the Licence. Specialized architects, for eg., landscape architects may require a further license from the landscape licensing authority to practice. Architects may also need to register with their local authorities to get the plans/drawings approved.

Key Responsibilities for a Career as an Architect!

Pursuing a career as an architect includes fulfilling a lot of responsibilities effectively. Below mentioned are some of the key responsibilities of a practicing Architect.

• Client Meets: Architects need to constantly meet clients and other key stakeholders to discuss and finalize the requirements and objectives of the project.
• Cost & Time Estimation: Provide the client with the estimated budget and time frame of the design and construction phase.
• Coordinate Structure with Bylaws: Each region, town, state, and/or country has different bylaws for building construction. To get the structure approved by relevant authorities, Architects also need to coordinate their designs with applicable local bylaws.
• Develop and coordinate drawings and documents: Once the basic design of a building is ready, it is the responsibility of the architect to create the detailed construction drawing, used for construction on the site. Along with that, all the drawings also need to be coordinated beforehand with all the services; including, Electrical, Plumbing, Structure, Fire, etc.
• Create contracts for consultants/contractors: For construction on the site by different contractors/consultants, the principal architects need to develop and finalize the estimates, timeframe, and relevant contracts.
• Visit the construction site to ensure current implementation of plans: Once the construction begins on the site, architects need to visit and review the site on a regular basis to ensure that their design and drawings are being followed and implemented correctly.
• Constantly seek new opportunities through presentations: One of the toughest parts of pursuing architecture as a career is constantly pitching in for new projects to new clients to keep their business going.

Building a strong base for architecture as a career:

A huge number of students are willing to take up architecture as a job, making the market quite competitive. Therefore, it becomes quite difficult for freshers to make their space in the market. However, if you have the right kind of skills, in addition to an understanding of the right kind of tech, building a career might become easy for you. Below are some of the software that you can learn to make your career as an architect strong.

• Autodesk AutoCAD
• Autodesk Revit
• Sketchup
• Vectorworks Architecture
• ArchiCAD
• Microsoft Office
• Lumion
• 3Ds Max

Paths you can explore apart from a career as an architect:

Pursuing architecture as a career opens different paths for an individual to take up a job. Below mentioned are some of the key jobs that one can look up to, apart from core architecture.

• Landscape Architect
• Urban Planner
• Town Planner
• Project Manager
• Interior Designed
• Graphic Designer

How much can architects make?

If you have made up your mind to pursue architecture as a job, you can earn an average salary of $80,750. However, these earnings may vary to a huge extent based on your location, experience, expertise, as well as the nature of the job. However, if you plan to build your career as a practicing architect, with your very own clients, there is certainly no limit to earning. It may all depend on your skills, clients, & your dedication to the field of architecture, and your designs.