What are the alternative careers with professional(B.Arch ) or pre professional(B.S.Arch) architecture degree that have higher salaries than architect career?
Become a specialist. That involves taking on the shit job in a larger firm. The one most likely to be outsourced because of a lack of skill, knowledge and/or interest.
I am not sure what the respondents are thinking here. Some of the answers here are more harsh than what I expected which is understandable since I didn't clarify myself. I was researching about architect career in terms of career prospect and salary. I know the salary is pretty decent and sensitive to economy and location including the option of alternatives career that uses same major that may be better than architect in terms of salary. As for my question, I don't necessarily mean careers with high salary that I could afford a big house and luxurious car. I'm referring to ones that give better job prospects along with decent salary, higher than architect salary. I'm not fully committed about my future and would like to keep my options open. I may be a young kid, but I have don't mean to have an intention to be unrealistic and deluded. Sorry if I'm giving that vibe in this forum.
The construction world seems to pay more than the architecture world, but it is equally as subject to the spikes and troughs of the market. Also, lots more competitive dick-swinging, which may be a pro or a con depending on your own personality.
engineer. if you are in the midwest you could apply for an Architectural Enginering degree, which I do not see often on the east coast. Some schools used to provide the possibility of earning a archtiecture degree by doing one more year - in other words you would be eligable for a PE and RA license......in NYC at least an RA and PE license are essentially interchangeable, and for the most part most places........the higher starting salaries would be in construction management. the path to very high salaries and remaining involved in design and building is essentially study engineering or architecture, intern a lot at firms while in school, do maybe 1-2 years at a firm that has both Architecture and Engineering, do a stint at a CM or GC company and then go work for ownership - developers.
okhando, what's an acceptable starting salary? Plenty of folks make decent money straight out of grad school but you would not think so because these boards are often overwhelmed with fools who take unpaid/stipends and think their "sacrifice for the cause" will work out. Don't forget the $100,000 plus in student debt too.
If you're looking to roll knee deep in caviar with a 6-figure salary after graduation, then you need to reevaluate your goals, but decent wages are there for talented individuals who know how's o design well and, more importantly, but buildings together correctly. The point is, financial compensation is tied to what you bring to an office, not just because you pushed through a dos not drop out of a degree midway through.
The point is, financial compensation is tied to what you bring to an office, not just because you pushed through a degree without dropping out midway through.
expanding what Non Sequitur said. Anyone could correct me if im wrong but these are my observations.
When people/young students hear that architects don't make much money they usually thing... "i dont need alot of money" "money isnt everything" ", I don't necessarily mean careers with high salary that I could afford a big house and luxurious car". What people are really trying to say is that it is not affordable to be an architect. The lifestyle is on average poor and a small percent can escape it.
(career path)
Not a lot of careers will directly lead you to be a "rich" man/woman besides a MBA or law programs form the top 10 schools where the starting salary for their students is upwards of 115k. i exclude medical school because its a long process and even though they start at high salaries they spend 4 years in med school making nothing and 3-5 years in residency making close to nothing. Most buisness and engineering degrees from the average universities will lead you into a salary from 40k-50K starting and the starting salary for an architect should be around 40k-50k. So it usually seems that studying architecture has just as much of a pay off as studying anything else. This is how i use to think and i don't expect anyone else who hasn't been around the architecture profession to understand this huge difference. 40k upward is a good salary for someone with an undergraduate degree (i would urge to push for 5k more but 40k is fine) so a B.arch can get you this salary but the difference is one more year of undergrad where another degree you can save a year (4 years vs 5 years) OK so you loose a year of not making money BUT you are also spending one more year on tuition. so when your counter parts have started paying off debt/saving you will be behind one year and have a larger debt. at this time they should/usually get a raise in pay. so now in the same amount of time (5 years) the 4 year degree has already made more than the 5 year B.Arch. if you get a BS.Arch you will save one year and your salary should be around 30-40k so still less in the same amount of time.
(lifestyle)
This is where i usually hear the argument that money is not everything and that people should do what they love. Which is fine i mean just because your an accountant or a financial analyst doesn't mean your not doing what you love. while the architect is working 60+ hours a week year long because if they are not they have a good chance of their firm laying people off, the accountant is working 35-40 hours a week on the down season (typically summer right after tax season). This gives the other professions time to travel, take night classes, spend time with family and friends while the architect is working late and catching up on sleep during the weekends. Other firms/companies also have better benefits. When i left architecture for my first non architecture job my salary increased and my vacation time increased + other benefits. Take a look at how most tech companies operate. They value their employees and give them time off and provide a team/company atmosphere to make it enjoyable for the people who work their and im not talking about the big tech companies, Take a look at some small ones or startup ones. where in architecture most people feel like slaves.
