Architect: Building to my Success
By: Michael Lucas
My Reasoning to Become
Career Research
These are a few of the task of an architect:
Prepare scale drawings
Consult with clients of projects
Plan layout of project
Prepare to talk about design, color, etc.
- Prepare contract documents
Work Environment
Architects usually work in an office and have to face long hours, especially when they have to meet a certain deadline. The vasts majority of architects work in a designated place for their corporation but according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2012, 1 out of 5 architects were self-employed meaning they'd have to either rent out an office or even be able to work at their own house. Self-employed or not, it is important for an architect to visit the construction sites to check the progress of the build and before it even starts to have the correct measurements to base the design on.
Education and Training
To become an architect, it is recommended again by, The Bureau of Labor Statistics, that a Bachelor's degree is obtained to become one and though science is a large part of architecture through engineering an art major isn't a bad option. Architecture is art and truth is, no one wants to live or work in an ugly city but one that is created by those of great artistic and creative minds. There are three necessities to become a licensed architect, a professional degree in architecture, obtaining experience through a paid internship, and passing the Architect Registration Exam.
Preferred Job Skills
Being an architect and having to figure out what is best while creating a design it's inevitable that you'll have various difficulties and skills that can really help come as followed
complex problem solving- having to work with actual problems that require exact precision, one mistake can cause the entire project to fail or even make more problems that'll have to be fixed immediately.
Investigative- Examining everything is important, again, whilst creating, precision is key and being able to investigate the work and seeing any problems as soon as possible and being able to fix them saves time and makes your time at work much more efficient.
- Persuasive- Getting the clients to take your work oppose to others is extremely to keep you in business and more importantly, you'll be able to provide the community with your own design and work.
The Job Outlook
The job outlook for architects are on the rise at 17% from the year 2012-2022 which is faster than usual.
Salary
Average: $76,270-$45,670
90%: $45,670
75%: $55,950
50%: $73,400
25%: $90,900
- 10%: $117,650
Wisconsin River House
Rustic Modern Vacation Home
The dSPACE Studio
High School Preparation
There aren't very much courses that are direct to architecture but there are always some available that are at least parallel to the skills needed to become one. The two that are at my school I can take are below:
English IV: Humanities: They talk about different forms of art such as architecture
- PLTW Engineering: it goes over the civil engineering of the buildings here
Extra Curricular Activities
Similar to the course selecting issue, it applies to this as well when looking at direct connections from extra curricular activities there are still a few open to help improve on the skills needed such as these:
Speech: Learn to get my ideas out more fluently
Future Business Leaders of America: Because 1 out of 5 architects are self employed, learning to be my own boss could be handy
Engineering Club: See the basics of engineering
Work and Volunteering Experience
- As a high school student, work isn't very easy to come by but that doesn't allow for an excuse and a way to just get into the field and see the ropes is trying to find an internship from a legit architect and to get paid in experience or to even apply to a store that sells supplies like such as Home Depot or Lowes
References
- Jerome Patt - Current algebra II teacher
- Linda Smith - English II teacher
- Jennifer Paulin - Global Studies teacher
Personal Post-Secondary Plan
The best colleges for architecture:
- Polytechnic State University
- Cornell University
- Rice University
- University of Texas
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University