What an architect really does
You turn a client's needs into drawings that meet code and can be built, then protect the design through every change and cost cut.
FieldScience and engineering
Preparation (O*NET Job Zone)Extensive preparation needed
What the work involves
What fills a typical week for architects, built from O*NET occupation data.
- Drawing plans and details in CAD or Revit for most of the day
- Checking designs against building codes, accessibility rules, and zoning
- Meeting with clients to review drawings and work through what they need
- Putting together construction documents and coordinating engineers' drawings
- Visiting job sites to see whether construction matches the plans
- Answering contractor questions, reviewing submittals, and handling cost and schedule changes
What the days are like
What people in the job know
- Drawing is the job's center of gravity, and most of it happens at a screen. Task rank 1, importance 99: Prepare scale drawings or architectural designs; Spend time sitting: 65% continually or almost continually (O*NET)
- Deadlines are frequent and often daily, tied to client meetings, permits, and bid sets. Time pressure: 30% every day, 39% once a week or more (O*NET Work Context)
- Code compliance matters almost as much as design. It is the second most important task. Task rank 2, importance 94: Plan or design structures to meet environmental, safety, and other regulations (O*NET Tasks)
- Your freedom is more limited than people expect, because clients, codes, and budgets decide a lot. Freedom to make decisions: 35% limited, 13% very little (O*NET Work Context)
- It is a competitive field for both jobs and commissions. Level of competition: 22% extremely competitive, 48% highly competitive (O*NET Work Context)
How people get into it
Most architects earn a professional architecture degree (O*NET respondents: 43% master's, 39% bachelor's), then complete the AXP experience program of several thousand hours under licensed architects and pass all parts of the ARE before they can call themselves an architect. Until then, the title is usually designer or architectural associate.
The Firstday trial, easy to hard
Three simulated tasks with AI coworkers who message you, react to your work and coach with questions. Nobody scores you.
What the trial can't show: The trial does not teach Revit or CAD, which take months to learn, and it simplifies building code to a few excerpts. It cannot show walking a construction site in a hard hat, physical model making, or the years long arc of one building from sketch to opening. You act as an unlicensed architectural designer working under a licensed architect, which is the normal role for new graduates.
Reading about it is one thing.
Find out how the work feels to you before you spend on a degree, course or job change. Your first trial is free.
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Job details on this page are built from O*NET OnLine, 17-1011.00. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.