An attorney friend was shocked to find out from this article (click here) that architects are paid crappy wages. Of course he had to e-mail all of his architect friends in dismay. The following sentiment is the culmination of our dialogue.
I have at least bachelors degree and one masters degree and a total of 220+ college credits. I attended really good colleges that have accredited architecture programs. These schools are expensive and, typically, one ingests a lot of debt by completion. During and after college I was required to document more than 7800 hours of my work experience and was required to pay, annually, a group to manage said experience for me in "files."
Only upon completion of two degrees and a very low paying internship, was I granted a certificate allowing me to begin taking the Architectural Registration Examination (ARE). This title is cute in the way that it is singular when, actually, I took nine (or 7 in ARE 4.0) separate exams ranging from 2 to 6 hours each, at a cost of about $150 each. I spent nearly $1000 on study materials as well as hundreds of hours, not to mention having to use vacation time to take the actual exams.
Then after all of that, I finally felt as though I accomplished something, only to work for a salary lower than most when they finish college with a bachelor degree. At work, on any given day, I can walk on to a jobsite only to be looked down upon by dozens of contractors who think I'm nothing more than an overpaid artist with a goal of making their lives difficult. What they don't understand is, aside from not being overpaid; each of them knows how to do one thing. I need to know how to do all of their jobs, as well as many many more. I write the dullest of technical specifications to clearly define the scope of work and how to perform the work.
I'm a marriage counselor and a magician. I need to be able to remember which tile you said was in your childhood home at our first meeting and find it for you again. I need to tell you that you can't afford your dreams, but ask you to trust me to deliver a solid compromise; but I feel bad about that, so I won't charge for my time during that meeting.
Why do I do it? I compare it to people who golf. Every once in awhile, you hit that perfect shot, and you can't wait to do it again.
That's why I'm an Architect.
