I will be graduating the M Arch I program in december and I've been recently been applying for jobs. I received my first offer for a from in Philadelphia. They offered $43,000 salary plus 1.5x for overtime which is about $20.50/hr. This summer I made $18/hr as a summer intern so this seems kind of low to me. Is this wage typical for philly for someone else starting out with both a Master's and bachelor's in architecture? I feel like $48-50,000 would be what I should be looking for. Am I right to think this is a petty low offer?
chigurh
Nov 9, 15 5:12 pm
no - masters degree = beginner level 0
lucky they are offering you overtime pay.
tduds
Nov 9, 15 5:21 pm
Do you have any experience outside of academia? Have you worked full time in an office?
no_form
Nov 9, 15 5:25 pm
They're paying you overtime? Do you really think you are a"Prince"125?
curtkram
Nov 9, 15 5:26 pm
the fine folks at the aia put together this salary calculator page
high surpluslow demand equals little pay.I'd say try to negotiate, but if you have no real world experience beyond an internship then it's going to be hard to leverage that. Welcome to the ride, buckle up and hold on... You're going to want to.
tduds
Nov 9, 15 5:49 pm
I don't know what cost of living is in Philly but that's slightly more than I was making in DC (high cost of living) in 2008 with no experience, and slightly more than I was making in Portland (low cost of living) in 2014 with several years of experience.
On one hand, it's low. On the other hand, it's about average for architecture. Welcome to the club, it gets better, sometimes.
David Cole, AIA
Nov 9, 15 5:58 pm
Low 40's for an entry-level graduate in Philly is about average, per the latest AIA compensation report. Be happy you're getting paid for overtime. The good news is, the cost of living in Philly is pretty cheap compared to most other east coast cities and you're only a couple hours from NYC.
chigurh
Nov 9, 15 6:07 pm
me me me! where is my gold star? I want a lolly!
DeTwan
Nov 9, 15 6:14 pm
where is sir Lord Balkins? he should be able to explain it all.
sameolddoctor
Nov 9, 15 6:17 pm
In other words, you are fucked.
awaiting_deletion
Nov 9, 15 6:48 pm
you'll triple that in 10 years or less if you are any good at what you do. and a firm that pays overtime understand value of an employee.
sameolddoctor
Nov 9, 15 7:03 pm
129k in 10 years?
tduds
Nov 9, 15 7:04 pm
Maybe if you're the best at what you do.
If youre any good you might double it. Just hurry up and get licensed.
awaiting_deletion
Nov 9, 15 7:07 pm
i was thinking more like 120. and yeah 80 would be where you would be at after 10 years. with a license of course.
sameolddoctor
Nov 9, 15 7:09 pm
120, if the OP gets to be a "Director of Design", as per the AIA calculator...which is highly unlikely, if not impossible in my experience.
A senior project designer, pulling down 93k (again, according to the AIA calculator) is still likely...
awaiting_deletion
Nov 9, 15 7:12 pm
let me rephrase. best at what you do 120. good at what you 80
APrince125
Nov 9, 15 7:29 pm
Thanks for the input. I have not worked full time besides 4 summer internships (including on at this firm that sent the offer). I was looking to get a bit more but I'll try and negotiate with them and get looking elsewhere/talk to firms I have already interviewd with and see if I can get a better offer. Thanks for the help
null pointer
Nov 9, 15 7:40 pm
Olaf's projections are on point.
But you can break 120 with less than 10 years if you're good at what you do.
Koww
Nov 10, 15 12:34 am
everyone on this forum makes over 100k. that's why we're so nice.
ivorykeyboard
Nov 10, 15 12:45 am
Cheer up, 43k in Philly is like making 73k in SF. No jokes
I live and work in Oakland - SF is out of my league - it's only for well healed techies and hot shoe architects
s=r*(theta)
Nov 10, 15 5:54 pm
you are very blessed to be getting 43k right out of college!!!! Jeez after graduating with a M.Arch and 3years of drafting experience, best offer I got was 35k, granted the avg intern arch. in north dakota is around 33k if you are really lucky or have nice arms 36k
3tk
Nov 11, 15 5:13 pm
43k in Philly sounds about right - but you might wait to see what others offer to see how it compares. 48k-50k is usually for those that have a couple of yrs experience or can show you can be 100% actual billable w/o down time and minimal guidance. Most of the time new graduates cost money to keep around btw the mistakes, slow work rate, and mentoring required. Once you can run through project tasks w/o errors or stalling, you'll make the higher $.
