Careers: Architect

person while the skyscraper houses over 200 companies and thousands of employees

Elizabeth lives at her place everyone in the skyscraper merely works at theirs [people working in offices]

well Elizabeth doesn't really have to worry about low-flying aircraft in the

skyscraper does and yet they have one thing very much in common both of their

structures were designed by who's that poker players neurosurgeons lawyers

architects yeah that well yeah granted they were [architects at sunset]

designed by two very different types of architects the architect who designs a

single-family dwelling and the one who designs a high-rise building have about

as much in common as a neurosurgeon and a pediatrician but yeah whether we're

talking a single-story residential abode a towering skyscraper a large industrial [pictures of different structures]

complex a football stadium or some over-the-top artsy concert hall well it

originated in the mind of an architect which if we're talking about the guy who

designed this monstrosity is probably a scary place well then you can break each [hammer breaks screen]

of these things down even further there are two major elements to Architecture

functionality and artistry well you may have heard about the whole left brain

right thing yeah well where the left side of your brain controls all your [brain in space]

cognitive thought language logic all that good stuff the right side handles

all the emotions and creative thought well for most careers you really just

need to excel at one of those if you're a doctor your brains left hemisphere had

better be firing on all cylinders and if you're a pianist well it's the right

hemisphere that should be you know hitting all the high notes but an

architect well they need to use their entire brain when it comes to designing [architect using both sides of brain]

a building there's a staggering amount of math needed

aside from merely having all the dimensions of the walls ceilings and

floors determined within fractions of an inch [modern building]

you'll also have to know enough about physics to decide whether this structure

of yours is gonna sway too much in the wind or buckle in earth

but at the same time architecture is art visit the Duomo in st. Mark's Square in

Italy or the Taj Mahal in India and try telling yourself that these are just

places people can go to you know hang out from the rain entering one of these

magnificent structures can be aw inspiring and even life-changing and it

doesn't need to be some wonder of the ancient world to blow you away either

the Sydney Opera House finished construction in 1973 the Lotus Temple in [Sydney Opera House]

New Delhi was finished in 1986 even this place has a you know certain charm to it

because yeah even a modest privately owned home can be a work of art like [modern home]

look what a difference crown molding can make check out what a difference it can

make having an open-concept kitchen as

opposed to one that's you know small and closed off like backroom and McDonald's [comparison of a large and small kitchen]

well this might be an unusual place to put bookshelves but it must work for

somebody know whenever there are creative choices to be made art can be [man contemplating tiny house toy]

created long story short you've got to be a particular type of person to excel

as an architect you have to have a lot going on upstairs you know in both

bedrooms okay so why let's move on what's involved ie how do you become one

of these architect people well assuming you've got both the creativity and brain

power required you'll need to put in a lot of time in order to get where you

want to be you'll need to start by getting your Bachelor of architecture [diploma framed on wall]

degree usually a five-year program less than you'd need to become a neurosurgeon

but more than you'd need to run a Waffle House and keep in mind if you're set on

designing big important commercial buildings rather than just sticking to [modern city scape]

residential you can plan on at least another three to four years of school

you'll have to spend time learning the craft learning how to convey depth

learning how to you know sharpen a pencil how to draw in both physical and

virtual mediums and yeah you'll need to master CAD or computer-aided drafting [virtual mediums for architecture]

software so that you won't actually need that pencil very much all right and then

you'll need to master newer design software where you can practically see

the finished product in all its glory in 3D before it's even built then you'll [house in 3D]

need to learn about building codes like all of them and [building code books on table]

then maybe you can get your license and then you can wait

usually for quite a few years as you in turn then work your way up from the

bottom kind of like one of those elevators you'll be designing because

yeah this isn't the kind of thing where you can jump in on day one scribble some

rough plans and get a construction company to well you know make your [baby on a conference table]

vision a reality as with the film industry and the Mafia

you'll need to put in your time well once your ship finally comes in though

you can make some awfully nice Bank the average salary for an architect is

around seventy three K but there are opportunities to make vastly more money

than that if you can survive the lean years when you're trying to survive on

ramen noodles and 35 grand or less you can make in the 60 grand range as an

associate and then into six figures once you've mastered the craft and built

yourself a book of clients and you can make millions after that if you end up

being really really good well in general a firm will receive 10% of whatever the

build cost is for providing architecture services it was just you

well you'll keep that 10% but if you split the work with four other

architects while you'll split the pay - leaving you just a skosh over two

percent of the build cost but yeah if you're designing a $500,000 construction

project and you're the sole architect well you'll pocket 50 grand roughly for

whether that work and it's worthwhile to note that many architects also hire an

interior design firm to handle things like lighting placement color schemes

flooring materials and so on and their fees come out of that 50k but their hope

is to upsell the owner into buying furniture through them as an interior [architects on construction site]

decorator where you know they can make some serious money commissions and all

that all right well are you joining an architectural firm or going it alone

because yeah that makes a difference if you're building homes that are part of a

large new development it might be you and a team of 11 other architects

banging out the plans for 150 residences and then just moving on to the next

project if it's custom home it'll take longer to design require more creativity

and ingenuity and mean more money in your pocket than what you'd make for one

of those hundred fifty cookie cutter houses or you might be designing bridges [arial of suburbia]

or military buildings or airports or nuclear holocaust bunkers for paranoid

Wall Street investment bankers yeah the range of projects and potential income

is design a premier high-rise in New York

City well you'll be getting a fat check for millions just don't expect to retire

on what you make from designing this thing there are a couple other reasons [run-down shack]

you might want to go the architect route aside from dollar signs the one thing [money falling down]

you're helping to create something of value

someone will live work and play in the building you design ever moved out of a [family hugging]

home and felt genuinely sentimental about leaving it behind and we're

talking just a pile of wood and drywall and get a home can burrow its way into

your heart so in a sense you're not just building housing you're building

memories also the artist half of you is gonna feel an incredible sense of [people on construction site]

achievement every time you get to watch something go from blue lines on a piece

of paper to a structure that towers over people's head most other artists can't

say the same their work can you know hang on a wall or fit on a shelf but

yours would need a literal wrecking ball to take it down as for the actual

process of architecting well you'll generally start by being commissioned to

design a specific project either by an individual or by the firm you work for

you'll work closely with the client to make sure the plans fit their needs

probably less closely if your name is Frank Gehry and you've already

established yourself as a genius whose train of thought shouldn't be

interrupted but yeah you'll have to kiss some derriere the client is boss you

might have a vision for the most butt-kicking building in the world but

if the client doesn't want a gazebo on top of their jewelry shop well then

you'll have to go back to the drawing board

then once construction begins you'll work just as closely with a construction

team to ensure that everything is going according to plan

and that they haven't decided to you know do something weird like put

plumbing in a clothing closet as automation and Technology chug ahead you [closet opens]

might find yourself losing out on some jobs like well it might only be robots

designing boring tract housing in the coming years but for anything that

requires creativity the human brain both the right and left side of it still

reign supreme so good architects will be in demand for a long time to come put in

time vote yourself passionately to the craft and you should have the blueprint

for a promising future