Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
Plan and design structures, such as private residences, office buildings, theaters, factories, and other structural property.
Also called: Architect · Design Architect · Planner · Project Architect · Specifications Writer
Median pay (national)
$96,690
$60,510–$159,800 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
111,140
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+3.9%
~7,800 openings/yr
Typical entry
Bachelor's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for architects, except landscape and naval shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $159,800 versus $60,510 at the bottom 10% — 2.6x. The median of $96,690 leaves roughly 65% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +3.9% from 2024 to 2034 — about as fast as the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 7,800 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 53 states with released data, District of Columbia pays the most for this role (median $114,480, +18% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $48,510 — a 136% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Critical Thinking as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Active Learning
- Mathematics
- Learning Strategies
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Develop final construction plans that include aesthetic representations of the structure or details for its construction.
- Prepare scale drawings or architectural designs, using computer-aided design or other tools.
- Prepare information regarding design, structure specifications, materials, color, equipment, estimated costs, or construction time.
- Consult with clients to determine functional or spatial requirements of structures.
- Meet with clients to review or discuss architectural drawings.
- Monitor the work of specialists, such as electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, interior designers, or sound specialists to ensure optimal form or function of designs or final structures.
- Integrate engineering elements into unified architectural designs.
- Plan layouts of structural architectural projects.
- Conduct periodic on-site observations of construction work to monitor compliance with plans.
- Prepare contract documents for building contractors.
Tools & technology
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Autodesk Revit
- Chaos Enscape
- McNeel Rhinoceros 3D
- Microsoft Office software
- Trimble SketchUp Pro
- Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud EC2
- Amazon Redshift
- Amazon Web Services AWS software
- Apache Cassandra
- Apache Hadoop
- Apache Hive
Knowledge areas
- Design
- Building and Construction
- Public Safety and Security
- Engineering and Technology
- Computers and Electronics
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service