I am looking for suggestions on how to make myself more valuable and thus increase my salary. I work at a small 10 person firm, so we don't have set job levels or promotion scales. There's no specific promotion after becoming a Licensed Architect.
My thought was getting additional credentials like LEED or WELL, but I don't see my boss valuing those as we have never done a LEED building in our firm.
I have been licensed for five years, and have two master's degrees.
Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?
thanks
Non Sequitur
Aug 28, 21 7:14 pm
leed and well won’t do much to help. You need to look at what you can offer the office’s clients. That’s where the money comes from.
curtkram
Aug 28, 21 7:41 pm
be the person that brings in work
Miles Jaffe
Aug 28, 21 10:34 pm
Typically that's when you start your own firm.
,,,,
Aug 29, 21 9:14 am
Imo I don't think there is anything you can do. Some firms never give raises. No promotion after getting your license is a bad sign. However, is the work satisfying? Is there a good life/work balance? Does everyone get along? Do you get to do real design work? Do you get to do all aspects of a project?
flatroof
Aug 29, 21 10:02 am
Find a new firm with room to grow or career with better growth opportunities. Might need a third master for the latter.
Miles Jaffe
Aug 29, 21 10:10 am
Talk to your boss about stepping up your responsibilities and pay.
reallynotmyname
Aug 29, 21 12:07 pm
You need to figure out if the firm's ownership sees the future of the business as either a steady "more of the same" kind of thing or if they have definite actionable plans to grow the business in a way that creates opportunities that speak to your financial and career goals.
axonapoplectic
Aug 30, 21 10:04 pm
do you want to stay at your current firm and maybe earn a little more money, or do you want to actually work on LEED and WELL (or similar) projects?
if it’s the latter, I’d get the credentials and then go somewhere else. There are plenty of firms out there who do this sort of work - and they may even have projects that are pushing the envelope in terms of sustainability, embodied and operational carbon, and advocacy around these issues. These are the firms that will find value in those credentials.
Abie
Aug 31, 21 3:25 am
I agree with Miles on this. If you're concerned about the pay, it would be best to talk to your boss directly about your salary increase and core responsibilities. You can also find a better firm to provide you with more growth in your profession.
x-jla
Aug 31, 21 12:55 pm
It’s actually quite simple. find the weakness of the company. Figure out how to improve it.
x-jla
Aug 31, 21 12:56 pm
If you add value, and they don’t reciprocate with a raise…time to move on to a different firm.
whistler
Aug 31, 21 6:33 pm
Add Value = bring in $$$;
-Marry rich and bring clients to the table
- development a new of different income stream ie industrial, medical or educational clients ( ie if you only do residential )
- become subtly better than your competitors ie Passive House training is all the rage in communities where the local jurisdiction is giving Passive House project priority permit processing ( be better or more cost effective is a particular segment of work) that's only really a short term solution because in time everyone will be up to the same level.
mightyaa
Sep 2, 21 10:46 am
At least you’ve figured out it is about value. How I sort of valued traits in employees (least to most valued traits)
Proficiency. So, a very good way is to gain an understanding of proposals and how they are generated. That lets you know the performance expectations like how many man hours before it bleeds into the red. Anything you work on must remain profitable, so you want to spend less time than they anticipated to increase that profit. Quality should not suffer though; that’s where some screw up because they’ll cut corners which reflects poorly on the firm and creates issues.
Skillsets. Every firm has niche players; that person good at CA, people good at proposals and landing work, renderer’s, people that impress clientele, top notch designers, etc. Figure out where the firm is weak and learn to do it.
People Skills. This isn’t something you can train or teach. There are also people who are just charismatic. They can heavily influence the office vibe and keep moral high. They help create a fun place to work. These are also highly valued because they help employee retention, attract new talent, and help the office run smoothly. Bosses hate dealing with disgruntled, whiny, bitchy employees who really pull moral down. You tend to lose valuable employees rapidly if no one wants to work there. These charismatic people just have to be average at job performance. If you lose these people, office moral tends to plummet.
greenlander1
Sep 4, 21 3:00 pm
Bring in more profitable work.