I will be graduating the M Arch I program in december and I've been recently been applying for jobs. I received my first offer for a from in Philadelphia. They offered $43,000 salary plus 1.5x for overtime which is about $20.50/hr. This summer I made $18/hr as a summer intern so this seems kind of low to me. Is this wage typical for philly for someone else starting out with both a Master's and bachelor's in architecture? I feel like $48-50,000 would be what I should be looking for. Am I right to think this is a petty low offer?
no - masters degree = beginner level 0
lucky they are offering you overtime pay.
Do you have any experience outside of academia? Have you worked full time in an office?
They're paying you overtime? Do you really think you are a"Prince"125?
the fine folks at the aia put together this salary calculator page
http://info.aia.org/salary/
high surpluslow demand equals little pay.I'd say try to negotiate, but if you have no real world experience beyond an internship then it's going to be hard to leverage that. Welcome to the ride, buckle up and hold on... You're going to want to.
I don't know what cost of living is in Philly but that's slightly more than I was making in DC (high cost of living) in 2008 with no experience, and slightly more than I was making in Portland (low cost of living) in 2014 with several years of experience.
On one hand, it's low. On the other hand, it's about average for architecture. Welcome to the club, it gets better, sometimes.
Low 40's for an entry-level graduate in Philly is about average, per the latest AIA compensation report. Be happy you're getting paid for overtime. The good news is, the cost of living in Philly is pretty cheap compared to most other east coast cities and you're only a couple hours from NYC.
me me me! where is my gold star? I want a lolly!
where is sir Lord Balkins? he should be able to explain it all.
In other words, you are fucked.
you'll triple that in 10 years or less if you are any good at what you do. and a firm that pays overtime understand value of an employee.
129k in 10 years?
Maybe if you're the best at what you do.
If youre any good you might double it. Just hurry up and get licensed.
i was thinking more like 120. and yeah 80 would be where you would be at after 10 years. with a license of course.
120, if the OP gets to be a "Director of Design", as per the AIA calculator...which is highly unlikely, if not impossible in my experience.
A senior project designer, pulling down 93k (again, according to the AIA calculator) is still likely...
let me rephrase. best at what you do 120. good at what you 80
Thanks for the input. I have not worked full time besides 4 summer internships (including on at this firm that sent the offer). I was looking to get a bit more but I'll try and negotiate with them and get looking elsewhere/talk to firms I have already interviewd with and see if I can get a better offer. Thanks for the help
Olaf's projections are on point.
But you can break 120 with less than 10 years if you're good at what you do.
everyone on this forum makes over 100k. that's why we're so nice.
Cheer up, 43k in Philly is like making 73k in SF. No jokes
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+States&country2=United+States&city1=Philadelphia%2C+PA&city2=San+Francisco%2C+CA
Sounds about normal for M.Arch.
Horrible compared to other majors.
It's a hard path we choose.....
I live and work in Oakland - SF is out of my league - it's only for well healed techies and hot shoe architects
you are very blessed to be getting 43k right out of college!!!! Jeez after graduating with a M.Arch and 3years of drafting experience, best offer I got was 35k, granted the avg intern arch. in north dakota is around 33k if you are really lucky or have nice arms 36k
43k in Philly sounds about right - but you might wait to see what others offer to see how it compares. 48k-50k is usually for those that have a couple of yrs experience or can show you can be 100% actual billable w/o down time and minimal guidance. Most of the time new graduates cost money to keep around btw the mistakes, slow work rate, and mentoring required. Once you can run through project tasks w/o errors or stalling, you'll make the higher $.