While other people are saving your saving to get your architecture license if you still continue this route and spending your time studying for your 7 exams. What exam does a marketer have to take to practice marketing? how much do they make? what are their work weeks like? The license makes sense for architecture until you look at salary, compensation, and how long architects work and how much liability they take on by stamping a drawing.
(business)
my favorite one is "i want to start my own practice after a few years of experience". I actually thought this as well which is probably why its my favorite when i hear other people say this. Its actually a stupid reason to go into architecture school or become a licensed architect. 1) the amount of time and debt you will take on from architecture school will hold you back from taking out more debt to start your own practice. 2) This is usually a way architects and most people think they can make money, by starting your own business. 3) understand your competition and what are you going to bring to the field that every other architect hasnt already. People think that all they need to do is make an app or come up with a cool idea and it will take off from there. software business is notable for this because it costs almost nothing to start a application or tech company where as most businesses have a high start up cost. this is one of the reasons why the tech industry is booming and people are more likely to invest in tech vs bio-med, textiles, solar. So if a tech guy starts an app and it fails they loose almost no money but gained a huge amount of experience to put on their github/linkedin/resume and then start from scratch again since the loss is so low.
(Off Topic/ sort of)
Bjarke is a hero to architecture. But i dont think he is much of an architect as a great marketer and business man. Yes is more! was the best marketing campaign IMO in the architecture profession. It is raved about at schools by the students and when you show people outside of architecture it makes the profession go from suite and tie to hipster shirts and euro jeans. people want to buy into that culture which is the same culture the tech companies have captured. I think gensler is going into that direction and a few other firms but im not entirely sure. This is why BIG is so great because they have tapped into a part of the market that everyone wants. they have captured the imagination and other architecture firm owners are pissed. You will hear that the designs are crap, effortless, repetitive, (i.e world trade 2) but he knows exactly how to sell his product. which most small firms dont know how to do because they are caught up in building codes and making the best p.o.s american corporate office building. Maybe that is why so many great architects are from Europe.
(fin)
Go study architecture and you will see a few of these things happen while you are in studio. you will work long long hours into the night while your peers are out socializing and partying. You will struggle to find internships that pay well while your counter parts will experience a few different fields of their careers with less stress/hours/better pay. you will be told you are lucky to have a job and that how the business works. NOT ALL ARCHITECTS AND PEOPLE WHO STUDY ARCHITECTURE FEEL THIS WAY. A good amount of my friends enjoy it and making decent money. One friend of mine went from jr architect in his firm to BIM manager making a great salary now while still being in the architecture field. What people need to understand is when to get out. you will see almost half of your class leave architecture in the 1st year of school and that is probably the best decision they can make because it only gets more stressful. some people like my self hesitate because they like to hold on to this non sense dream they they will be able to design a great building or they are in it because this is what they are happy doing neglecting other aspects of life they bring better happiness. work/life balance is an actual thing in other professions and for the most part it is non existent in architecture.
I say go ahead and study it because the only way you will find out if its for you is if you experience it for your self. you can read all you want how great or horrible it is but you wont fully comprehend it until you experience it. just keep in mind some of these things i pointed out. finance is important, your life outside of architecture is important, and you can leave when ever you want. The idea that you need to be a professional architect because architecture doesnt set you up with no other skills is bogus. This idea is from the culture set up in the profession and school. you can do anything else if you decide to.
Non Sequitur- Thank you for the advice. While I was researching , there were users in online forums the said they got less salary then what they are told and work for long hours with very little time along with a struggle to find a decent job after graduation. I understand architecture career is still recovering after the recession period, so by the time I'll graduate it might be better than what it is now hopefully. But again, architect career is not my 100% decision since I'm now more concerned about colleges, major, and scholarships.
Driko-Thank you for the insight of architecture lifestyle, your information is pretty eye opening about how career functions. I'm not fully committed to a certain career and still exploring alternative options but I'm sure about the major I'll take. I thought architecture in first place because it's a career that made sense to me because my personal strengths are creativity and math which are used in this career field. Finding a career based on these strengths with decent salary is not easily available. Overall you're right, only experience can tell me if I want that career or not.
