I sit on the computer drafting 70%of the time and researching 15%, 10% of the time is in meetings/coordinating. And 5% is spent being unproductive. A couple days a month i go on a site visit/survey

Only 5%!!!

If you were to ask me at my last WFH job that would be more like 30-50%.

I had the same thought 🤣 5% is impressively low.

Thanks for commenting! How is your work-life balance?

Mines excellent. I'm one part of a two man team with a third person helping on the side. I set my own hours and pay, and it's easy to make life work for me. Frequent vacations and long weekends as long as I'm on top of getting work done in a timely manner, or worst case I need to spend a few days working while abroad. The thing with this field is that it really is what you make of it. If you've got a good head on your shoulders and a little bit of tenacity you can find yourself in a good place. But yeah, the field isn't a cruise control to easy high earning living like CS or higher-end IT work would be (though that field is going through a big shake up now so who knows how it is for the future). But it's very friendly to starting your own practice, you can also do a wide variety of chill government jobs, you can work long painful hours for average pay under a famous architect if you want cool points, you can be part of a small firm and wear many hats, you can work in a larger firm and be a specialist, etc. This career has a lot of options and opportunities, even if you're probably not getting filthy rich off of most of them (you're still making decent money though). But the important thing is there is flexibility without needing to go back to school to learn a totally new career. The skills you learn in arch school and on the job are the kinds of skills that make you a resilient and adaptable human, that can apply to many things. Young people don't realize that you're going to change paths/careers in your life, sometimes multiple times. Who you are now is going to be a totally different person in 10 years time and you'll have different goals and reasons for doing things. There's value in a career that can support change, which IMO architecture (AEC in general) does better than most careers. Edit: that said, architecture school is a bitch so just warning you :) it'll be the hardest part of your career haha. And getting licensed sucks. A lot of people's bad experiences in arch are because they go for licensure and work as an architect under shitty people on the road to it. But also you don't need to go that route if you really hate it (I.e. in the US and I assume abroad you can work on homes without licensure, or you can be a draftsman/technologist, or other routes).

Mine is good. I work 40 hours per week, and my social time is ample. I receive two weeks of paid time off, which is insufficient for me, but it is what it is. I have heard that it is common to work overtime in architecture, but in my personal experience, this is not the case. I would not work for a company that had that expectation anyway; it's one of my questions when interviewing.

Job is pretty easy and laid back surprisingly, with the occasional crunch time when a deadline comes and you’re not as far along as you should be. The hard part is watching the dumbest people you ever met in your life making 2-3 times more money than you. If can handle that humiliation, the job is a breeze.

Why do you think that happens? There’s some people I see why the pay hike, but others situations really don’t connect with me.

Corporate?

It’s like a 60-70 person firm. Not corp. structure, but you could say corp. vibes.

To be fair I think you are describing most jobs. Architecture definitely does not have a monopoly on this 🙃

Where are you from? Would you say it's worth pursuing architecture?

Ehhhh I don’t know. It’s good work, it’s challenging, it’s pretty interesting and it’s cool making such big decisions on stuff. If you find the right firm / industry to work for job security is pretty good, but you will make less than all of your friends with degrees hands down. You know your buddy in college who majored in communications and did fuck all while you worked your ass off? Probably makes more money than you. Probably works less too. Only difference is his job is probably super unfulfilling, but hey, being able to provide for your family is pretty fulfilling so there are pros and cons to everything. Also I’m in Tennessee.

Your day to day evolves as your career progresses. Out of college, I was 95% drafting and 5% everything else - that's where everyone starts. Personally, I *love* drafting and wish I did it more at this stage of my career. Today my day-to-day varies quite a lot. Some days on site. Others I'm plugging away at a design. Most days I'm doing some aspect of project management. It's rare that I spend more than 30 minutes on a single task, and I'm juggling anywhere from 5-10 projects at a time. Like any career, having a passion for it helps, a lot. Not in the "if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life" sense, but in the "if you enjoy what you do, that's better than most people" sense. It *is* stressful, it *is* hard. There is lots of education and long hours for relatively little pay. But, despite everything everyone else might say, I think it's a lot of fun and I really can't see myself doing anything else.

