I am becoming increasingly convinced that the youngsters who have less than 5 years of experience and making the big bucks in Architecture are in a realm of Architecture that is incredibly prototypical, standardized, and repetitive. So if you want to make the big bucks as a younger member of the architectural community with less than 5 years of experience, you should have a chain / franchise business as a client- especially a bank. If you become a PM within the first 3 years, you can easily live in a doorman building in Manhattan.
curtkram
Sep 14, 16 1:55 pm
i think that's true. customizing solutions takes a lot more time for the same amount of money. i would not say 'especially a bank' for the chain though. making starbucks or quicktrip would be the same. retail is probably a better racket than designing banks.
Non Sequitur
Sep 14, 16 1:56 pm
define big bucks.
3tk
Sep 14, 16 1:57 pm
how about hi-end resi?
cipyboy
Sep 14, 16 2:19 pm
High end residential drains a firm more than any other. I have worked on a situation where one residential compound took 4/5 years to get built.
molten
Sep 14, 16 3:22 pm
I would agree with this also. The firm that I left a year ago (the firm that offered me 'big bucks' after accepting another offer) had work with a huge commercial client - work was highly repetitive. They were making a killing between a decent fee, combined with the fact that the half the CD set was already documented via a prototype.
null pointer
Sep 14, 16 5:53 pm
Bulgar - naw, there's like 15 people in NYC that can do what I did when I had 5 years of experience. Some architects saw my niche as bitchwork, I saw consulting work, and therefore got a few big bucks.
s=r*(theta)
Sep 14, 16 6:00 pm
I guess I missed it!? wuts wrong w/ that?
makingspace
Sep 14, 16 6:39 pm
bulgar, i'm damn close to that demographic, and in my own experience you're right. retail=highest paying. high end residential=minimum wage/exploitative wages. residential is a dime a dozen in my city which may be partially why the fees are so rock bottom low, even if the construction cost is $1+million dollars.
spiketwig
Sep 14, 16 7:29 pm
maybe big bucks if you own the business and are a good negotiator. not if you don't. speaking as someone who does retail & roll outs all day long...
bowling_ball
Sep 14, 16 10:07 pm
We do enough prototype retail to know that it's not always a money maker, but it is steady work and therefore helps pay the bills over the course of a year.
Owners make big bucks. The rest of us just convince ourselves that we do, because what choice do we have?
BulgarBlogger
Sep 14, 16 10:47 pm
I hate retail and roll out.. Ugh... (No offense)
David Cole, AIA
Sep 14, 16 11:17 pm
I've done my share of retail roll-out work. It was easy money that didn't particularly require much expertise, but I certainly wasn't getting paid any more than I was for other types of projects. That said, the particular firm I was working for liked to market themselves as a high-design office, but all the "design" studios were loss leaders while the roll-out studio was how the firm made any money. The roll-out studio culture was a sweatshop; studio meetings felt like that obnoxious scene in Always Be Closing, and we were clearly the boiler room of the firm. The only redeeming things about that job were the sense of camaraderie you develop with colleagues who all hate their jobs as much as you do, and the opportunities to travel around the country for site surveys. It's okay if you need some temp work, but IMO, you risk making yourself unemployable in other settings if you spend too much time in that world.
Wilma Buttfit
Sep 15, 16 7:39 am
You know what pays? Jobs in other fields, like healthcare. Instead of going to grad school, architects should buy businesses for extra cash flow, a car wash or something.
awaiting_deletion
Sep 15, 16 8:27 am
tintt, i actually know a guy who immigrated to this country and in a matter like 8 years became a true 'Murican. Guns, trucks, etc...he tried to finish architecture school and tried to finish his exams, never did, but he keeps talking about opening a car wash and how much money that would make him. I think you are on to something.
Non Sequitur
Sep 15, 16 8:37 am
"See, Marge? Who needs a car wash when you can just drive around in the rain?"
cipyboy
Sep 15, 16 9:11 am
tintt you're on to something, anyone can be a Phlebotomist as a weekend gig, that should help you earn more :D
LITS4FormZ
Sep 15, 16 9:56 am
Ahhh something they don't teach you in school. I just hit my 4 year anniversary with my company this week since joining after my MArch to give you some reference...
I'm in that sweet spot where my fellow MArch grads and I are typically finished with licensure, should have enough experience to put a set of drawings together on their own and should know how the business end works.
