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Senior architectural designer vs architectural designer

The differences between senior architectural designers and architectural designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a senior architectural designer and an architectural designer. Additionally, a senior architectural designer has an average salary of $74,891, which is higher than the $59,122 average annual salary of an architectural designer.

The top three skills for a senior architectural designer include revit, autocad and design concepts. The most important skills for an architectural designer are sketch, sketchup, and BIM.

Senior architectural designer vs architectural designer overview

Senior Architectural DesignerArchitectural Designer
Yearly salary$74,891$59,122
Hourly rate$36.01$28.42
Growth rate-3%-3%
Number of jobs53,72454,358
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4545
Years of experience1212

What does a senior architectural designer do?

A senior architectural designer's responsibilities include designing buildings, providing instructions to a manufacturing team, and using architectural design software to create models. Specifications for designs may be provided by clients or by a company. Senior architectural designers must also ensure that their buildings comply with all legal standards.

What does an architectural designer do?

An Architectural Designer is specialized in planning and designing structures/urban landscapes. They ensure that company policies and standards are maintained when providing services to clients.

Senior architectural designer vs architectural designer salary

Senior architectural designers and architectural designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Architectural DesignerArchitectural Designer
Average salary$74,891$59,122
Salary rangeBetween $55,000 And $101,000Between $45,000 And $77,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateNew JerseyVermont
Best paying companyWestern DigitalApple
Best paying industryMediaProfessional

Differences between senior architectural designer and architectural designer education

There are a few differences between a senior architectural designer and an architectural designer in terms of educational background:

Senior Architectural DesignerArchitectural Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorArchitectureArchitecture
Most common collegeCarnegie Mellon UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Senior architectural designer vs architectural designer demographics

Here are the differences between senior architectural designers' and architectural designers' demographics:

Senior Architectural DesignerArchitectural Designer
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 73.9% Female, 26.1%Male, 70.1% Female, 29.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 7.0% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 7.0% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between senior architectural designer and architectural designer duties and responsibilities

Senior architectural designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead the development of BIM modeling content for the architecture team as a direct report to the executive and lead architects.
  • Provide leadership and training to REVIT BIM team.
  • Create full construction set for permitting including electrical layout and HVAC (coordination with MEP and structural engineers).
  • Produce project renderings and animations in Revit for marketing purposes.
  • Design light fixtures to customer and principal specifications, utilizing sheet metal and aluminum extrusion methods using SolidWorks.
  • Design, develop and prepare documents for commercial/corporate building projects, condominiums, educational and recreational facilities.

Architectural designer example responsibilities.

  • Manage in- house projects and AutoCAD drawings.
  • Manage design and coordinate construction of grind up, interior finish, conversions and remodel projects.
  • Lead the development of BIM modeling content for the architecture team as a direct report to the executive and lead architects.
  • Submit drawings to OSHPD for approval.
  • Submit & review OSHPD back check comments.
  • Participate in sustainable practices for leer certified projects.
  • Show more

Senior architectural designer vs architectural designer skills

Common senior architectural designer skills
  • Revit, 24%
  • Autocad, 15%
  • Design Concepts, 9%
  • BIM, 6%
  • Design Development, 6%
  • Visualization, 6%
Common architectural designer skills
  • Sketch, 15%
  • SketchUp, 7%
  • BIM, 6%
  • Architectural Design, 6%
  • Building Codes, 5%
  • Construction Drawings, 4%

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