i studied in UCL for undergrad, then i did a tonne of research and applied to a few places for masters in US because i've been given the impression from my research of stats and friends that US wages for architects is much higher.
now... i was certain that i was not gonna get it, so i did my best, and succeeded in forgetting about it and moving on in my life. but i got offers, so now i'm thinking about big life choices.
Firstly, i'm a really outlandish creative person in my personal projects
but secondly, i also come from a poor background, so money speaks bigger than dreams.
for a person who could get masters for 18K in total, is masters in the US worth it? will i actually get a higher salary in the US? (because statistics somehow hasn't convinced me yet)
and then, which university has more clout for me to get into a high paying architect job in US?
it's a big question that crept up on me because i was 100% sure i wasn't gonna get any offers... so i'm unprepared mentally even though i've done research.
Please shower me with your personal experience and opinions please, i'm kinda lost and emotionally unprepared to take this decision yet.
THANKS
justavisual
Mar 9, 22 1:45 pm
The cost of living in the US is much higher than the UK. The cost of that education would put a huge burden of debt on you (150k?) unless you get financial aid.
Do you have a visa? Are you sure you can work in the USA when you're done?
What kind of offices are you aiming for? Do they also have a higher salary or would you need to sell your soul to a huge corporate firm to pay off that debt?
Personally I did the opposite of you, undergrad in USA (crazy cost, not worth it imo), masters in Europe (the 18k you mention). I never went back...even though the pay is lower here I need less to live on, quality of life is higher, I can travel internationally for less, got licensed faster and for way less cost, and frankly, the work is better. So, lots to think about.
vicyvic
Mar 10, 22 5:05 am
my aim is to get licensed in the US, then earn alot there when i'm still young then come back afterwards with a good amount of savings to open my own practice
whilst i know that living costs are high in the US, i don't know how high the salary has to be to offset that then take home more than what i'd get in the UK.
and if you actually require to be in the upper minority of salary to be able to offset the high living costs, is princeton or UCB likely to be able to get into those high paying offices?
bowling_ball
Mar 10, 22 10:10 pm
vicyvic, nobody wants to burst your bubble and that's why you're not getting a lot of advice here. Your plan may as well be "fly to the moon under your own power" because that's as likely to happen as your aspirations. If you come to the US, it's unlikely you will have ANY savings for a good decade after graduation (this is assuming you're paying your own way and you have loans). If you're a one-in-a-million talent for finding the best paying jobs, maybe that takes 5 years to start saving. But to think that you'll be able to save enough money, in cash, to start your own firm after just a few years of work experience and no financial backing, is frankly a little delusional. I wish you the best.
vicyvic
Mar 12, 22 2:23 pm
i think i mentioned a pipe dream that painted my thoughts in the wrong colour, but also, i have been offered a full scholarship for princeton and only a partial scholarship for UCB. but it is true that i need to be employable after my studies, and i think i'll enjoy my studies if i picked either. so i that's why i was only asking about the employ ability. i worry that after i go to america for masters, i can't find a job at all, and would have wasted time and depending on which uni, wasted alot of money. My understanding, from a few american architects that i know personally, that the median architect sala
ry is already very high compared to what i'd ever get in the UK. so i'm just really worried about employ ability between the choices of unis...
justavisual
Mar 10, 22 3:46 pm
Yeah I dunno, I mean architecture, young and high salary don't go together, its the wrong line of work for that.
*IF* you get a visa and can stay in the USA (since you never answered the question I posed earlier), then all your experience, license and connections are there - to start up for yourself halfway across the world later (and get a license again.....) is gonna be super hard without a network.
Obviously the ivy league status of Princeton is gonna look better on a CV, but you're talking east coast v west coast. Go to school where you want to work and live.
Honestly I think you're in it for the wrong reasons. You go to a school because you like the curriculum and the location. Not because you might make more money after - no one can say where you end up - maybe there will be a massive recession and no one will hire you and you'll end up back in the UK with no part II equivalency...
You get a job based on your portfolio and skills, not what school you went to.
vicyspam
Mar 12, 22 1:59 pm
i am able to get work status fairly easily due to my mom being a canadian.
vicyvic
Mar 12, 22 2:09 pm
I am able to get work status fairly easily due to my mom being canadian, and i think i'll have a good time studying in either unis, so i'm thinking ahead of the practicalities of employment
vicyvic
Mar 12, 22 2:16 pm
I am able to get work status fairly easily due to my mom being canadian, and i think i'll have a good time studying in either unis, so i'm thinking ahead of the practicalities of employment
i have a full scholarship for princeton, and only a partial one for UCB, and you are right, i'll have a hard time establishing a network on the other side of the world, and that's why the name is so much more important, to get my foot in the door.
i've asked ppl in the UK, and everyone's like "what's princeton" whilst most people has at least heard of UCB. but princeton's architecture ranking is abysmal whereas UCB is at least on the rank.
the thing is, i have a guaranteed place back at bartlett, and i know i'll enjoy either of the 3 unis, so it comes down to future earning potiential, which america is much greater. HOWEVER, but i end up not even passing the HR because UCB or princeton is just some random uni like how "red brick unis" is in the UK, then it's just a bad decision.
portfolio is important, but if the HR department doesn't even pass along my application because of the CV, then no one would ever lay eyes on my portfolio....
