Just graduated from a 5 year B.Arch program, and had these questions for a while. (What is the career trajectory like, will I actually be as broke as people tell me I will be?) So I visualized 13,000+ surveys Archinect has collected since 2013. The results are fascinating, and sometimes disheartening. For instance:
➡️ The median salary over all years is $64,000. Architects with higher salaries are generally more satisfied—but not always.
➡️ The percentage of female architects drops significantly with years of experience.
This is a beta version, so I would love some feedback! Let me know if anything feels unclear, or if you have ideas for new features or insights to include.
One question I have is if the age of the data points is being factored in at all? Old salaries are going to tend to depress the medians and possibly skew the picture of today's pay rates. There has been a clear trend to pay people more in the past five years or so.
Nov 21, 24 12:00 pm ·
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desaiwang
Yes! Thanks for this great observation! I think I should account for inflation-adjusted income to counter the skew!
I agree that salaries don't move in lockstep with inflation. Most places will do a small raise every year, but rarely do they effectively keep up with inflation, and certainly not the inflation of recent years. The shift I have seen in my locality was entry level salaries have moved from $37.5 - $42K ish to $50k - low $60k's. This has happened roughly between 2020 and now. The driver seemed to be the labor shortages associated with COVID. Candidates were not accepting offers made at the lower previous salary levels. That said, the slowing design market in 2024 has brought all of this salary growth to a screeching halt in my community.
I graduated in 2002 with a 5 year B.Arch. Yes, I'm old. Get off my lawn.
I started out at $28k a year in Duluth, MN. Prices were different. I was able to afford a used car, an apartment to myself, and support my medical costs as a type 1 diabetic. I didn't have much extra money but I was still able to have fun.
I've never worked in a major metro area. The largest community I've worked in has been around 350k. I've only occasionally done overtime and typically limit it to around 100 hours a year.
Now I make in low six figures. I'm married. If it wasn't for needing health insurance I could retire at 55 years old. I am licensed in three states.
I give you all that background to say that you can make it in this profession without working long hours for no pay. It's all about the firm you work with.
How much do architects make? And how is it related to job satisfaction?
Just graduated from a 5 year B.Arch program, and had these questions for a while. (What is the career trajectory like, will I actually be as broke as people tell me I will be?) So I visualized 13,000+ surveys Archinect has collected since 2013. The results are fascinating, and sometimes disheartening. For instance:
➡️ The median salary over all years is $64,000. Architects with higher salaries are generally more satisfied—but not always.
➡️ The percentage of female architects drops significantly with years of experience.
If you want to check out the visualization: desaiwang.github.io/architects-salary
This is a beta version, so I would love some feedback! Let me know if anything feels unclear, or if you have ideas for new features or insights to include.
Just need to get it out and say that that dot graphic would make for a good dress shirt pattern.
This is really good!
One question I have is if the age of the data points is being factored in at all? Old salaries are going to tend to depress the medians and possibly skew the picture of today's pay rates. There has been a clear trend to pay people more in the past five years or so.
Yes! Thanks for this great observation! I think I should account for inflation-adjusted income to counter the skew!
I don't think salaries have adjusted to inflation after covid, I might be wrong. It's a great visualization.
I think you're correct JLC-1. Then again, salaries haven't kept up with inflation since around 1999.
I agree that salaries don't move in lockstep with inflation. Most places will do a small raise every year, but rarely do they effectively keep up with inflation, and certainly not the inflation of recent years. The shift I have seen in my locality was entry level salaries have moved from $37.5 - $42K ish to $50k - low $60k's. This has happened roughly between 2020 and now. The driver seemed to be the labor shortages associated with COVID. Candidates were not accepting offers made at the lower previous salary levels. That said, the slowing design market in 2024 has brought all of this salary growth to a screeching halt in my community.
A bit of background:
I graduated in 2002 with a 5 year B.Arch. Yes, I'm old. Get off my lawn.
I started out at $28k a year in Duluth, MN. Prices were different. I was able to afford a used car, an apartment to myself, and support my medical costs as a type 1 diabetic. I didn't have much extra money but I was still able to have fun.
I've never worked in a major metro area. The largest community I've worked in has been around 350k. I've only occasionally done overtime and typically limit it to around 100 hours a year.
Now I make in low six figures. I'm married. If it wasn't for needing health insurance I could retire at 55 years old. I am licensed in three states.
I give you all that background to say that you can make it in this profession without working long hours for no pay. It's all about the firm you work with.
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