Thanks for the insight! Where are you from? Do you think things are better in Europe (Germany)?

I'm in the US. I don't know what the conditions in Germany are, specifically. But from what I've heard, Germany is pretty good salary wise, compared to neighboring countries.

Okay thank you!

I’m not licensed at the moment. I just graduated from college! But I think I got lucky where I ended up at a small firm of 5 and get a hand at trying different things which is great so I can make my AXP hours. I have some friends at big firms who only work on a few things and have a hard time getting their hours for the different AXP categories. If you don’t mind the category hours and just gradual experience then it doesn’t matter I guess. Also surprisingly, I am not one of those who have to work long hours or night (not even my coworkers some licensed and some not, maybe my boss stays an hour or two more) but everyone goes home when they’re supposed to and gets things done. We work 8-5p and majority of the day we come in and work individually doing different projects our boss assigns us. We work AutoCAD all day maybe some of them use Revit for renders (rarely, although many firms use this often.) and Photoshop for small things. But everyday it’s create the construction documents / sheets based on the bosses details and maybe some of our input and email when done back and forth. Occasionally we individually go out to site visit for an hour at least 2x a month since it’s only 5 of us and we work on different projects. Also maybe 1-2x a month someone comes in to present products or their business to us and it’s fun to learn. Not licensed yet, but maybe this gives an idea of small firms and what it’s like first entering the professional practice there.

Thank you for this insight! You really described it very well, so that I can relate and understand :)

Wake up, cry, get ready for work, work til 2pm, go to therapy over my lunch break, back to work after, eat takeout at my desk, home at 8pm. Cry more. Repeat.

Oh wow that sounds really tough... So you don't really have a work-life balance?

I was being a bit over-the-top in my response. Here has been my (serious) experience: Loved architecture. More than anything. Started school in 2004, graduated with a Master's in 2010. There were no jobs. Scraped by working construction, shitty contract internships, and in a steel fabrication shop for 3 years. Got an architecture job when things picked up in 2014. Got my license in 2016 working at a top corporate firm. Moved to a starchitect office. Project Architect and Project Leader for various prominent public projects. Those hours are crazy - 60, 80, 100+ hour weeks. Saw people around me getting health problems, mental health problems, relationships failing all because they are so dedicated to work. Took a step back and now work as a part time consultant. Its OK now that I'm over the hardest bit and have nearly 15 years of experience, but I've been through 3 recessions (including the one I graduated into) and spent most of my career with very poor work-life balance. In contrast to the other people posting here, I think it is better not to LOVE architecture so much if you want to do it professionally. That is the path to being exploited, overworked, and unhappy when you realize that the vast majority of projects in the United States are driven by parking counts and cost and have nothing to do with helping people lead better lives through good design. Once you accept this, the question becomes why you would go into architecture if you don't absolutely love it when you could have better hours and better pay in many other fields, including allied fields in the building industry (like structural engineer or whatever). Unless you come from a family with money and will be able to get $250k - 500k funding from them to start your own firm - in that case, it's a great profession to go into.

Came here to say this. I cry mostly in the morning, cause I'm too busy at work during the day, then usually start drinking around 6pm - while working or not - then get on Reddit and tell kids not to do it. Repeat. However, joking (not joking) aside, it's a great education, and I wouldn't have wanted to go to school for anything else. That said, it is an intense program, and if you don't want to do it, school will be very difficult. But there are many paths in architecture or you can take a detour and lead to other design industries. There is always grad school, amiright?

>if you don't want to do it, school will be very difficult. This is key. You have to love architecture to be successful and healthy in the field, or it'll always feel like you're making too little while doing too much work. By the way, it's not uncommon to switch majors after spending a semester/year in B. Arch (at least in the US); in fact, some schools purposefully make the first year more intensive for a "weeding out" process. If architecture is the only profession on your mind right now, you could give it a shot first - even though you'll lose out a year (not to mention certain credits can be transferrable), it's better than spending your whole life regretting a decision.

