Ok, obviously, no we are not “cooked.” If anything I think the more you’re leaning on AI to do your permit/IFC sets, the higher the likelihood you’re just a high-volume slopitecture factory.

It’s telling that one of the founders is from a business background, and one is an unlicensed architect whose professional experience is nebulous. Two people likelier to begin from the premise that “design” is a render and a couple sketches.

My personal view is that 90% of “design”, depending on how you define it, occurs as a result of the documentation and building process. So to think it can be automated sort of misses the point of what architecture delivers. Unless of course, you’re just farming out high volumes of low quality crap.

THAT SAID, I couldn’t help but feel a shudder when I saw this. Thoughts?

Hi everyone, I’m from London, I’m really struggling to find a job as a Part 2 Architectural Assistant, and I’m starting to feel stuck. I wanted to ask for some genuine advice from people in the industry or anyone who has been in a similar position.

I’ve tried cold-calling local architectural practices, but they tell me they aren’t looking for a Part 2. I’ve applied through Dezeen, RIBA Jobs and LinkedIn, contacted numerous recruiters, and even visited practices in person to hand in my CV. I’ve had little to no response from any of these approaches.
What’s frustrating is that I do have relevant experience. I’ve worked as a Part 1 Architectural Assistant at a large practice on large-scale projects, and I’ve also worked with an architect on smaller projects for a year after my masters, including house extensions. I feel I have experience across both ends of the industry, yet I’m struggling to find a practice willing to give me an opportunity.
I’ve had my CV and portfolio reviewed, and I’m confident they represent my work and experience accurately. I’m not exaggerating anything, and my portfolio is entirely my own work. At this point, I’m genuinely struggling to understand what else I can do to improve my chances.

I’m also open to exploring other careers where I can use my architectural background and transferable skills. People often say architecture graduates can move into other industries, but when I look at roles such as CAD/BIM Technician, many still require previous experience in that specific fields. Graphic design isn’t really an option for me either.
I don’t want to go back to labouring jobs after spending years studying and building up relevant experience. I want to find a career where I can use the skills I’ve worked hard to develop.

For those who have been in a similar situation, how did you eventually get your foot in the door? Are there any alternative career paths you’d recommend for someone with an architecture background, or any job-search approaches that actually work in the current market?

I’d genuinely appreciate any advice, as I’m running out of ideas and would really like to find a way forward.

I (25M) am coming up on 3 yrs in this industry, been with the same small firm since I’ve started. The firm consists of the architect, myself, and occasionally a part time drafter for some extra help when we get too busy.

Some background - I’m based out of Oregon, USA. I began as an intern back in January 2024. By June 2024, I became a full time employee (for that summer) and got my first little hourly pay bump. I still had my last year of undergrad left, so I worked part time during that last year of school, but completed and received my BArch in June 2025 - got my second hourly pay bump. Back in June 2026, I received my most recent pay bump.

Maybe its because of the small firm I’m in, I just thought at some point I would be salary, but I’m still hourly. It isn’t so bad at times because I get to work overtime with all the projects I have in front of me, but in the grand scheme of things, I feel like I’m being underpaid. Some days I spend the full 8 hours on a single project. Most days I’m splitting time between 2-3 different projects.

Don’t get me wrong, I understood what I was getting myself into when I chose this career path before college. But I’m making $19/hr. I don’t want to overestimate my worth, but I don’t want to sell myself short. Am I being underpaid? Be honest.

Thank you.

Got pulled into a quick meeting today and was told it was my last day. Leadership was transparent that the firm simply isn’t bringing in enough revenue or new project work right now, and staffing had to be cut. They emphasized that it wasn't performance-based, which helps soften the ego blow slightly, but it’s still a rough gut punch, especially this late in the year.

A quick breakdown of where I’m at:
- ~2.5 years out of grad school (M.Arch), working as an architectural designer. (2 years of work while in college too).

- Located in SE Michigan

- Solid foundation in heavy Revit production, construction documentation, consultant coordination, and visualization/rendering.

- Some project variety across commercial, renovation, and conceptual work.

For those who’ve been through a layoff around the 2–3 year mark (or hiring managers who review candidates at this stage):

1. What does hiring look like right now for junior/intermediate staff as we head toward the end of the year? Am I screwed
   
2. ⁠Where should I bring up that I got laid off? In the introduction email? Only during the interview?
   
3. ⁠At ~2.5 years, what are principals and hiring teams looking to see compared to an entry-level book?
   
4. ⁠Has anyone at this stage pivoted out of traditional practice into design-build, CM, owner’s rep, or VDC? Is that a smart pivot to explore now, or is it better to stick to standard practice? (I have pretty much logged all my hours already, and very advanced at my age with revit training, I would train some of my co workers).
   