Absolutely! With a B.Arch Degree you can get job in any private firm as a fresher architect in India. And the best part about being involved in Architecture is that you thrive in the field on the basis of the work you are willing to do and your ability to learn, and not specifically on your degree. the job pay is pretty good too. Although, the real estate is not booming right now, given the right opportunities, B.Arch is still a more lucrative career than engineering. You can always have the option of starting your own firm and provide consultancy services. Though a word of advice would be to do B.Arch ONLY if you are genuinely interested in architecture. It demands dedication and ALOT of time and effort. Just be sure of your interest before you jump into something as demanding as architecture.
given the right opportunities, B.Arch is still a more lucrative career than engineering. You can always have the option of starting your own firm and provide consultancy services.
You sound like a naive millennial that took the blue pill and didnt read what others said above, and my guess is that you have very little real world knowledge of the AEC field.
Dirko nailed it on the head. Just stay the fux outta architecture unless youre stupid enough to believe you can be some magnanimous starchitect, and that all the plight that has been written about how sucky this industry is, is because others couldnt handle it because they just arent as awesome at life as you are.
If you think that way, then you deserve to be bitch slapped by reality.
Seconding Architectural Engineering. The program I'm in gives students a really robust engineering base from which to branch out into numerous areas of concentration. Structural, HVAC, electrical, data and automation systems, energy modelling, and environmental issues such as indoor air quality and pollutants; there are so many interesting options.
As the "internet of things" becomes more and more a reality, architects and engineers might benefit from learning to design data-driven systems and environments.
On second thought, computer science might not be a bad option either...
Get a civil engineering degree from an ABET accredited school. Take a concentration in structures courses. I advised the son of a good friend to do that and he did, much to my surprise. He is now 25 and is making $72,000 a year with excellent benefits. He does not yet have his PE degree. He loves his job and often works with architects and landscape architects and is very happy with his present position. A degree in architectural engineering may also be worth a look. If you get any engineering degree, make sure it is an ABET accredited major. There are manifold problems with the architectural education establishment, the NAAB, the NCARB, and the AIA that are not being addressed. Just avoid the whole train-wreck.
don't get a professional degree expecting to pivot to something else. if you care about $$ and want to avoid the crapshoot of getting into a top 10 business school, then get a civil engineering, environmental engineering, or petroleum engineering degree from a school like colorado school of mines, montana tech, or your in-state engineering school
What are the alternative careers with higher salary?
What are the alternative careers with professional(B.Arch ) or pre professional(B.S.Arch) architecture degree that have higher salaries than architect career?
Most of them.
Your're just a highschool kid. Why are you worried about higher salaries? If money is your goal, pick an easier and more lucrative degree.
crook
+1 for Non S's comment.
Become a specialist. That involves taking on the shit job in a larger firm. The one most likely to be outsourced because of a lack of skill, knowledge and/or interest.
work for a real estate developer
I am not sure what the respondents are thinking here. Some of the answers here are more harsh than what I expected which is understandable since I didn't clarify myself. I was researching about architect career in terms of career prospect and salary. I know the salary is pretty decent and sensitive to economy and location including the option of alternatives career that uses same major that may be better than architect in terms of salary. As for my question, I don't necessarily mean careers with high salary that I could afford a big house and luxurious car. I'm referring to ones that give better job prospects along with decent salary, higher than architect salary. I'm not fully committed about my future and would like to keep my options open. I may be a young kid, but I have don't mean to have an intention to be unrealistic and deluded. Sorry if I'm giving that vibe in this forum.
What are your salary expectations? What are you looking for?
The construction world seems to pay more than the architecture world, but it is equally as subject to the spikes and troughs of the market. Also, lots more competitive dick-swinging, which may be a pro or a con depending on your own personality.
James Petty- I'm looking for a career that has better starting salary than architect on the average level with better job prospects.
engineer. if you are in the midwest you could apply for an Architectural Enginering degree, which I do not see often on the east coast. Some schools used to provide the possibility of earning a archtiecture degree by doing one more year - in other words you would be eligable for a PE and RA license......in NYC at least an RA and PE license are essentially interchangeable, and for the most part most places........the higher starting salaries would be in construction management. the path to very high salaries and remaining involved in design and building is essentially study engineering or architecture, intern a lot at firms while in school, do maybe 1-2 years at a firm that has both Architecture and Engineering, do a stint at a CM or GC company and then go work for ownership - developers.
If you're looking to roll knee deep in caviar with a 6-figure salary after graduation, then you need to reevaluate your goals, but decent wages are there for talented individuals who know how's o design well and, more importantly, but buildings together correctly. The point is, financial compensation is tied to what you bring to an office, not just because you pushed through a dos not drop out of a degree midway through.
The point is, financial compensation is tied to what you bring to an office, not just because you pushed through a degree without dropping out midway through.