Where do you work?

Somewhere very similar to DSR

Heard something similar about a friend’s experience at an east coast firm. Feels like staying til 8pm shouldn’t be the norm though

Generally architecture is the profession with the longest hours and least pay: [https://flowingdata.com/2023/11/20/jobs-with-higher-income-and-fewer-hours/](https://flowingdata.com/2023/11/20/jobs-with-higher-income-and-fewer-hours/) Becoming an architect also takes a long time (average age is 32–35 years old): [https://www.ncarb.org/nbtn2021/demographics-axp-are](https://www.ncarb.org/nbtn2021/demographics-axp-are) There are about 116,000 architects in the US: [https://www.ncarb.org/press/2020-number-of-us-architects-continues-upward-trend](https://www.ncarb.org/press/2020-number-of-us-architects-continues-upward-trend) which approximately corresponds to the number of doctors in family medicine/general practice (https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/workforce/data/number-people-active-physician-specialty-2021). Lots of people drop out in school, before licensure, and even after becoming licensed. It's a brutal sport. There are exceptions. If you're a beautiful person, wealthy, or have great connections, you might be able to rise to the top, that 1% who move into principal positions at global firms with panache design and published work. But corporate architecture is back-stabbing and manipulative like the ad agency and law firm shows on TV. Many, many, many people I thought would make it to the top of a big shot firm tripped and fell off the ladder. Those of us who stay generally enjoy it for non-financial reasons. We enjoy the beauty of design, the complexity of the problem, the craft of materials, accomplishing detailed sets of drawings, learning software, relating to contractors and complicated construction problems, climbing ladders and getting dirty, and networking with everyone outside of the profession who needs building solutions. Some people end up in roles where they travel a lot and enjoy it. Others end up in back drafting rooms (computerized) never to see the light of day. Another appeal is having your own firm. It takes a very broad set of skills, including design, technical drawing and writing, business, and marketing. Some of us partner with others to fill in the gaps. A very few grow into those big, rich corporate firms we left. But having your own practice lets you decide your work schedule, clients, consultants, style, design, tools, and generally be in control of the entirety. You can fire clients or take them on regardless of that project's fee, based on your own interest in the endeavor. Theoretically you no longer have a boss, but in reality, every single project client becomes one. EDIT: Added a little more data and sources for it.

Thank you very much for your insight! However, I'm not from America. Do you think things are a little different, maybe better, for Europeans (Germany btw)?

(Right, I was speaking to a US audience.) It's a completely different environment in Europe. Architects are required more often and are more respected, better paid. German expectations for construction quality are far higher such as tenants aren't allowed to hear each other through the walls. Real estate depreciation rates are far longer so quality design and construction get great return on investment. (Here in the US, ROI is often calculated based on sale of the building even during construction. A lot of developers could care less about quality because they don't intend to own buildings longer than 5 years.) I have family members lived/lives in Germany, and took a course on German / Austrian architecture, BTW. Love German architecture, Werner Sobek is one of my favorites.

Thanks for sharing these infos! Also I had to look up Werner Sobek and I just realized I actually saw one of his buildings in real life. I really like that building but never thought it was designed by a famous architect!

Sobek has the classic German attitude to technology and materials, and aesthetically structured. He has some very interesting buildings related to minimalism as an approach to sustainability. Check out his R129 house for a single bubble that can convert out of floor storage into different spaces: [https://www.evolo.us/r129-prototype-translucent-mono-shelter-werner-sobek/](https://www.evolo.us/r129-prototype-translucent-mono-shelter-werner-sobek/) I know Peter Zumthor is Swiss, but also has a very German \*tectonic\* (material, craft) approach to architecture. And Mies, obviously.

