I graduated with RIBA Part 1 a few years ago. I have been working in Canada since but not on the path to licensure. I’ve been a full time designer and now I’m leading comp design/viz and sometimes doing designer role stuff at a natural playground company near Toronto. I’m making 72,000 CAD a year and my job is relatively good work/life compared to when I was a designer at a well known design firm in Toronto, plus I’m living at home still so I’m saving a lot more. I probably have some salary room to grow as well, but that’s not really the point of considering a Masters for me anyways…

My dilemma is that I am almost 28 (I went to arch school late) and I have a good amount of experience, but without doing my Master’s, I’m not on the path to licensure. However, I have some niche skills which is why in part I’ve got hired fine without. That being said, I want to do architecture on my own soon, and I am also getting old, and so getting that Masters now at least could open the door if I choose to get licensed in the future. I could always return to a job like where I’m at now, but what I really would rather due is be an entrepreneur, so I look at a Masters as a way to culminate my last few years of experience before I do that, versus part of the accreditation process. In this profession I don’t think people take you seriously without it unfortunately…

I have been lucky to have a lot of architect mentors in my life, and some don’t believe in licensure really. What do you think? I would rather do the Masters now when I’m younger and don’t have kids or a family to take care of versus regret later in life.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Am I old? Also where would you study? What’s hot? I did my undergrad at a very conceptual design school on the fringes, and I tend to like that, versus big institutional things. I’m open to going international as long as it’s not the US where it’s impossible to get an ROI IMO even though SCI-Arc seems sick as.

Thanks for any help!