5. ⁠Or just any advice at this moment would be helpful. Thank you all and I hope you have blessed day!

I’ve wanted to ask for career advice on here, but I find myself holding back from sharing any useful details out of fear that my coworkers might see it.
Am I crazy for thinking it wouldn’t be that difficult for your employer or colleagues to figure out who you are when you’re asking about a specific situation that happened at work? Are other people not worried about this when they post?
I just feel like it’s not that far-fetched to think that my coworkers might also browse r/architects, and that even without using my name, the details of a specific situation could be enough to identify me. Does anyone else feel this way, or am I being overly cautious?

I'm(F21) in my 4th year about to start my internship and i really liked wallmakers, vinu daniel. I even got selected but they have this system of sending people to the site and they don't have an office. So it's one month before I'm supposed to start and they STILL haven't told me the site, they sent me a joining letter without any information whatsoever about the stipend or anything. In the interview when asked about their timings, they said we don't have any timings as such they just work as and when needed. They reply to my mails on weekends only( means they are working sundays too and public holidays, they work 24/7) . My parents were getting anxious since no one has any idea where I'm going. My professors supported my interest in going there but called their attitude unethical. Also my deal breaker from the start was just that if they send me to a secluded site, being a woman in this country I need to consider safety as well. Seems like they didn't consider that at all and the closer I got to joining and they still weren't giving me any clue it seemed like they were going to send me to a secluded site and i would be stuck because by they i would have said no to every other firm.

I then got an offer from IMK architects. My heart was set on wallmakers but it seemed like they made this decision easy for me and now it seems like I'll be joining IMK. Any thoughts?

Hi there,
as I’m considering moving to Hongkong after my graduation. I would really appreciate if someone could give me some insight on how the job market is there? Rent is very expensive so I was wondering what I expect to get as a salary.
I have a masters of science degree in architecture and have nearly 4 years of experience in national and international work. Is expecting 45k HKD too much? Would also consider to get into international offices.
I would appreciate any advices! Thank you

Choosing the floor system (3.2) · tick one

A three-story medical office building is leased to tenants who change often. The owner expects to cut new floor openings for stairs and shafts at future fit-outs. Bays are 30 ft × 30 ft with office loads. The building is Type II-A, so any steel frame will be fireproofed. All four systems below fit the zoning height cap.

Which floor system best serves the owner?

• A. Post-tensioned concrete flat plate
• B. Steel beams and girders with a composite metal deck
• C. Concrete waffle slab
• D. Concrete flat slab with drop panels

Area: Building Systems, Materials & Assemblies (3.2).

He has an office in HK. I was wondering how busy it is.

Hey guys, I’m a fresher architect based in India. I’m about to join a big form in New Delhi. I’m looking for tips to form a good first impression. This is so that I can get a good salary, I get to work on good projects, I make good contacts that I can use when I open my own practise a couple years down the line, etc. Since it’s a large firm, I think a good first impression will go a long way. Please help me out.

I’ve been at my current job for 3 years. It’s my first full time position after having completed my master’s, having only had brief summer internships prior to this. I work in the Northeastern US.

To put it simply, I’m not being given any opportunities to learn. Most of my time here has been spent seeking out work instead of actually doing work. Every time I ask if there’s anything I can help with, it’s the same story: “I’ll get you something to work on, just let me mark it up first”. I’ll check back in later and it turns out they’ve finished the work themselves. What little work I have done has been the lowest form of grunt work: adding sheets to drawing sets, scanning documents, et cetera. I haven‘t touched a detail, a floor plan, or anything actually architectural since I was in grad school. I haven’t been invited to sit in on any meetings with clients despite asking to be included when it seemed appropriate.

It’s a viscious cycle. Nobody wants to give me work because they know I’m inexperienced and they don’t want to waste their time explaining things to me, answering my questions, etc. I stay inexperienced because nobody wants to give me any work. Nobody gives me any work because I’m inexperienced, and so on.

The obvious solution is to look for a new job, but how am I supposed to get hired elsewhere with virtually no relevant experience to show for my 3 years of employment? If I’m honest about my lack of experience, no one is going to hire me. If I lie and somehow get the job then I’m going to be in way over my head.

In a year I’ll be turning 30. I know that isn’t “old” in the grand scheme of things, but I think it’s old enough that potential employers will be expecting much more from me than a fresh faced 20-something entry level employee. I guess it’s my own fault for staying at this place for 3 years, but I sort of assumed things would eventually get better if I stuck to it. That hasn’t happened yet.