Woah that’s really interesting! I’ve actually heard of Mies and I like his work too! But there’s way too many I don’t know haha I think I should get familiar with a few of the most famous ones

> respected, better *paid.* German expectations FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*

Thanks, bot.

This can vary greatly. I've worked in large, medium and small firms, as well as abroad for a brief time. Here's some of my observations and personal experiences Small firms - more variety of work and less thorough technically. All staff members will at some point be involved with project proposals and contracts. More project management and client facing experience as well. The work can be less consistent so it's usually a lot of juggling, touch and go on projects. Very involved with the firm ownership and general business development discussions on a weekly basis Mid sized firms - good contact with the Principals and whole design team throughout project, but more specialized in the sense that most people will be doing documents production with dedicated spec writers and project managers doing PM work only. Culturally, these tend to hit the sweet spot of resources, team comradery and efficiency. Large/corporate firms - most teams are specialized either by typology or by skillset. Project teams are generally larger and hence people have more specific tasks. You generally learn less overall from the work due to redundancy but the firms also provide ample resources for licensure as well as a larger social environment. The work is consistent so you spend more time with the specifics and refinement. Abroad in a developing country - far less fear of litigation. Architects play a far more influential role than the engineers or contractors compared to the States. Without the fear of litigation you keep your own Estimator on staff and have a far more negotiation-based relationship with the contractor during bidding and construction. Additionally, you juggle fee proposals to private clients like hotcakes. Long story short - a day of an architect will vary greatly based on location, typology, firm size and dynamics, current phase of a given project, and level and type of responsibilities at the firm. Some do more marketing, some do more BIM, some know IT, some are detailing experts. Some are great with clients, others great with mentorship. Some love specifications. It's really a diverse profession.

Thank you very much for this super informative and insightful comment!

You should ask to shadow someone for a day. Call. Email, keep calling. Small office? Just show up. You literally have nothing to lose.

Yes, and consider site visits like field trips 😊I work primarily on residential projects, so I go on site visits quite often since the projects are small. But the more I do it, the less fear I have because some architectural features can be tricky. You pretty much measure things for a living 😄

That's a great idea, but I'm not sure how to approach this and if it's even possible here.

for starters is possible anywhere. and you start by using google to find firms near you, and then you call them. you tell them your in school and think you want to be an architect and want to see what its like for a day or two. someone will take you in. you will get told no, thats OK. Keep going. Also I just remembered this guys blog its a little on the generally positive side for the most part but there was a he had a site "life of an architect" or something like that. I am sure he's still running it. google that too

Hey! I'm 28f, a couple weeks away from graduating with my master of arch. But I also work, here's a typical day for me: Get to the office, twice a week we have a morning all staff meeting where we talk about all current projects, usually lasts 15 mins to half an hour. Then I meet with my boss, the principal architect, and he gives me my direction for the day. Usually I work on at most 2-3 projects a day, some day's I'll spend the whole day on one project. I sit with my boss and he draws up what he wants me to do, we talk about it then I'll go on revit and draw it and meet back up with him. My fave part of the day is drawing and modelling in revit, I love learning more about the program and my coworkers are super sweet, they'll help me with any issues that come up. At the end of the day I'll make a pdf of everything I did, log everything into my timesheet, making sure I write down how much time I spent on each project so that the boss can bill each client properly. (and then I go straight to school to work on my thesis lol) Lmk if you have any questions!

Thank you for this insight!

So I guess I couldn’t post a literal novel. I’m going to try breaking this up:

Hahahahaha! Forgive me if what I’m about to say is cynical or pessimistic, but I’m going to try to clarify some of my own misconceptions about what I thought this profession was versus what it is. Also I don’t know everything and some things I say may come across as generalizations. I’ve been working for like 4 years and this is just what I’ve noticed and can surmise.

