Where is the money?

Where is the money?

Postby fpr4 » Sun Mar 25, 2018 5:03 am

Got licensed 2 years ago and received a small raise at that time. It's not enough to do anything other than just get by on and I haven't gotten another raise in the last 2 years, so I have been looking around. I figured I might need to look out of state so I interviewed and got an offer from a firm in another state that was only 10% more. This was not enough to relocate for.

Many of the job listing I see that actually post salaries are not significantly more than I make now and are all lower than the data published by AIA on salaries in the field. I don't get it.

I recently interviewed with a government agency, which has a large range for the possible salary that is also under the median salary in my state reported by AIA.

Are people lying to the AIA about their salary? Should I leave the field if I don't want to libe in NYC or California?
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Re: Where is the money?

Postby archijive » Sun Mar 25, 2018 6:18 pm

As far back as I can remember from when I announced I wanted to be an architect the response was "you know there is no money in architecture". I guess It was always just understood for me that this wasn't a big income profession. What was important to me that I wouldn't be rich, but i knew i would enjoy my work. I'm entering into my 3rd decade of being in the profession and I can say I do enjoy my work. I'm not rich, but comfortable. I'm often reminded I'm not rich when I have clients in their 20's who are in technology that easily make more than twice what i do in my 40's. So you ask, where is the money? It's in technology and high finance. If money is your goal, possibly a change of profession a good idea, at least something to consider. It sounds like you have invested a good deal of energy at this point if you are licensed. Another thought is to make sure you are aligned with a firm that has a partnership track. This will yield a reasonably respectable wage at some point with profit sharing and the like. Another thought is to go out on your own. This is the only real way to make as much as possible in this profession, I might say any profession for that matter. It has its risks, but it has its rewards. If you are asking a question about geography, then NY and Cali aren't the only game in town. Consider places like Austin, Boulder and Seattle just to name a few. There are many emerging markets in the country when you consider the bustling economy and businesses looking for a cheaper place to do business over NY and Cali. I would also consider where the need will be for architecture. Some reports say that the elderly, ages 65 and older, will make up about 20 percent of the U.S. population by 2029. There should be some money there.
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Re: Where is the money?

Postby fpr4 » Sun Mar 25, 2018 6:23 pm

I'm not asking to be rich. I'm asking to be able to afford health insurance and retirement contributions with a $700 mortgage and 14 year old paid for car.
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Re: Where is the money?

Postby Sparky83 » Mon Mar 26, 2018 4:53 am

Cost of living varies widely depending on where you live.
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Re: Where is the money?

Postby nickedemus » Mon Mar 26, 2018 4:58 am

I check job postings, too, and I see what you see. They gather their data through a survey, but it's not clear whether they are asking firm principals or actual employees. However, it's certainly possible that people could be lying about their income. Another possibility is that the AIA inflates the numbers to draw more people into the profession! More architects = $$$$ in dues. If you go the AIA route, that is.

http://info.aia.org/salary/about.htm

Even if the numbers are inflated, it's useful to me because I can use it to leverage my salary negotiations ;)

You can make money in architecture, but you need to do extra because your education likely hasn't given you a good business background. Engineers are taught critical thinking skills in their education, but for some reason the architects have settled for a "pie-in-the-sky" art school curriculum. People seem to think this approach encourages creativity, but my opinion is that it is actually extremely limiting in terms of problem solving. I don't think creativity can be taught, personally. But I digress.

Anyhoo instead of being trail blazers on their own, architects often scurry to align themselves with companies who will handle all of that messy ugly business stuff for them, so that they can focus on their drawing skills. And in doing so, they are giving up a lot of opportunity and personal power. Everyone is not like this, of course. I know quite a few architects who have gone back to school to pick up an MBA. And unfortunately they still aren't as savvy as engineers on a project management level.
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Re: Where is the money?

Postby Coach » Mon Mar 26, 2018 1:05 pm

nickedemus wrote:Engineers are taught critical thinking skills in their education, but for some reason the architects have settled for a "pie-in-the-sky" art school curriculum.

All schools are not like that.
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Re: Where is the money?

Postby nickedemus » Mon Mar 26, 2018 3:12 pm

Coach wrote:
nickedemus wrote:Engineers are taught critical thinking skills in their education, but for some reason the architects have settled for a "pie-in-the-sky" art school curriculum.

All schools are not like that.


That's true, but a lot unfortunately are. Large, well-known, state schools at that. And they consistently pass their NCARB accreditation review. I've seen it happen with godawful analysis on the wall. So the industry bar is not great.
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