(sorry for the re-entery replies, i can't seem to press return)
Volunteer
Mar 12, 22 5:33 pm
Kind of like going to school in India so you can eventually open your own office in Poland?
reallynotmyname
Mar 12, 22 5:58 pm
The London offices of US firms like SOM, KPF, and others would probably be open to hiring to a Princeton graduate with a decent portfolio. Over time, I imagine you could network your way into a position with a more purely British practice, if that's your ultimate goal.
so....
i studied in UCL for undergrad, then i did a tonne of research and applied to a few places for masters in US because i've been given the impression from my research of stats and friends that US wages for architects is much higher.
now... i was certain that i was not gonna get it, so i did my best, and succeeded in forgetting about it and moving on in my life. but i got offers, so now i'm thinking about big life choices.
Firstly, i'm a really outlandish creative person in my personal projects
but secondly, i also come from a poor background, so money speaks bigger than dreams.
for a person who could get masters for 18K in total, is masters in the US worth it? will i actually get a higher salary in the US? (because statistics somehow hasn't convinced me yet)
and then, which university has more clout for me to get into a high paying architect job in US?
it's a big question that crept up on me because i was 100% sure i wasn't gonna get any offers... so i'm unprepared mentally even though i've done research.
Please shower me with your personal experience and opinions please, i'm kinda lost and emotionally unprepared to take this decision yet.
THANKS
The cost of living in the US is much higher than the UK. The cost of that education would put a huge burden of debt on you (150k?) unless you get financial aid.
Do you have a visa? Are you sure you can work in the USA when you're done?
What kind of offices are you aiming for? Do they also have a higher salary or would you need to sell your soul to a huge corporate firm to pay off that debt?
Personally I did the opposite of you, undergrad in USA (crazy cost, not worth it imo), masters in Europe (the 18k you mention). I never went back...even though the pay is lower here I need less to live on, quality of life is higher, I can travel internationally for less, got licensed faster and for way less cost, and frankly, the work is better. So, lots to think about.
my aim is to get licensed in the US, then earn alot there when i'm still young then come back afterwards with a good amount of savings to open my own practice
whilst i know that living costs are high in the US, i don't know how high the salary has to be to offset that then take home more than what i'd get in the UK.
and if you actually require to be in the upper minority of salary to be able to offset the high living costs, is princeton or UCB likely to be able to get into those high paying offices?
vicyvic, nobody wants to burst your bubble and that's why you're not getting a lot of advice here. Your plan may as well be "fly to the moon under your own power" because that's as likely to happen as your aspirations. If you come to the US, it's unlikely you will have ANY savings for a good decade after graduation (this is assuming you're paying your own way and you have loans). If you're a one-in-a-million talent for finding the best paying jobs, maybe that takes 5 years to start saving. But to think that you'll be able to save enough money, in cash, to start your own firm after just a few years of work experience and no financial backing, is frankly a little delusional. I wish you the best.
i think i mentioned a pipe dream that painted my thoughts in the wrong colour, but also, i have been offered a full scholarship for princeton and only a partial scholarship for UCB. but it is true that i need to be employable after my studies, and i think i'll enjoy my studies if i picked either. so i that's why i was only asking about the employ ability. i worry that after i go to america for masters, i can't find a job at all, and would have wasted time and depending on which uni, wasted alot of money. My understanding, from a few american architects that i know personally, that the median architect sala ry is already very high compared to what i'd ever get in the UK. so i'm just really worried about employ ability between the choices of unis...
Yeah I dunno, I mean architecture, young and high salary don't go together, its the wrong line of work for that.
*IF* you get a visa and can stay in the USA (since you never answered the question I posed earlier), then all your experience, license and connections are there - to start up for yourself halfway across the world later (and get a license again.....) is gonna be super hard without a network.
Obviously the ivy league status of Princeton is gonna look better on a CV, but you're talking east coast v west coast. Go to school where you want to work and live.
Honestly I think you're in it for the wrong reasons. You go to a school because you like the curriculum and the location. Not because you might make more money after - no one can say where you end up - maybe there will be a massive recession and no one will hire you and you'll end up back in the UK with no part II equivalency...
You get a job based on your portfolio and skills, not what school you went to.
i am able to get work status fairly easily due to my mom being a canadian.
I am able to get work status fairly easily due to my mom being canadian, and i think i'll have a good time studying in either unis, so i'm thinking ahead of the practicalities of employment
I am able to get work status fairly easily due to my mom being canadian, and i think i'll have a good time studying in either unis, so i'm thinking ahead of the practicalities of employment i have a full scholarship for princeton, and only a partial one for UCB, and you are right, i'll have a hard time establishing a network on the other side of the world, and that's why the name is so much more important, to get my foot in the door.
i've asked ppl in the UK, and everyone's like "what's princeton" whilst most people has at least heard of UCB. but princeton's architecture ranking is abysmal whereas UCB is at least on the rank.
the thing is, i have a guaranteed place back at bartlett, and i know i'll enjoy either of the 3 unis, so it comes down to future earning potiential, which america is much greater. HOWEVER, but i end up not even passing the HR because UCB or princeton is just some random uni like how "red brick unis" is in the UK, then it's just a bad decision. portfolio is important, but if the HR department doesn't even pass along my application because of the CV, then no one would ever lay eyes on my portfolio....
(sorry for the re-entery replies, i can't seem to press return)
Kind of like going to school in India so you can eventually open your own office in Poland?
The London offices of US firms like SOM, KPF, and others would probably be open to hiring to a Princeton graduate with a decent portfolio. Over time, I imagine you could network your way into a position with a more purely British practice, if that's your ultimate goal.