A licensed architect leads a team of designers in both drawing up the plans for and supervising the construction of a building, house or some other structure. His skill set combines the disciplines of art, engineering and construction. He must also develop strong management skills to guide his team, stay within a budget and negotiate with clients, suppliers and contractors to shepherd his vision into reality.Significance
- To practice their profession in the United States, architects are required to complete either a bachelor's or master's degree in architecture from an accredited educational institution. Architects must also pass the computerized Architect Registration Examination (ARE) to qualify for their license. Architecture students also need to complete an internship or other professional training. Once they have fulfilled those requirements, they can become architects and start work.
Function
- An individual does not need to be a licensed architect to work in architecture. Many architects employ designers and drafters -- many of whom are studying to become architects. Most architects either own and operate their own firm or work for a larger company that employs many architects. Some architects distinguish themselves by their artistry and creativity while others pride themselves on low cost, efficiency and the ability to put together projects quickly.
Features
- A major part of an architect's job is determining what a client wants and then drawing up preliminary plans and making a cost estimate with relatively little information to go on. As most architecture clients know very little about the field, instructions are often vague. After outlining the project, architects need to be able to draw up blueprints and work with architecture software like CADD to complete the design phase.
Considerations
- Once the design phase is complete, the architect moves to more of a supervisory role in the building project. He will often have to monitor the construction to make sure that the contractor is building everything to the architect's specifications. If something unexpected happens with the construction or some new piece of information comes to light -- such as some sort of undiscovered geological issue with the land under the construction -- the architect will need to alter the plans on the fly, communicate them to the contractor and client and then alter the budget to meet the challenge.
Benefits
- Architecture is a challenging profession constantly looking for more professionals. The educational requirements and expectations are rigorous, and the work is very hard. The pay for the work is quite generous, averaging about $65,000 at the entry level, and architects that distinguish themselves in their profession can eventually become quite wealthy. Architects may often find that they can make more money and enjoy greater freedom either starting their own firm or working their way up the management ladder of a larger one.
Read more: Architect Job Description | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_4743731_architect-job-description.html#ixzz1ghf6msl0
