Interesting article. They're taking the for-profit schools to task, which is understandable, but I don't see how public schools are any different. Granted, no university admissions is going to promise a salary for something like a poetry major, but I was promised a job and income level with a degree in Architecture. They did promote their vast amumni network, named some major firms that had alumni at the top of them (and liked to hire from their school), showed 1st year wages of the most recent graduating class, and said I'd make that or more when I got my BArch in 5 years.

It wasn't as easy as they made it sound, but thankfully I graduated enough years ago to take advantage of a mostly rising economy.

Still, for most careers, including Architecture, you learn more on-the-job than anywhere else. Granted, some careers require a degree, Architecture included, but many do not. I have a few friends in trades that just learned on the job and worked their way up and are doing quite well. The problem is breaking in at that entry level. Tough to do in any career path right now.

My public university did make a "guarantee (more of a grand gesture)" that more than 80% of their graduates were employed within a year of graduating.

However, statistics from their alumnus association point out that something like 85% of all graduates are within a 100 miles of the campus.

there are a handful of very vocal archinecters that are absolutely obsessed with this notion of educational return on investment. to them, architecture is this dollars and cents profession where at the end of the day the true measure of success is having a balanced ledger line or even better to find oneself in the black. to me this is an incredibly bizarre notion that leaves out all of the intangible assets of higher education and many of the non-financial benefits of a career in architecture. quite honestly if your only interest in architectural education is return on investment you are absolutely in the wrong profession. you would be much happier, much more successful and probably better suited to a career in finance.

It happens to be one, if not the most important, factor for the reason interns or licensed architects end up having to leave the field for something else that might allow them to pay off their student loans and start a life with a spouse, kids and house. It's a biggy and I am trying to help people interested in this field find a way to make that work. So if i suggest that your M.Arch costs you an extra $50,000 on top of the $50,000 you spent on your B.Arch and that may determine your confort level later in life, I think it is beneificial. If you are young and haven't gotten it yet, you can learn something here or not. Up to you guys but I am trying to help.

All I hear from the other side is "go to college for more than the return in salary" "Because you love it" That just does not fly after you leave the nest my friend. Handing out irresponsible advice like that screws people in the long run. Telling people to go work first, then decide on more college is the responsible or correct thing to tell the majority of interns as they will find out something the rest of licensed architects already know. Which is that they can practice architecture without the M.Arch in most cases and if they need one, the costs associated with it could push you out later on even though you find architecture fulfilling. Now where are you? OUT.

i see what you're saying, otf, and i don't disagree with a lot of it. paying for higher education is a balancing act that i personally feel everyday, weighing the rewards of my employment, connections formed in grad school, and a greater awareness of the profession and larger world around me, all of which i attribute to my education, versus the $1,000/month my wife and i pay combined towards our student loans. seriously, there are very few days that go by that i don't think about it, but everytime my wife and i sit down to talk about it, we decide that the rewards from our education outweigh our financial liabilities. i'm not saying higher education is worth it for everyone, but it was for me.

In my experience it is not paying off. At all.

Again, we are all different. SO I am glad it works for some people.

Winston is one of those who this didn't work out for. Many others were also not made aware of the issues.

If your education is paid for or is low in terms of how much it costs, you may want to stay in school for as long as possible. That only makes sense.

But for those of us either not in Canada or similar countries or who have to take out large loans, I suggest going right into the architectural field upon getting the pre prof 4 year degree or 5 year B.Arch. Feel it out, then go back if youu think it will pay off.

Cuz backwards engineering $150,000 in loans is going to be tough.

I don't want people thinking I am against M.Arch or more education or against architecture. I love the field. I think you need to understand somthing though. I left school with about $15,000 in debt in 1997. VA and GI Bill paid for my way through and I took out some small loans for other purposes. 3 years after graduating I paid off my loans and had a mortgage for my condo. 10 years later, new house, wife and 2 kids I saw my friends both with and without degrees were making $20,000, $30,000, $40,000 , $50,000 and up to $75,000 more than I was. I had to move up or out. With the recession and this field in total collapse I moved out by 2008 and into a plans examiner position which did not require a degree nor licensure.

I now make a lot more money. Certainly more than the people I left in the last firm I worked in. They are cut to 85% of their pay from 2008 and hours are 26 per week. Several school friends in architecture are out of work. My previous employers are taking out loans to pay for the remaining peoples salaries, meaning that those employers have not had a pay check in over one year. It's not easy in this field. You need to figure in recessions and unemployment and lower than expected wages in good times let alone bad times.

You can't go at it with that warm fuzzy feeling that you enjoy being in school and forget what it costs. It's going to cost you far more than you think in the end.

Do the math. If it makes sense, go for it.

Hopefully, this one fella I know, winston smith, will cross your minds while you set your future course of actions.