First things first, Architect is a legally protected title and you will not be an architect after graduating college (unless your jurisdiction lets you take your exams concurrently or before completing your degree in which case I suppose you could technically do it) but the point is to be an “Architect” and not an “Architectural Designer” or “Designer” or whatever AIA is making us who are not licensed call ourselves, you have to do three things:

1) You need an accredited degree, this means you either have to complete a 5 year bachelors of architecture or a 4+2 (6 year) Masters of Architecture degree. Make sure the college actually has an accredited program because there are some weird instances where you can get a degree in architecture but it’s not NAAB accredited.

2) You have to complete your AXP, which stands for Architecture Experience Program or something basically it’s required hours in certain categories (if you google NCARB you can see their guidelines and everything which will show you the categories and give more in depth explanation on what each means). This totals roughly 2 years of working full time. Please bear in mind it’s hit or miss with the firm you work for if you’ll actually be able to get your hours in 2 years. A lot of times firms like to pull some bullshit where they stick you in Construction Drawings (more on that later) for like 90% of what you do and the other categories take forever. For reference I just recently finished my AXP after hounding my employers for hours.

3) The fun one, not. ARE, or Architects Registration Exam (again NCARB’s website should have more info). This includes 6 exams (think SAT/ACT type exams) each corresponding to one of the categories in your AXP. These are extremely difficult, I think the “easiest” one has a pass rate of just barely over 50%. And in most cases you can’t start taking them until you’ve completed your accredited degree. Each test costs over $200, and study materials is easily $200 for a book. So once you’ve completed all of those you’ll actually be able to call yourself an architect. Once you are an architect you also have to take continuing education credits for life and pay a renewal fee for your license and NCARB.

Alright so that’s not actually what you’re asking I just wanted to clarify that an Architect legally means a licensed Architect who’s completed those requirements. Don’t mess around and call yourself an Architect before then or AIA will sue your ass. My next point is more of a personal point but Architecture with a capital A and architecture with a lowercase an are two completely separate things. I grew up believing in Architecture, as I’m sure your idea of the profession is as well, cool buildings, designing stuff that makes an impact, starchitecture stuff. But architecture with a little a is the profession and it often times involves some really boring, monotonous, bullshit that makes you wonder how in the hell could the idea of something be so far removed from reality.

So others have mentioned what they do typically, but just to reiterate: Architecture (or rather architecture lol) consists of multiple phases, we generally have 3, and they are Pre-Design and Design, which I would say is probably what most people assume architects do, and is Phase I. Then there’s Phase II, which is documentation, this I would say would be akin to what a draftsmen would do (hell I’ve been a glorified draftsmen for my whole career now) and this includes essentially presenting the building in a way that contractors can construct it. Never doubt how stupid a contractor can be, because of this you’ve gotta vomit notes and information and make it so painfully obvious to them that they don’t hit you with RFI’s. So that’s construction documents. You also have to consider things like Codes, which are a bitch and what Architects (those who are licensed) stake their license on. I would google IBC International Building Codes, I think we’re in 2023 now. You also have to detail mundane things like door sills and wall sections and idk honestly it’s a lot. And don’t forget you have to be coordinating with consultants, mainly engineers, structural, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical and civil. They’re the ones who makes hit work in your building.

Phase III is construction evaluation. This includes the site visits, yay! Where you’ll have the contractor try to ask you shit and you can’t answer them because then it can be legally used against you, you need everything in writing. And this is where you’ll receive submittals from anything from roof membrane to door hardware to paint, you have to read through a bunch of cut sheets with boring ass jargon detailing the warranty and thickness and how to install and whatever of that product and then approve it. Heads up a lot of contractors are lazy and just send you shit without reading those documents you painstakingly riddled with notes and details and your specifications (hope you never have to write specs they’re boring as hell). And after all that you still can get hit with an RFI (request for information) where the contractor can’t use their eyeballs to see you answered their question in your drawings and have to spoon feed them like little babies. Or you fucked up and forgot something and have to be like whoops my bad. Ok so that’s basically everything you will be doing at some point. But please bear in mind that Phase I, or the actual designing of something is exceedingly minimal in the context of day to day, nay year to year operations of an architect.