Also what Olaf said.
(I could be wrong)
expanding what Non Sequitur said. Anyone could correct me if im wrong but these are my observations.
When people/young students hear that architects don't make much money they usually thing... "i dont need alot of money" "money isnt everything" ", I don't necessarily mean careers with high salary that I could afford a big house and luxurious car". What people are really trying to say is that it is not affordable to be an architect. The lifestyle is on average poor and a small percent can escape it.
(career path)
Not a lot of careers will directly lead you to be a "rich" man/woman besides a MBA or law programs form the top 10 schools where the starting salary for their students is upwards of 115k. i exclude medical school because its a long process and even though they start at high salaries they spend 4 years in med school making nothing and 3-5 years in residency making close to nothing. Most buisness and engineering degrees from the average universities will lead you into a salary from 40k-50K starting and the starting salary for an architect should be around 40k-50k. So it usually seems that studying architecture has just as much of a pay off as studying anything else. This is how i use to think and i don't expect anyone else who hasn't been around the architecture profession to understand this huge difference. 40k upward is a good salary for someone with an undergraduate degree (i would urge to push for 5k more but 40k is fine) so a B.arch can get you this salary but the difference is one more year of undergrad where another degree you can save a year (4 years vs 5 years) OK so you loose a year of not making money BUT you are also spending one more year on tuition. so when your counter parts have started paying off debt/saving you will be behind one year and have a larger debt. at this time they should/usually get a raise in pay. so now in the same amount of time (5 years) the 4 year degree has already made more than the 5 year B.Arch. if you get a BS.Arch you will save one year and your salary should be around 30-40k so still less in the same amount of time.
(lifestyle)
This is where i usually hear the argument that money is not everything and that people should do what they love. Which is fine i mean just because your an accountant or a financial analyst doesn't mean your not doing what you love. while the architect is working 60+ hours a week year long because if they are not they have a good chance of their firm laying people off, the accountant is working 35-40 hours a week on the down season (typically summer right after tax season). This gives the other professions time to travel, take night classes, spend time with family and friends while the architect is working late and catching up on sleep during the weekends. Other firms/companies also have better benefits. When i left architecture for my first non architecture job my salary increased and my vacation time increased + other benefits. Take a look at how most tech companies operate. They value their employees and give them time off and provide a team/company atmosphere to make it enjoyable for the people who work their and im not talking about the big tech companies, Take a look at some small ones or startup ones. where in architecture most people feel like slaves.
While other people are saving your saving to get your architecture license if you still continue this route and spending your time studying for your 7 exams. What exam does a marketer have to take to practice marketing? how much do they make? what are their work weeks like? The license makes sense for architecture until you look at salary, compensation, and how long architects work and how much liability they take on by stamping a drawing.
(business)
my favorite one is "i want to start my own practice after a few years of experience". I actually thought this as well which is probably why its my favorite when i hear other people say this. Its actually a stupid reason to go into architecture school or become a licensed architect. 1) the amount of time and debt you will take on from architecture school will hold you back from taking out more debt to start your own practice. 2) This is usually a way architects and most people think they can make money, by starting your own business. 3) understand your competition and what are you going to bring to the field that every other architect hasnt already. People think that all they need to do is make an app or come up with a cool idea and it will take off from there. software business is notable for this because it costs almost nothing to start a application or tech company where as most businesses have a high start up cost. this is one of the reasons why the tech industry is booming and people are more likely to invest in tech vs bio-med, textiles, solar. So if a tech guy starts an app and it fails they loose almost no money but gained a huge amount of experience to put on their github/linkedin/resume and then start from scratch again since the loss is so low.
(Off Topic/ sort of)
Bjarke is a hero to architecture. But i dont think he is much of an architect as a great marketer and business man. Yes is more! was the best marketing campaign IMO in the architecture profession. It is raved about at schools by the students and when you show people outside of architecture it makes the profession go from suite and tie to hipster shirts and euro jeans. people want to buy into that culture which is the same culture the tech companies have captured. I think gensler is going into that direction and a few other firms but im not entirely sure. This is why BIG is so great because they have tapped into a part of the market that everyone wants. they have captured the imagination and other architecture firm owners are pissed. You will hear that the designs are crap, effortless, repetitive, (i.e world trade 2) but he knows exactly how to sell his product. which most small firms dont know how to do because they are caught up in building codes and making the best p.o.s american corporate office building. Maybe that is why so many great architects are from Europe.