If you are really ambitious you can use your firm as training wheels before you start your own firm.
greenlander1
Sep 4, 21 3:01 pm
Another one is become capable of acting your principal's fill in/ stunt double. If you can seamlessly cover for them, that is massive value.
Hello everyone,
I am looking for suggestions on how to make myself more valuable and thus increase my salary. I work at a small 10 person firm, so we don't have set job levels or promotion scales. There's no specific promotion after becoming a Licensed Architect.
My thought was getting additional credentials like LEED or WELL, but I don't see my boss valuing those as we have never done a LEED building in our firm.
I have been licensed for five years, and have two master's degrees.
Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?
thanks
leed and well won’t do much to help. You need to look at what you can offer the office’s clients. That’s where the money comes from.
be the person that brings in work
Typically that's when you start your own firm.
Imo I don't think there is anything you can do. Some firms never give raises. No promotion after getting your license is a bad sign. However, is the work satisfying? Is there a good life/work balance? Does everyone get along? Do you get to do real design work? Do you get to do all aspects of a project?
Find a new firm with room to grow or career with better growth opportunities. Might need a third master for the latter.
Talk to your boss about stepping up your responsibilities and pay.
You need to figure out if the firm's ownership sees the future of the business as either a steady "more of the same" kind of thing or if they have definite actionable plans to grow the business in a way that creates opportunities that speak to your financial and career goals.
do you want to stay at your current firm and maybe earn a little more money, or do you want to actually work on LEED and WELL (or similar) projects?
if it’s the latter, I’d get the credentials and then go somewhere else. There are plenty of firms out there who do this sort of work - and they may even have projects that are pushing the envelope in terms of sustainability, embodied and operational carbon, and advocacy around these issues. These are the firms that will find value in those credentials.
I agree with Miles on this. If you're concerned about the pay, it would be best to talk to your boss directly about your salary increase and core responsibilities. You can also find a better firm to provide you with more growth in your profession.
It’s actually quite simple. find the weakness of the company. Figure out how to improve it.
If you add value, and they don’t reciprocate with a raise…time to move on to a different firm.
Add Value = bring in $$$;
-Marry rich and bring clients to the table
- development a new of different income stream ie industrial, medical or educational clients ( ie if you only do residential )
- become subtly better than your competitors ie Passive House training is all the rage in communities where the local jurisdiction is giving Passive House project priority permit processing ( be better or more cost effective is a particular segment of work) that's only really a short term solution because in time everyone will be up to the same level.
At least you’ve figured out it is about value. How I sort of valued traits in employees (least to most valued traits)
Proficiency. So, a very good way is to gain an understanding of proposals and how they are generated. That lets you know the performance expectations like how many man hours before it bleeds into the red. Anything you work on must remain profitable, so you want to spend less time than they anticipated to increase that profit. Quality should not suffer though; that’s where some screw up because they’ll cut corners which reflects poorly on the firm and creates issues.
Skillsets. Every firm has niche players; that person good at CA, people good at proposals and landing work, renderer’s, people that impress clientele, top notch designers, etc. Figure out where the firm is weak and learn to do it.
People Skills. This isn’t something you can train or teach. There are also people who are just charismatic. They can heavily influence the office vibe and keep moral high. They help create a fun place to work. These are also highly valued because they help employee retention, attract new talent, and help the office run smoothly. Bosses hate dealing with disgruntled, whiny, bitchy employees who really pull moral down. You tend to lose valuable employees rapidly if no one wants to work there. These charismatic people just have to be average at job performance. If you lose these people, office moral tends to plummet.
Bring in more profitable work.
If you are really ambitious you can use your firm as training wheels before you start your own firm.
Another one is become capable of acting your principal's fill in/ stunt double. If you can seamlessly cover for them, that is massive value.