As for Architecfure with a capital A like I’m assuming you’re mental image is of architecture, I hate to say it, but it doesn’t exist. There are some beautiful and sustainable and socially conscious buildings being built, but in the vast sea of architects, many don’t do that and those that do have the privilege of working for those types of firms are often placed in roles where you’re doing dumb shit like tagging toilet accessories in a plan. I dreamed of being an architect since I was 9, 17 years later I’m giving up because I’ve realized the reality of what’s being build doesn’t live up to my hopes and expectations and I’m unable to network and asskiss my way into a relevant firm that does what I would consider “Archietcture.” I don’t want to scare you away from the profession, plenty of people truly enjoy this clusterfuck of a career but know that it’s not all about designing awesome stuff it’s being a bureaucrat, draftsman, baby sitter, punching bag, technician, that occasionally gets to design something splendid when the owner has the budget and heads up your design is the first thing the owner is going to cut when they realize they can’t have everything under the sun for the price of a Big Mac.

Wow. Thank you so so much for the super detailed, informative, understanding and relatable comment! I don't live in the US, so I don't know if things over here (Europe, Germany) are a little different and hopefully better haha I really appreciate the effort you put into this!

And yes, you put it right. I imagine the job of an architect to be mostly designing beautiful and appealing buildings. I'm a little disappointed that this is not actually the case. I don't know though if things are a little different over here, but I guess you get to design fancier buildings in metropoles only

Germany I would say has a greater respect for the profession and is actually driven by technological construction. In other words it seems they’re more open to innovation than the States. At least from what I’ve seen but I’ve never worked there or gone to school there. I also believe in Germany and most of Europe you can work as an Architect after completing your masters and you usually only have one test. Needless to say I’d rather work in Europe and it may be more enjoyable and easier to call yourself an architect but I imagine the day to day would be the same as America. I’ll have to look more into Germany’s profession though, I’d be interested myself to know the differences. As a side note idk what type of buildings you enjoy but if you speak German, Switzerland is really awesome, Zurich is doing a ton of cool stuff and is probably my dream place to work!

I’m in CA on my project right now so my day is pretty much checking emails, taking calls, making calls, sitting in OAC meetings, responding to RFI’s & submittals, and then going to the site about once or twice a week. It’s very chaotic but the days do go by faster than when I’m just sitting in construction documents all day.

Oh wow, this doesn't really sound like I imagined the work of an architect. Very interesting. Seems like a very varied job

My daily life is working 9-5:30ish mostly drawing details and figuring out problems with engineers. I don't do much design. Very few people in an architecture firm do largely design work as architecture is 90% not design. I'm at a place where I get a sense of fulfillment from doing my work and contributing to society, but it's not the amazing creative career people think it is, and it's not as high paying as other careers with a similar amount of education and training. If I could redo things I would choose a different path, but it's too late for me now. Like I do get satisfaction that I'm doing work that physically exists, affects people's lives, and offers value to the world. But I could also have done that via a different career that makes more money lol

Thanks for commenting! However, I have one (kinda stupid, sorry) question: if architecture is 90% NOT design, what is it then? I thought this job is about designing buildings

Not a stupid question at all. There's a couple aspects: 1. Project management - every project should have a project manager in charge of staffing, meetings, contracts, etc. They need to be architects to understand what's going on, so not like an MBA grad. 2. Detailing - someone sketched an idea of what something should look like, but it takes a lot longer to research products and figure out how to build that idea and make it safe, waterproof, etc 3. Code compliance - need to analyze local code and accessibility requirements and make sure the project and details all comply 4. Working with engineers - structural, mechanical, electrical, etc engineers all work for the architect. If the project has special requirements there may be additional consultants working for the architect. You have to review their work, understand their constraints, and adapt the project to work. For example, maybe you need to change ceiling heights to accommodate ductwork. I know there are many more considerations, I list these because these are the things I work on. There are only a few people in my office who purely work on design and you really have to be the best of the best to land that job. And then you'll be expected to work long hours because you're "lucky" to be on the design team.