(fin)
Go study architecture and you will see a few of these things happen while you are in studio. you will work long long hours into the night while your peers are out socializing and partying. You will struggle to find internships that pay well while your counter parts will experience a few different fields of their careers with less stress/hours/better pay. you will be told you are lucky to have a job and that how the business works. NOT ALL ARCHITECTS AND PEOPLE WHO STUDY ARCHITECTURE FEEL THIS WAY. A good amount of my friends enjoy it and making decent money. One friend of mine went from jr architect in his firm to BIM manager making a great salary now while still being in the architecture field. What people need to understand is when to get out. you will see almost half of your class leave architecture in the 1st year of school and that is probably the best decision they can make because it only gets more stressful. some people like my self hesitate because they like to hold on to this non sense dream they they will be able to design a great building or they are in it because this is what they are happy doing neglecting other aspects of life they bring better happiness. work/life balance is an actual thing in other professions and for the most part it is non existent in architecture.
I say go ahead and study it because the only way you will find out if its for you is if you experience it for your self. you can read all you want how great or horrible it is but you wont fully comprehend it until you experience it. just keep in mind some of these things i pointed out. finance is important, your life outside of architecture is important, and you can leave when ever you want. The idea that you need to be a professional architect because architecture doesnt set you up with no other skills is bogus. This idea is from the culture set up in the profession and school. you can do anything else if you decide to.
Good luck.
Non Sequitur- Thank you for the advice. While I was researching , there were users in online forums the said they got less salary then what they are told and work for long hours with very little time along with a struggle to find a decent job after graduation. I understand architecture career is still recovering after the recession period, so by the time I'll graduate it might be better than what it is now hopefully. But again, architect career is not my 100% decision since I'm now more concerned about colleges, major, and scholarships.
Driko-Thank you for the insight of architecture lifestyle, your information is pretty eye opening about how career functions. I'm not fully committed to a certain career and still exploring alternative options but I'm sure about the major I'll take. I thought architecture in first place because it's a career that made sense to me because my personal strengths are creativity and math which are used in this career field. Finding a career based on these strengths with decent salary is not easily available. Overall you're right, only experience can tell me if I want that career or not.
Absolutely! With a B.Arch Degree you can get job in any private firm as a fresher architect in India. And the best part about being involved in Architecture is that you thrive in the field on the basis of the work you are willing to do and your ability to learn, and not specifically on your degree.
the job pay is pretty good too. Although, the real estate is not booming right now, given the right opportunities, B.Arch is still a more lucrative career than engineering. You can always have the option of starting your own firm and provide consultancy services.
Though a word of advice would be to do B.Arch ONLY if you are genuinely interested in architecture. It demands dedication and ALOT of time and effort. Just be sure of your interest before you jump into something as demanding as architecture.
given the right opportunities, B.Arch is still a more lucrative career than engineering. You can always have the option of starting your own firm and provide consultancy services.
You sound like a naive millennial that took the blue pill and didnt read what others said above, and my guess is that you have very little real world knowledge of the AEC field.
Dirko nailed it on the head. Just stay the fux outta architecture unless youre stupid enough to believe you can be some magnanimous starchitect, and that all the plight that has been written about how sucky this industry is, is because others couldnt handle it because they just arent as awesome at life as you are.
If you think that way, then you deserve to be bitch slapped by reality.
Seconding Architectural Engineering. The program I'm in gives students a really robust engineering base from which to branch out into numerous areas of concentration. Structural, HVAC, electrical, data and automation systems, energy modelling, and environmental issues such as indoor air quality and pollutants; there are so many interesting options.
As the "internet of things" becomes more and more a reality, architects and engineers might benefit from learning to design data-driven systems and environments.
On second thought, computer science might not be a bad option either...
It makes no sense to major in architecture if you don't plan to become an architect.
Get a civil engineering degree from an ABET accredited school. Take a concentration in structures courses. I advised the son of a good friend to do that and he did, much to my surprise. He is now 25 and is making $72,000 a year with excellent benefits. He does not yet have his PE degree. He loves his job and often works with architects and landscape architects and is very happy with his present position. A degree in architectural engineering may also be worth a look. If you get any engineering degree, make sure it is an ABET accredited major. There are manifold problems with the architectural education establishment, the NAAB, the NCARB, and the AIA that are not being addressed. Just avoid the whole train-wreck.
don't get a professional degree expecting to pivot to something else. if you care about $$ and want to avoid the crapshoot of getting into a top 10 business school, then get a civil engineering, environmental engineering, or petroleum engineering degree from a school like colorado school of mines, montana tech, or your in-state engineering school
Volunteer and Dangermouse are giving you great advice. Listen to them.
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