Some people have an interest in architecture. They look at style periods like the Colonial or Victorian era, and it inspires them. They might want to put their twist on that and make it their career.
We’ll talk about some possible reasons why you might want to get into architecture right now. If these notions appeal to you, you may consider studying architecture in college and doing it for a living.
An Architectural Career Offers Many Possibilities
If buildings interest you, the first thing you’ll need to decide is if you want to get into architecture vs. civil engineering. Architecture and civil engineering differ from each other, though they’re related to some degree. Architecture occurs when you do design work related to a building project, while civil engineering occurs when you look at a project’s structural elements and find methods to make that construction feasible.
If architecture sounds more like what you want to do, you should know that you have a wide range of construction-related careers from which to choose. For instance, you might design private residences or office buildings. You could design municipal buildings, banks, or anything else that appeals to you.
Once you study architecture and get the necessary degrees, you can take your career in many different directions. That versatility and where it can take you might appeal to you.
It Pays Well
Architecture also pays pretty well, for the most part. Certain jobs in this industry pay better than others, but if you’re in it for profit, you will find that you can live very comfortably as an architect.
If you’re a design architect and cultivate a respectable reputation, you can expect to make in the high six figures each year. You can make as much as $350,000 per year in some instances. As your reputation grows and companies demand your buildings more, you can live a very opulent lifestyle if money motivates you.
You Can Help People
You might also get into architecture, not for the money, but to help people. You can partner with entities or work for one that designs houses for the homeless, for instance. You can work with urban planners to create housing that will get people off the street and help them get back on their feet.
You can go to impoverished parts of the world and work to come up with affordable housing solutions. If you do this, maybe you won’t make as much money as you would if you designed office buildings for banks or other huge conglomerates, but you can help humanity. Maybe that attracts you more than the piles of money you could potentially make in this field.
You Get to See Your Vision Become a Reality
Not many jobs exist where you get to envision something, and then it becomes a reality right in front of you. That’s something you get to experience when you’re an architect.
You can develop plans for a building and design it from the ground up. You’ll see the bare patch of land where nothing exists yet, and you’ll come up with a plan for what should go there. Maybe you will come up with your own style so that when anyone sees a building you designed, they will know that it’s one of yours.
You might design a building in a major city like Los Angeles, New York, Paris, London, or elsewhere around the world, and it will stand for generations. Maybe you’ll design an opera house, a museum, or some other noteworthy building that will bear your name long after you’ve passed away.
That’s how you leave a legacy behind, and that matters to some people. It’s an intriguing prospect and one that could motivate you to enter this field.
You Can Set an Example for Your Kids
If you have children, it should make them proud when they tell their classmates that you’re an architect. Just as you can walk past a building you designed, they can do the same. Someday, they might tell your grandchildren or great-grandchildren that you created this building that bears your name.
It’s pretty exciting to think that your buildings can stand as monuments to your career. That’s not something many other professionals can claim, so you might think about that if you want to move in this direction.
Architecture is also a growth industry, so you’ll know there’s always work out there for you if you have an aptitude for it.
