Architect career: what does being an architect involved?

Architecture Master is a professional degree in architecture, qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation that result in receiving a license.

Architect career: what does being an architect involved?

Today, architecture specialists design not only buildings but entire spaces and quarters. Not a single urban development is complete without the involvement of an architect. But the profession is not limited to this either, so the choice for a future career is quite large:

  • The architect develops architectural solutions: project sketches, working drawings, carries out architectural supervision during the implementation of the project.
  • The chief architect of the project organizes the development of all project documentation and working drawings.
  • The urban planner develops master plans for settlements taking into account the natural landscape, logistics, and ergonomics.
  • The chief architect of the city participates in the development of normative legal acts in the field of urban planning and ensures control over their implementation.
  • The interior designer determines the layout and spatial solutions of the interior, deals with its content and decoration, supervises the entire project from start to delivery to the customer.
  • A landscape architect develops landscape solutions, landscaping, and landscaping projects and can work both on private projects and on a city scale.
  • Architectural historian: scientific and teaching activities in specialized universities.
  • An architect-restorer is engaged in the restoration of architectural monuments, works in restoration workshops and bureaus.
  • An expert architect carries out an examination of design documentation.

This profession is, without a doubt, creative, in which there is certain independence. Indeed, like any artist, an architect is guided exclusively by his own idea of ​​beauty and harmony.

However, at the same time, a certain responsibility is imposed on him for the strength, durability, functionality of his projects.

A competent specialist must navigate a huge number of regulations that govern activities in the field of architecture. In addition, you need to be ready to master special programs that allow you to design and make drawings.

It is important to understand the issues of geodesy, cartography, and ecology. Therefore, dreaming of becoming an architect, you should make sure you have the following qualities:

  • Spatial thinking ability
  • Creative approach
  • Skill to work in a team
  • Watchfulness
  • Sociability
  • Purposefulness
  • A responsibility

Obviously, in addition to everything mentioned above, a future architect should be able to draw, or, in any case, want to learn how to do it.

Pros and cons of the profession of an architect

Why is this industry attractive and what pitfalls are waiting for a young specialist? It should be noted that architecture, like medicine or jurisprudence, requires a huge amount of investment, primarily in education. Therefore, before starting this difficult path, you need to weigh well the pros and cons.

The pluses include the following points:

  • Interesting creative work, thanks to which you can visit many interesting places and make acquaintances with interesting people.
  • High-demand work.
  • High income: almost any specialty in architecture pays reasonably well.
  • The opportunity to work in different cities and countries. Knowing foreign languages, you can be in demand not only at home.
  • A chance to remain in the memory of descendants: no matter how pathetic it sounds, but buildings, like cities, are designed, if not for centuries, then for decades, for sure, which means that the result of the architect’s work will be seen by a huge number of people.

On the way to a stable, high income and recognition of an architect, not only pleasant moments await:

  • High level of personal responsibility. As already noted, everything that is done in the field of architecture is done “for centuries.” Therefore, the author of an architectural project bears personal responsibility for its stability, durability, and safety.
  • Criticism. Like any creative specialty, architecture is subject to constant criticism. In addition to purely technical and regulatory approvals, there is also the artist’s own vision. Obviously, his personal taste may not coincide with the opinion of the majority, which means that negative reviews are inevitable.
  • Constant work with people. Leadership and control over the implementation of your own project require continuous interaction with many people: customers, engineers, suppliers, officials, builders. The settlement of possible conflicts, coordination with the customer and government agencies, and, in fact, the design work requires a lot of time and effort.
  • Long study. Architects must have a huge amount of knowledge and skills, both creative and technical. It will take a really long time to study.
  • Difficulty entering a university. The profession of an architect is very popular, therefore, as mentioned above, the competition for the corresponding departments is huge every year. This requires not only serious preparation but also moral readiness, dedication, and resistance to stress.

Conclusion

In the modern world, it has long been obvious: you need to strive to make it convenient for everyone. The world is becoming more open, the standard of living is growing, and those categories of citizens who were previously not so active strive to live life to the fullest. This means that the surrounding spaces must meet the needs of motorists, pedestrians, mothers with a stroller, and retirees.

It is possible to qualitatively transform the urban and suburban environment only with the help of competent, experienced, and modern specialists: architects, urban planners, landscape designers. It is these people who work to ensure that the space around is environmentally friendly, functional, friendly, and beautiful.

Therefore, the demand for specialist architects will grow, which means that today young people should think about their future profession and, perhaps, make a choice in favor of architecture.