hopefully someone here can back me up, but my assumption is that construction management would be a good thing to get a job/internship in, if you can get one.  you'll get exposed to the construction process and the building industry, and your skill with numbers will actually be valuable (never done it, but cm students at my school had to take accounting, economics, and some other business courses).   most architecture grads are lacking in the construction department anyway, and its one of the major reasons why firms (at least the firm I work at) turns down applications (depending on what the firm does).

if you're going for an m.arch, you'll get the design skills at school.  learn software in your free time-- you'll have to anyway, because they won't teach it.

unfortunately, in an architecture setting your economics degree won't be that important.

You really must want to be poor all your life.

I'd suggest to do some more digging before you pose a question like this, your naive-ness is quite blatant  from the title.

You may be better off just getting a graduate CM degree and work for a large GC, they will appropriate your analytical background and a lot of the programs are at night and some good ones are even online. You would be able to get a job and do school at the same time and maybe even be able to get of the tab picked up if your lucky. look at this program maybe at Drexel (even has an option to do a concentration in Real Estate you may be better suited for development ) or Multiple other good schools have programs on campus and online. Architecture is pretty rough field and honestly it pays extremely low if your lucky to get a job and you really do not get to do that much design work at all, about 5 % get to do some kind of design work I would say the others are just underpaid project managers or production drafters and unemployed. I honestly think it would be a wise decision to go into CM and or development instead of architecture.

http://goodwin.drexel.edu/cmgt/grad_red.php

de twan- fuck you ! I have been researching and I am aware that architects are underpaid and there is a surplus of labor, not to mention how the US government is ruining everything. I am not sure how I was being naive, I feel like I am trying to be proactive in figuring out a way to get employed as an architect in the face of all of these obstacles. thanks for nothing, asshole ! 

backbay- helpful thank you ! 

beepbeep - I want to be an architect, I have already begun to invest money and time into learning the field of architecture. I am not concerned with other people or a surplus of labor because I know that if I practice hard and study that I can find a place doing architecture.  I am not interested in the quickest way to becoming rich, that is why I majored in economics and why I am unsatisfied looking to change my life.  However I can appreciate the advice you are giving me, and I am going to figure out how I can get into construction management now and over the course of the coming months.

 Perhaps I will find that construction management is a better path. But at this point I have spent this entire year putting together a portfolio to apply to M. Arch and I am applying to M. arch programs, if I get in this coming spring I will attend. Not to mention it's something that I have to find out is wrong for myself. I can't just go on people's word. If I am poor for my entire life then so be it, I have an econ degree to fall back on, there's alternatives if I find architecture is a dead end. 

This is irritating, I don't understand how architecture is so messed up. There's only a small number of accredited architecture programs in the US compared to the total number of colleges, architecture school is known for being hard and known for a high drop out rate... I feel like architecture takes a very specialized skill set, how and where are all of these people who are over saturating the market? Meeting architects is rare I feel compared to many other professions, even lawyers are more common. 

Is it a discrepancy between the amount time it takes to design a building compared to the time it takes to build it? Is it because of the economy, is there really not enough construction going on ? Is there not enough money out there to invest in construction? I have noticed that the project near Hollywood Blvd. and vine st has been put on hold, but that is because they built directly on top of a fault line, the architects have already been paid though right? 

Los Angeles is the most dilapidated, decrepit, and crumbling city that I have ever experienced.   All of the buildings around my work look like they are ready to turn to dust, how is there not opportunities for work?   

I will say however that a M.arch is a great education, and you get a lot out of it. I am glad I did one and I have been lucky enough stay employed so I think its good that you go for it, and I agree you need to figure it out for yourself. I think the issue with jobs is it is really difficult to get one out of school with no experience so try to get in anywhere you can, additionally I think there are not as many jobs because with the new advances in technology say things like REVIT a team of 3-4 can put a rather large scale building together instead of having maybe 10-14 working on it back with drafting and 2d cad, I think technology is just streamlining the workplace so not as many architects and drafters are needed to complete a project.

I mean go for it, you can do it!

Detwan- thanks man ! ^^; 

@keith: everyone on this site is disenchanted in one way or another, so take it all with a grain of salt.  a lot of them are the super pompous struggling artist types that can't seem to accept the fact that in the end, their life's body of work will probably consist of 100 different mcdonalds' and walmarts, and their cousin's friend's bedroom dormer. i personally like my job.  i look at the clock sometimes and the day is just gone... a far cry from some other jobs i've had where you're looking at the thing every 5 minutes.  i'm relatively new to the field, but i work at a smaller firm and get to do everything-- from preliminary research, schematic design, construction documents, and construction admin.  one week is completely different from the next week, and my mind is engaged the entire day.  there are boring things in every job, but enjoying it when you can is key.  everyone has different tastes, but when you find something you like doing, life is just so much better.  also, the pay isn't as bad as people make it sound.  at the very worst its on the low end of comfortable, provided you don't sell your soul to the bank-- which in that case, would mean every profession has the same problem.  don't do that-- you're better off just staying where you are if that's the case.  anyway, if you go into it thinking its all art and high design, you will be disappointed.  and if you don't like construction, or putting buildings together, or anything technical you will also be disappointed.  understand what the career actually entails, not what academia thinks its supposed to be, and not what general public knowledge thinks it should be.