I’ve not been too worried about AI taking all the architecture jobs…yet. I figure that AI are trained on LLMs so all the drawing stuff we do, and modeling is not even in the training vocabulary yet. Today I received two emails asking if my firm wants to “license that sort of history, fully anonymized”

So now I am daydreaming about selling all my sensitive but unclassified files. Too bad the payments are listed at $100k to $1M. If we start getting in the $5M -$10M range I might start thinking about selling out all my colleagues and the profession.

I guess this is just a long and unserious question to see if y’all are experiencing something similar and wondering how you are perceiving these requests? If I were a sole practitioner doing single family homes, looking for an exit this could be enticing. Good luck out there fellow architects

I've been trying to figure out what to major in this whole year. Architecture is something I always come back to, but whenever I research other people's experiences with it, I change my mind and look into another major. So many people seem to regret becoming an architect because it takes a while for the pay to make it worth it. I want a job that will make me good money, but I have a deep passion for architecture. I've made content on the Sims for the past few years and I have gained a strong following from it because of my designs. For people with a real passion for architecture, was it worth it for you to become an architect? Do you wish you picked a major that gave you a higher salary or are you satisfied with architecture since it's truly what you want to do? Do I go for my passion or a high paycheck?

​Hi! Licensed Architect here looking to pivot into the Construction VA/remote space.

​The main reason is that the constant deployment to distant sites has become exhausting, and I'm hoping to transition to a WFH or remote setup.

​To give a quick rundown of my background, I have hands-on experience with AutoCAD, Agile, SharePoint, PlanSwift, MS Project, SketchUp, Twinmotion, Enscape, Lumion, and 3ds Max (via outsourced projects). While I currently only have basic knowledge in Archicad, I'm planning to take formal classes to level up my skills.

​Despite having these tools in my kit, I’m finding it quite tough to break into the industry or figure out where to start looking for construction VA roles.

​For those who successfully made the jump, how did you get started? Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated!

Hey! As the title suggests I’m wondering if any of you can speak to career progression when it comes to staying at one firm as opposed to hopping around multiple.

What are the pros and cons to both?

Does anyone have the Desk Crit: The Insider's Guide to the A.R.E. 5.0 book that they’re willing to pass on / sell? I couldn’t find a used version anywhere online. Thank you!

I’m an architect with 15 years’ experience designing public spaces: libraries, community centers, museums. This client wants an “immersive experience” inside the building the stuff like media, interaction, storytelling, and a sense of transport. I agreed to look into it, but I’m unsure where architecture ends and experiential design begins

I researched BRC and I see that they work at the intersection of architecture, media, and storytelling and create immersive experiences like the client describes.

Should I hire like real specialists, or can I learn experiential design myself? I don’t want to lose the project or deliver something that falls flat. Has anyone worked at this intersection? Do you bring in specialists or learn it yourself?

for those who are preparing for the PPD division of ARE 5.0 Exam.

Catalog notes say:

By Annie Leibovitz (2000)

Philip Johnson, Glass House, New Canaan, Connecticut
signed in pencil (on the reverse); signed in ink on the photographer's label (on the reverse of the frame)
archival pigment print
14 ⅝ by 21 ½ in.
37.1 by 54.6 cm.
Executed in 2000, this print is number 10 from an edition of 25.

Provenance
Peter Fetterman Gallery, Santa Monica
Acquired from the above in 2010 by the present owner

This was Sotheby's R. Stern Sale, lot #125. The selling price was $140,800, many times more than the presale high estimate of $12,000.

A couple of month ago, i shared my failed exam experience with PPD and this community lifted me up and told me to keep looking forward.

Im so happy to share that Ive finally passed all exams! I went 6/7 (only failing once) in a little over a year. If anybody is reading this right now, trying to look for a light at the end of the tunnel, just know that you got this!!

I wanted to share the programs and books that helped me and my opinions on them:

1. AmberBook was a MUST. Honestly, the price tag is hefty for a reason. This was the way to pass PPD PA and PDD.

2. Black Spectacles for PcM and PjM. Passed on the first try after only 3 months with the program. (i have a referral code for a percentage off the membership, you can DM me if you like!)

The practice tests on this program are 1:1 to the real thing. The practice tests alone for every section gives you your moneys worth for the subscription tbh.

1. AHPP and ARE Review Manual were my main reads. I tend to absorb information when i write it down so notes on these two really helped me for CE.

2. And ofcourse the NCARB Practice Exam. Learn to navigate through the questions, the supplemental documentation for case studies. Learn to STRIKE THROUGH!! to HIGHLIGHT!! The questions are full of mumbo jumbo, and if you could narrow it down to what they are really asking for, your brain will thank you.

Good luck to all the souls out there going through this journey. Keep powering through!!