What is an enterprise architect and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Alfredo Fernandez-Gonzalez

An enterprise architect is an individual who designs and maintains an organization's overall technology strategy. They analyze the company's current IT infrastructure, identify areas for improvement, and create plans to optimize system performance and efficiency. They work closely with business stakeholders to ensure that these technology investments are aligned with the company's goals. Overall, enterprise architects play a critical role in helping organizations achieve their long-term goals by creating a solid technology foundation for success.

What general advice would you give to an Enterprise Architect?

Alfredo Fernandez-Gonzalez

Professor of Architecture, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

It is important for recent graduates to recognize that Architecture is no longer limited to the physical realm, as transformative technologies are providing interesting career opportunities in the digital realm as well. This rapidly evolving context offers many opportunities and new directions for the discipline and remaining (or becoming!) current in new developments in computing power, digital visuals, manufacturing technologies, and robotics, are ways in which a recent graduate can secure a good paying job.

ScoreEnterprise ArchitectUS Average

Salary

8.1

Avg. Salary $118,506

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

4.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 11.99%

Black or African American 6.24%

Hispanic or Latino 8.82%

Unknown 4.70%

White 67.73%

Gender

female 12.31%

male 87.69%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress Level

5.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.0

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.3

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being an Enterprise Architect?

Pros

High earning potential
Opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology
Chance to develop and implement large-scale projects
Opportunities for advancement and career growth
Ability to work on both technical and business aspects of projects

Cons

Difficulty in communicating technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
Long hours and tight deadlines on some projects
Risk of becoming too specialized in one area of expertise
May require significant travel or relocation
Potential for conflicts with other departments or teams within the organization.

Key steps to become an enterprise architect

Explore enterprise architect education requirements

Most common enterprise architect degrees

Bachelor's

67.2 %

Master's

23.3 %

Associate

5.0 %

Start to develop specific enterprise architect skills

Skills	Percentages
Cloud	6.79%
Infrastructure	6.09%
Roadmap	4.83%
AWS	4.76%
Java	4.65%

Complete relevant enterprise architect training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New enterprise 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 an enterprise architect based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real enterprise architect resumes.

Gain additional enterprise architect certifications

Enterprise architect certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific enterprise architect certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for enterprise architects include IT Information Library Foundations Certification (ITIL) and The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF).

More About Certifications

Research enterprise architect duties and responsibilities

Manage and update Jenkins build service.
Lead the approach of microservices for large outboard services.
Develop the physical model, and work with the DBA on managing the physical environments.
Consolidate, manage and support the DCMO SharePoint, MilBook, Forge.mil and other DoD databases and platforms.

Get enterprise architect experience

Prepare your enterprise architect resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your enterprise 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 an enterprise 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 Enterprise Architect Resume templates

Build a professional Enterprise 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 Enterprise Architect resume.