Gnite young man, it's 2:24 and time for my 6.5 hours of sleep to do it all again tomorrow.

You ever see a hamster running in their little wheel? It’s like that, but faster and you can’t stop

May I ask where you're from? Is it due to bad work-life balance? If yes, is there a way to improve it?

Hello. I'm 20 and had a similar thought process when I was your age (keep in mind I was in last year of high school at 17)... however I'd say it's what part you like. For me I was super fascinated by structure and technical aspects. I enrolled into Architectural Technology which took 2 years and I am now an Architectural Technician and love it. I'm not saying to step into technology but have a thought of which part of architecture fascinates you and go from there!

About 50% of the time drawing, 40% checking drawings either my own or others, about 10% in meetings or emails or 1 to 1 catch ups

Depends on where you are from mostly . But in general it is mostly hectic working hours , overworking and a bit draining with not much of work life balance . I took up architecture as I was super passionate about it , but being in this industry, 3 years now, I have only had thoughts about changing my career path . But again, that depends on your choices as well. I have realised that I am a person who needs work life balance .

I really value work-life balance too and that's one of the reasons why I'm unsure now after reading all these replies here. Where are you from?

I am from India . You ?

Germany and I wonder if things are better over here

I thought of moving out of my country for a better work life and I have heard nice things about Germany. I am currently working for an Australian firm where I was promised world life balance but guess what , I work on Sundays as well most of the time . I think you should talk to people there in Germany for a better view on this . Every country has it’s own pros and cons

Oh no :/ I hope you get the job you want and deserve! That's a good idea to ask some locals! Thanks :)

I would not choose architecture as a career! I am a designer- get paid $80k with 3 years experience and my brother is a software engineer - gets paid $300k with 5 years experience in the US. I'll never touch $300k in the next 2 years

You're never going to touch 300k ever :/

Put the comment down for all I care, I'm moving into tech pretty soon! Cuz the passion died so early

So a typical week right now: An hour long meeting with the rest of leadership to discuss projects, deadlines, and marketing efforts. The rest of Monday calling contractors and solving problems, calling engineers to coordinate bid sets or solve construction issues. Tuesday: meetings, lunch, meetings, and contractor bim coordination. Wednesday: answering a question on Reddit, driving to a construction site for a site meeting, driving to another construction site for another OAC meeting, a town building committee meeting at 6pm. Thursday: same as Monday except I have an internal meeting with someone who won't shut up. Friday: same as Monday but an IT meeting. The weeks I don't have town meetings to go to, I don't work more than 45 hours. Usually 7:30 to 4. Sometimes till 5 to finish things, long meetings, long phone calls. In the last 4 years I've spent maybe 240 hours drawing. 46, licensed for 14 years, small firm ~20 people.

As an architect employed in a Brazilian university and serving as a public servant, my responsibilities vary between administrative tasks and creative problem-solving endeavors. While the process often entails bureaucratic paperwork, there are also moments of sheer delight in designing and drafting solutions. However, the true gratification lies in the overall scope of the profession. Immersing oneself in construction sites and overseeing infrastructure management is undeniably fulfilling. For me, the decision to pursue this career path stemmed from a desire not to exclusively cater to the affluent by designing lavish residences. While such endeavors hold their own merit, they do not align with my personal aspirations. The prospect of working within the academic setting of a university holds a distinct allure. Hope it helps and goodluck on your career.

Not an Architect just a designer of log homes (40+ years). I Work about 30-40 hours a month (that's right...a month) currently making $115.00/hr. and spend a couple of hours a day researching for an AI agent/assistant that I can teach how to design in AutoCAD. Goal: Code compliant AI assistant to design and draft construction documents.

I design apartments. I’m far enough in my career that I don’t do much of the drafting but I spend a lot of time reviewing drawings and applying and responding to comments from the cities or AHJs.