selophane.blog

One of the biggest challenges I face as a young Architect is learning my worth, both to clients and to employers. In my professional career I have yet to really get much experience knowing what my hourly rate is and how much to charge clients if I was to work freelance. This is a real weak part of my development and I feel that since it is not a part of our IDP training I might not learn it while working for someone else. On the other hand, I have no idea how to teach myself this information.

Employers are a different boat. As an intern architect it is hard to balance commitment to an employer and the job at hand and the pressures of your own personal finances. This is compounded by the drastic spike in pay rates that can be observed through a salary analysis website like salary.com, this pay jump is due in part to the lack of education in office standards most architects receive in school. As an intern fresh from college your practical knowledge base is close to nil. A first year intern on the other hand has a much broader working knowledge, and likewise is paid accordingly. If a fresh graduate stays at their first firm and receives a cost of living adjustment (COLA), they are shorting themselves anywhere from a 20 to 30% pay raise. This jump in average pay and knowledge seems to continue until about 5 years of experience, at which point the next major pay bump occurs with licensing and any new increases in responsibility. Partner this strong rise in pay with a low base starting pay for licensed profession (3 years ago the base median pay for a starting intern with 0-1 years experience in Washington, DC. was $35,000 – this is with a Bachelor of Architecture/Master of Architecture pre-professional degree) and heavy average student loan debts and you can start to understand the lack of loyalty and need for cash felt by most Intern Architects.

A COLA salary bump does nothing to engender feelings of loyalty or reward for services rendered and expectations exceeded. It has been my experience that most Architecture firms talk a big talk about rewarding growth and development and providing compensation and a living wage, but when push comes to shove, it they give equal percentage raises across the board. It seems as if they have no idea that at my level of experience and in the recent job market there is always someone else willing to pay more for your services. We’ll see how this changes in the coming recession.