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

What is a head architect and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Michael Brazley Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a head architect. For example, did you know that they make an average of $41.23 an hour? That's $85,753 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 head architect?

Michael Brazley Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Architecture, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Work experience in an architect's office is best.

ScoreHead ArchitectUS Average

Salary

6.7

Avg. Salary $85,753

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.2

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.31%

Asian 12.53%

Black or African American 1.94%

Hispanic or Latino 9.39%

Unknown 3.80%

White 72.05%

Gender

female 22.58%

male 77.42%

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 head architect

Explore head architect education requirements

Most common head architect degrees

Bachelor's

76.0 %

Master's

12.0 %

High School Diploma

8.0 %

Start to develop specific head architect skills

Skills	Percentages
AWS	60.10%
API	25.97%
Design Development	7.38%
CAD	6.54%

Complete relevant head architect training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New head 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 head architect based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real head architect resumes.

Research head architect duties and responsibilities

Manage complex implementations for medium to large healthcare organizations that directly impact patient care, revenue stream and regulatory compliance.
Deliver thorough construction documentation, focuse detailing, and contract administration for a firm engage in private educational and healthcare work.
Upgrade and migrate SAN systems from XP10000 to EMC.
Provide customer onsite training of EMC's Navisphere manager and disk array layer applications.

Apply for head architect jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a head architect job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams