It seems as if most architectural firms, though offer health insurance, do not offer complete healthcare packages. In other words, most architectural firms offer basic health insurance that allows you to visit a G.P., but does not cover dental or vision. Why is it that these are "basic" benefits in other fields, and yet they come off as "perks" for more senior staff at many architectural firms? This only began to recently change a little with Obamacare, but still doesn't explain why health insurance has never been a grand topic of discussion for so many who need it in our profession... Just a thought...
Bulgar, my fiance and I both have our M.Arch degrees. We both work in building design. Neither of us works for an architecture firm. Why? Pay, benefits, job security, the fact that every architect I have worked for is a glorified 10 year old on a multi-year temper tantrum, etc, etc....
As I have matured and gotten farther from school, I have started to see that architecture is closer to construction (sans unions) than engineering in the type of culture that is prevalent. Meaning, our job pay and benefits are closer to what is standard in construction, and the culture is as well - no paid OT, poor benefits, long hours, little room for advancement, etc...
Obviously this is not true across the board, and corporate firms offer pretty solid benefits most places. The real difference comes in the small firms, where a small architecture firm functions totally differently than a small group of almost any other profession. I think most of this can be attributed to the utter and complete lack of business and management training in school. Also, the reluctance of architects to hire someone who knows what they are doing with business.
Jul 1, 14 11:11 am ·
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Architecture Firms and Health Insurance
It seems as if most architectural firms, though offer health insurance, do not offer complete healthcare packages. In other words, most architectural firms offer basic health insurance that allows you to visit a G.P., but does not cover dental or vision. Why is it that these are "basic" benefits in other fields, and yet they come off as "perks" for more senior staff at many architectural firms? This only began to recently change a little with Obamacare, but still doesn't explain why health insurance has never been a grand topic of discussion for so many who need it in our profession... Just a thought...
This is the U$A. If you can't afford something, it's your own fault.
I agree with this assessment, Miles.
Bulgar, my fiance and I both have our M.Arch degrees. We both work in building design. Neither of us works for an architecture firm. Why? Pay, benefits, job security, the fact that every architect I have worked for is a glorified 10 year old on a multi-year temper tantrum, etc, etc....
As I have matured and gotten farther from school, I have started to see that architecture is closer to construction (sans unions) than engineering in the type of culture that is prevalent. Meaning, our job pay and benefits are closer to what is standard in construction, and the culture is as well - no paid OT, poor benefits, long hours, little room for advancement, etc...
Obviously this is not true across the board, and corporate firms offer pretty solid benefits most places. The real difference comes in the small firms, where a small architecture firm functions totally differently than a small group of almost any other profession. I think most of this can be attributed to the utter and complete lack of business and management training in school. Also, the reluctance of architects to hire someone who knows what they are doing with business.
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