Some are getting promoted and some are not. Some are getting(and have always been) paid well and some are already complaining about stagnating wages. It's all tied back to fee structure and the "slice of the pie" that your company can bill for.
1. Design-build-bid
Single scope architectural firm - pays the least no matter if you're doing residential, commercial, retail, etc.
2. Design-build
Multiple scopes, design to constuction professionals - larger piece of the pie - pays better
3. EPC - Engineering,Procurement & Construction
One-stop shop for the owner, often turn key - highest fees and you control every aspect of the project - consistently pays the best and offers more opportunity to advance.
I am becoming increasingly convinced that the youngsters who have less than 5 years of experience and making the big bucks in Architecture are in a realm of Architecture that is incredibly prototypical, standardized, and repetitive. So if you want to make the big bucks as a younger member of the architectural community with less than 5 years of experience, you should have a chain / franchise business as a client- especially a bank. If you become a PM within the first 3 years, you can easily live in a doorman building in Manhattan.
i think that's true. customizing solutions takes a lot more time for the same amount of money. i would not say 'especially a bank' for the chain though. making starbucks or quicktrip would be the same. retail is probably a better racket than designing banks.
define big bucks.
how about hi-end resi?
High end residential drains a firm more than any other. I have worked on a situation where one residential compound took 4/5 years to get built.
I would agree with this also. The firm that I left a year ago (the firm that offered me 'big bucks' after accepting another offer) had work with a huge commercial client - work was highly repetitive. They were making a killing between a decent fee, combined with the fact that the half the CD set was already documented via a prototype.
Bulgar - naw, there's like 15 people in NYC that can do what I did when I had 5 years of experience. Some architects saw my niche as bitchwork, I saw consulting work, and therefore got a few big bucks.
I guess I missed it!? wuts wrong w/ that?
bulgar, i'm damn close to that demographic, and in my own experience you're right. retail=highest paying. high end residential=minimum wage/exploitative wages. residential is a dime a dozen in my city which may be partially why the fees are so rock bottom low, even if the construction cost is $1+million dollars.
maybe big bucks if you own the business and are a good negotiator. not if you don't. speaking as someone who does retail & roll outs all day long...
We do enough prototype retail to know that it's not always a money maker, but it is steady work and therefore helps pay the bills over the course of a year.
Owners make big bucks. The rest of us just convince ourselves that we do, because what choice do we have?
I hate retail and roll out.. Ugh... (No offense)
I've done my share of retail roll-out work. It was easy money that didn't particularly require much expertise, but I certainly wasn't getting paid any more than I was for other types of projects. That said, the particular firm I was working for liked to market themselves as a high-design office, but all the "design" studios were loss leaders while the roll-out studio was how the firm made any money. The roll-out studio culture was a sweatshop; studio meetings felt like that obnoxious scene in Always Be Closing, and we were clearly the boiler room of the firm. The only redeeming things about that job were the sense of camaraderie you develop with colleagues who all hate their jobs as much as you do, and the opportunities to travel around the country for site surveys. It's okay if you need some temp work, but IMO, you risk making yourself unemployable in other settings if you spend too much time in that world.
You know what pays? Jobs in other fields, like healthcare. Instead of going to grad school, architects should buy businesses for extra cash flow, a car wash or something.
tintt, i actually know a guy who immigrated to this country and in a matter like 8 years became a true 'Murican. Guns, trucks, etc...he tried to finish architecture school and tried to finish his exams, never did, but he keeps talking about opening a car wash and how much money that would make him. I think you are on to something.
"See, Marge? Who needs a car wash when you can just drive around in the rain?"
tintt you're on to something, anyone can be a Phlebotomist as a weekend gig, that should help you earn more :D
Ahhh something they don't teach you in school. I just hit my 4 year anniversary with my company this week since joining after my MArch to give you some reference...
I'm in that sweet spot where my fellow MArch grads and I are typically finished with licensure, should have enough experience to put a set of drawings together on their own and should know how the business end works.
Some are getting promoted and some are not. Some are getting(and have always been) paid well and some are already complaining about stagnating wages. It's all tied back to fee structure and the "slice of the pie" that your company can bill for.
1. Design-build-bid
Single scope architectural firm - pays the least no matter if you're doing residential, commercial, retail, etc.
2. Design-build
Multiple scopes, design to constuction professionals - larger piece of the pie - pays better
3. EPC - Engineering,Procurement & Construction
One-stop shop for the owner, often turn key - highest fees and you control every aspect of the project - consistently pays the best and offers more opportunity to advance.