I had a general question about the roll a BIM / Digital Design Coordinator would have in an office both today and 5-10 years down the road.
This position in particular is why I posted and while this position isn't of direct interest it does make me as a few questions that could help my direction in the profession.
Would this be considered a position that could lead to upper management fairly easy and fast? Also what would be a ball park salary for some one to fill, for example, this position and one in a larger firm?
It seems to me given the technical nature of the job one would be paid significantly more than a standard architectural designer or even an architect at the practice. Also you would, I imagine, eventually be a key link in the building process of the firm and that would lead me to believe that you would be controlling the information of a high percentage of projects at a firm. Given this knowledge and intimacy with the projects and the firms process it seems the "skill or expertise" you gain with all of the firms projects would place you in a key position for junior partner or partner in no time at all. Especially considering you set up their standards, know there network and will have a serious knowledge set the current partners don't posses and don't want to posses.
* this is of course all based on the fact that you would be exceptionally good at your job.
A BIM Manager is like a CAD Manager to most of the 'old-school' architects, though the former position entails far more responsibility than the latter.
I set up standards, manage information for projects and even manage a project team as far as what tasks will be performed by whom. I create and maintain standard details that are used by the firm, I work one on one with the Principal, CEO and President.
I make significantly more than I would as an Intern Architect (I'm two years out of school) but have a corresponding increase in responsibility and amount of BS I have to put up with from upper management.
A BIM Manager salary could start out around 60,000 and then increase to a peak of 85-100,000 USD. Pretty nice wages for an architectural office, but most BIM Managers that I work with with a longer tenure/who are at larger companies are viewed more as part of the support/IT staff than the Architectural design team. Since the office where I work has seen a decreased workload over the past year and a half, I have taken on a larger role in design, production and illustration.
It's definitely a growing field, and a challenging field. To be extremely successful you must be able to know the software (in most cases, REVIT) better than the back of your hand. When integrating with consultants, people working without proper training can cause small errors that result in huge amounts of time lost, and if you are the BIM manager, the blame seems to permeate through the Architect or CAD tech to you.
Could be a fast track to partnership... but I wouldn't count on it.
If you want to make partner you usually have to bring in work, and you won't do that from behind a screen. On the other hand as firms commit more to BIM the manager of those systems becomes indispensable.
Not to mention the fact that with IPD and BIM you have a completely different interdisciplinary relationship and work flow than before...The AIA actually recommends that for each IPD project the entire team forms an LLC... The BIM Manager will be the on on staff who is most qualified to interface with consultants and field questions regarding responsibility/scope of work and ownership of building elements. I think because of the liability concerns and contractual obligations a BIM manager has far more responsibility than just 'fixing' software problems.
Mar 9, 10 10:18 am ·
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BIM / Digital Design Coordinator
I had a general question about the roll a BIM / Digital Design Coordinator would have in an office both today and 5-10 years down the road.
This position in particular is why I posted and while this position isn't of direct interest it does make me as a few questions that could help my direction in the profession.
http://archinect.com/jobs/description.php?id=95693_0_30_0_C#ixzz0eTlPBNOJ
Would this be considered a position that could lead to upper management fairly easy and fast? Also what would be a ball park salary for some one to fill, for example, this position and one in a larger firm?
It seems to me given the technical nature of the job one would be paid significantly more than a standard architectural designer or even an architect at the practice. Also you would, I imagine, eventually be a key link in the building process of the firm and that would lead me to believe that you would be controlling the information of a high percentage of projects at a firm. Given this knowledge and intimacy with the projects and the firms process it seems the "skill or expertise" you gain with all of the firms projects would place you in a key position for junior partner or partner in no time at all. Especially considering you set up their standards, know there network and will have a serious knowledge set the current partners don't posses and don't want to posses.
* this is of course all based on the fact that you would be exceptionally good at your job.
Thanks!
My .02
A BIM Manager is like a CAD Manager to most of the 'old-school' architects, though the former position entails far more responsibility than the latter.
I set up standards, manage information for projects and even manage a project team as far as what tasks will be performed by whom. I create and maintain standard details that are used by the firm, I work one on one with the Principal, CEO and President.
I make significantly more than I would as an Intern Architect (I'm two years out of school) but have a corresponding increase in responsibility and amount of BS I have to put up with from upper management.
A BIM Manager salary could start out around 60,000 and then increase to a peak of 85-100,000 USD. Pretty nice wages for an architectural office, but most BIM Managers that I work with with a longer tenure/who are at larger companies are viewed more as part of the support/IT staff than the Architectural design team. Since the office where I work has seen a decreased workload over the past year and a half, I have taken on a larger role in design, production and illustration.
It's definitely a growing field, and a challenging field. To be extremely successful you must be able to know the software (in most cases, REVIT) better than the back of your hand. When integrating with consultants, people working without proper training can cause small errors that result in huge amounts of time lost, and if you are the BIM manager, the blame seems to permeate through the Architect or CAD tech to you.
Could be a fast track to partnership... but I wouldn't count on it.
Making upper management/partner through BIM / Digital Design Coordinator? Wishful thinking. I don't see this as a track to partnership.
If you want to be upper management, you have to manage the design process, not the design tools.
If you want to make partner you usually have to bring in work, and you won't do that from behind a screen. On the other hand as firms commit more to BIM the manager of those systems becomes indispensable.
Not to mention the fact that with IPD and BIM you have a completely different interdisciplinary relationship and work flow than before...The AIA actually recommends that for each IPD project the entire team forms an LLC... The BIM Manager will be the on on staff who is most qualified to interface with consultants and field questions regarding responsibility/scope of work and ownership of building elements. I think because of the liability concerns and contractual obligations a BIM manager has far more responsibility than just 'fixing' software problems.
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