How To Become A Building Architect: What It Is and Career Path

What is a building architect and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Robin Puttock

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a building architect. For example, did you know that they make an average of $42.98 an hour? That's $89,404 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 3,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a building architect?

Robin Puttock

Interim Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, Visiting Assistant Professor, The Catholic University of America

In addition to all of the above, I recommend students stay connected with their professors. Most of us have a vast network that we would love to invite you into. Often, an introduction is the pivotal component to a new opportunity. Relationships are key, especially when a recent graduate does not have significant professional experience. In addition, recent graduates should be sure to spend time on crafting their cover letters, their resumes, their work samples, and their portfolios. Make sure you are putting your best foot forward when an opportunity does arise.

ScoreBuilding ArchitectUS Average

Salary

7.0

Avg. Salary $89,404

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.2

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.32%

Asian 16.25%

Black or African American 2.32%

Hispanic or Latino 11.99%

Unknown 3.96%

White 65.17%

Gender

female 14.71%

male 85.29%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

7.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a building architect

Explore building architect education requirements

Most common building architect degrees

Bachelor's

70.0 %

Associate

12.9 %

Master's

11.4 %

Start to develop specific building architect skills

Skills	Percentages
CAD	26.61%
Design Projects	16.72%
Windows	12.70%
Code Reviews	10.64%
Leed	8.98%

Complete relevant building architect training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New building architects learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a building architect based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real building architect resumes.

Research building architect duties and responsibilities

Manage complex implementations for medium to large healthcare organizations that directly impact patient care, revenue stream and regulatory compliance.
Coordinate architectural drawings and Revit model with all other disciplines involve.
Deliver thorough construction documentation, focuse detailing, and contract administration for a firm engage in private educational and healthcare work.
Enforce proper food preparation following FDA rules, regulations and policies.

Get building architect experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a building architect. The most common roles before becoming a building architect include project architect, architect team lead and project manager.

Prepare your building architect resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your building architect resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a building architect resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable building architect resume templates

Build a professional building architect resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your building architect resume.