What does an architectural internship do?
The job of architectural interns is to assist an architect with all aspects of architectural work. Their duties and responsibilities may include maintaining project files, conducting research on construction sites such as zoning laws and regulations, and preparing presentations for clients. They are also expected to create 3D models and do drafting. The skills and qualifications required for this role include a degree in architecture or a related field, in-depth knowledge of 3D modeling software such as Autodesk and AutoCAD, and hand drafting skills.
Architectural internship responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real architectural internship resumes:
- Manage a team of 6 experts in Cisco networks, VMware, Cisco UCS, NetApp and many other technologies.
- Lead microarchitecture and RTL designer of cache control and memory control for Intel's next generation server microprocessor.
- Web development HTML, CSS, MySQL and SQL, PHP, jQuery, AJAX.
- Utilize REVIT to produce architectural working drawings.6.
- Architect and design cache controller that creates significant new revenue.
- Troubleshoot and repair used CNC vertical mill and plasma for personal use.
- Develop civil drawings, site plans, mechanical (HVAC) electrical drawings.
- Coordinate with engineers to get electrical, plumbing, and HVAC plans ready for construction.
- Obtain quotes, initiate and monitor order process for servers and software require for projects.
- Transform sketch ideas into artistic color presentations, both digital and hand-drawn for design communication to clients.
- Engineer and design campus environment consisting of components such as routers, switches, servers and modems.
- Aid the senior architect with floor plans, section details & elevations for small scale renovations in AutoCAD & REVIT.
- Investigate future generation microprocessor memory and cache controllers.
- Draft construction documents using BIM software and authore construction specifications.
- Cooperate with consultants to sketch and draft documents for customer evaluation to troubleshoot layout parameters.
Architectural internship skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Architectural Interns are proficient in Sketch, Auto CAD, and PowerPoint. They’re also known for soft skills such as Time-management skills, Technical skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Architectural Interns that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Sketch, 14%
Cooperated with consultants to sketch and draft documents for customer evaluation to troubleshoot layout parameters.
- Auto CAD, 7%
Performed AUTO CAD drawings and statistical analysis for a feasibility study of developing the HongMei Road - JinHai Road Corridor.
- PowerPoint, 7%
Create PowerPoint Presentations for client presentations.
- BIM, 5%
Drafted construction documents using BIM software and authored construction specifications.
- Adobe Photoshop, 5%
Design utilizing AutoCAD, Freehand and Digital rendering, Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign, Google SketchUp, CorelDraw & Microsoft Office Suite.
- Adobe Creative Suite, 4%
Rendered drawings for various competitions Prepared Construction documents for multiple projects Performed various tasks using Adobe Creative Suite and AutoCAD
"sketch," "auto cad," and "powerpoint" are among the most common skills that architectural interns use at work. You can find even more architectural internship responsibilities below, including:
Time-management skills. The most essential soft skill for an architectural internship to carry out their responsibilities is time-management skills. This skill is important for the role because "drafters often work under deadline." Additionally, an architectural internship resume shows how their duties depend on time-management skills: "produce and maintain high quality architectural drawings from schematic to construction document phase consistently meeting deadlines using autocad architecture. "
Technical skills. Many architectural internship duties rely on technical skills. "drafters in all specialties must be able to use computer software, such as cad, and work with database tools, such as building information modeling (bim).," so an architectural internship will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways architectural internship responsibilities rely on technical skills: "prepared scaled drawings required for contract approvals and designed technical drawings for construction. "
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for architectural interns to perform their duties. For an example of how architectural internship responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "drafters must take care that the plans they convert are technically accurate according to the outlined specifications." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an architectural internship: "followed through design development drawings and collaborating with engineering partners for technical details and completion of construction drawings in autocad. ".
Math skills. architectural internship responsibilities often require "math skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "drafters work on technical drawings." This resume example shows what architectural interns do with math skills on a typical day: "output file gathers statistics like cache hit rate, mesi state, and lru state of cache lines with snoop response. "
Creativity. A commonly-found skill in architectural internship job descriptions, "creativity" is essential to what architectural interns do. Architectural internship responsibilities rely on this skill because "drafters must be able to turn plans and ideas into technical drawings of buildings, tools, and systems." You can also see how architectural internship duties rely on creativity in this resume example: "assisted interior design department with space planning and creative interior architectural design solutions. "
The three companies that hire the most architectural internships are:
Choose from 10+ customizable architectural internship resume templates
Build a professional architectural internship resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your architectural internship resume.
Compare different architectural interns
Architectural internship vs. Computer aided drafter
A computer-aided drafter is responsible for creating designs, usually for industrial manufacturing and construction projects, using computer-aided software systems and applications. Computer-aided drafters should have excellent command in programming languages and navigating computer system codes to develop a technical output, following the clients' specifications and business requirements. They also work closely with design engineers to discuss dimensions, costs, materials, and production processes. A computer-aided drafter must be highly communicative and organizational, incorporating all the schematics, developing operational manuals, and performing draft adjustment as needed.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an architectural internship are more likely to require skills like "adobe photoshop," "adobe creative suite," "java," and "schematic design." On the other hand, a job as a computer aided drafter requires skills like "cad standards," "aided design," "cad drawings," and "autocad release." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Computer aided drafters earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $46,473. On the other hand, architectural interns are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $58,087.computer aided drafters tend to reach lower levels of education than architectural interns. In fact, computer aided drafters are 10.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Architectural internship vs. Draftsman/designer
A computer-aided design (CAD) designer is responsible for creating plan outlines and project designs for a specific business need. A CAD designer utilizes various technologies and software applications to generate graphic illustrations. CAD designers must have strong knowledge of the technology designs, software management, engineering standards, and the construction industry fundamentals. CAD designers label their works with appropriate dimensions and specifications, performing necessary adjustments to meet the clients' needs. A CAD designer requires excellent critical-thinking and analytical skills to manage design structures and creative solutions.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that architectural internship responsibilities requires skills like "bim," "adobe photoshop," "adobe creative suite," and "java." But a draftsman/designer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "design layouts," "solidworks," "r," and "hvac."
Draftsman/designers earn a lower average salary than architectural interns. But draftsman/designers earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $56,766. Additionally, architectural interns earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $58,087 annually.draftsman/designers earn lower levels of education than architectural interns in general. They're 11.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Architectural internship vs. Autocad draftsman
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from architectural internship resumes include skills like "powerpoint," "bim," "adobe photoshop," and "adobe creative suite," whereas an autocad draftsman is more likely to list skills in "elevations," "cnc," "structural layout," and "civil engineering. "
Autocad draftsmen typically earn lower educational levels compared to architectural interns. Specifically, they're 11.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Architectural internship vs. Computer aided design designer
Types of architectural internship
Updated January 8, 2025
