Looking around your town or city, you will see many different buildings and infrastructure: houses and stores, schools and community centers, shopping malls and places of worship.  These buildings can be plain, or they can be beautiful works of art.  Regardless of the type of building, however, it needs to be designed.  This type of building design work is done by professionals called architects.

What Does an Architect Do?

Architects are responsible for designing buildings and making sure that they look nice, that they are safe, and that they are functional.  Architects will use both artistic skills and technical knowledge to create drawings and plans of a building’s interior and exterior, and these drawings will be used to create the blueprints that are used for construction.  They will also oversee projects from beginning to end, which involves working with the company who wants the building, the city or town where it is being built, and interacting with the construction teams who are doing the day-to-day work.

What Skills Do Architects Need?

Architects need a wide variety of skills to be effective in their work.  This includes artistic abilities to imagine and draw illustrations of the buildings they are thinking of, drafting skills to draw technical layouts and blueprints, and a strong understanding of physical sciences including engineering and math.  They also possess knowledge about building codes, environmental regulations, local and provincial laws regarding construction, and much more.

Architects work closely with clients and construction crews, so they need to have strong communication skills to explain their ideas, and strong interpersonal skills to work with others.    Most architects work in offices, either as part of an architecture firm, or as individuals who work independently.  They can be hired by private companies, the military, or the government.

To work as an architect, you need to study architecture and earn a degree from a college or university.  You will also need to complete an internship under a registered architect, and take an architect registration exam.

The average yearly salary for architects working in Canada is around $67,000. Depending on where they work and how many years of experience they have, architects can make anywhere from about $48,000 to $101,000 per year,

Where Do Architects Work?

There are jobs for architects all across Canada and around the world, for projects large and small.  No matter what kind of architectural projects you want to work on, from huge skyscrapers and impressive artistic designs to houses, schools, hospitals, and more, there is no end to the opportunities in an architect’s career.  This also means as an architect you may have the option to travel to other cities and countries.

A lot of an architect’s work will be done in an office environment, such as when working on creating drawings and blueprints or building example models of a building design, and can involve long hours sitting at a desk and working at a drafting table or computer.  Architects will also regularly work on-site during the construction and finishing stages of a project, which can involve a significant amount of standing and walking.  Some architects may even work remotely from home, only visiting offices or job sites occasionally.

Architecture is a very important part of the many buildings that make up a town or city. Architects are the people that help make them happen. If all of this sounds fun and exciting, then architect might be the job for you!

Sources

CareerExplorer. “What does an architect do?” https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/architect/

Job Bank. “Architect in Canada.” https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/requirements/17867/ca

PayScale. “Design Architect.” https://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Job=Design_Architect/Salary

StudentScholarships.org. “What do architects do?” https://studentscholarships.org/salary/556/architects.php