Alternative Career Paths for Architects : Exploring Opportunities Beyond Designs

04.09.2024 05:33 PM By Ar. Toral

Exploring Creative Career Paths Outside Traditional Design

  • Are you self-doubting yourself?
  • Why did I even do Architecture?? Is this thought visiting your mind these days??
Let’s keep these negative thoughts aside for a while and look at this situation with a ​different perspective.
  • May be, just maybe, your building designing skills are not as good as Architecture demands, but it would be completely wrong to think that Architecture starts and ends with design. That is actually NOT the scene.
  • Friends, we have cleared architecture, and giving up was never in the syllabus. So, do not self-doubt your abilities and capabilities.
  • As an individual, you already have talent and skills; additionally, pursuing Architecture has for sure added more to it. And not only technical skills are added or enhanced but real life skills and qualities are added too.
  • To divert your mind towards the positive side of this, "I am not a good Architect or Designer"; let me tell you actually how many worthy skills you already have after completing this Architectural Journey.
  • If we start making a list of skills that architects possess, we will be shocked how much we are taught and 
  • trained for anything that the world throws at us. 
Broader Imagination Power
Good choice & Good taste
All round knowledge
Graphical Presentation
Knowledge of software
Team Work & Management
Working under pressure
Meeting Deadlines
Writing Good Content
Research & Development
Understand light and space
Problem Solving
Multi Tasking
Critical Thinking
Designing
  • That’s a long list, friends. And I am so sure I have missed a lot of them even after writing so many.
  • Architect and architecture sounds so magical and classy to the one who has not been through the process. It is not like I was forced to pursue it or forced to finish it, but whatever the love-hate relationship I have with Architecture, I will always be grateful to the process and journey it took me onto. I think you will also agree with me on this.
  • That does not mean that it becomes a compulsion to pass out and either work under someone or with someone or start your own practice. 
  • So, my friends, here today, I will list down around 26 alternate careers an Architect can pursue if not designing buildings. Along with that, I have also shared further links that you can read and understand more. At some points, I have also shared some links to the Instagram handle of my batch-mates who, after completing Architecture, chose other alternate paths and are successfully working in their fields.

​26 Alternate Career Paths for Architects

1. Communication Specialist/  Architectural Journalism
Expressing ideas about building through observation, analysis, reflection, criticism, manifestos and narratives. Read more through the below links: 
2. Writer/Editor/Author/Blogger/Content Creator
In college library we used to find magazines like Domus, Dezeen, Architectural Digest and a lot many. You can be a part of any of these or even start your own if you have confidence about your writing skills. I don’t think any architecture magazine is completed without the touch of an Architect in it in some way. I also came across a publishing company name Altrim Publishers. If you read the team who works on the Architectural Travel Guides and the departments that are needed to complete such books, you will know that this can also be your place. Check out the link to the travel guide and find out more about the team they need, and why not apply to work with them or start something of your own:
3. Academician
A NATA teacher, a college Professor, a visiting faculty, taking electives in colleges - you can be a part of the knowledge sector of Architecture too. Do you think you have Jeetu Bhaiya vibes ( Kota Factory )?? Architecture, or broadly saying, education in India really needs passionate teachers. So if you think you are the one, this one is for you. Again, for this career alternative,I have a personal reference of one of my batch mates. He is a Landscape Architect from SPA Delhi, but currently works as a faculty member. A really good designer, amazing sketch artist, you can follow him on Instagram also DM him if you need some guidance. 
Sharing his Instagram handle : 
4. BIM Manager

A BIM manager is the project lead and the primary point of contact for the various BIM coordinators within a project. The BIM manager’s end responsibility is to deliver a qualitative model (on time) which can be used for the defined goals of the BIM and in that way support the construction process. If BIM is what attracts, then I have the perfect person for you to take guidance and excel in this field. You can connect with him through 

Linkedin : 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ar-shivang-rajvir/

5. Project Manager

Project managers oversee the planning and delivery of construction projects. They ensure that work is completed on time and within budget. They organise logistics, delegate work, and keep track of spending.

6. Green Building Consultant

If nature love and saving the environment is what you are keen towards, then this might be your thing. According to me IGBC is the best place to learn and then you can be an advisor or a consultant for creating and certifying sustainable  or green buildings.You can enrol yourself through the below link: 

https://igbc.in

7. BIM Consultant
BIM Consultants are people who advice Architects and firms, guide then into the BIM world, provide trainings and implementations to their teams so that the new firms on BIM board feel confident about switching from the 2D world to the BIM world.They also provide with the correct and suitable BIM software and help the firms for a better design workflow.If you want to read more about this, talk to certified BIM Managers or even become a BIM consultant then 
DIMENSION PLUS is the right choice for you.
8. Conservationist
Your role, as a historic buildings inspector or conservation officer, will be to advise on and promote the conservation of historic buildings, structures, and areas of special historic, architectural, or artistic interest.
You can join research programmes: 
Read about it: 
9. Estimation and Costing Specialist
Architects and cost estimating, are they out of touch?
Why We’re So Bad At Estimating?
If you are the opposite of the above questions, then a lot of Architects and Architecture firms are looking for you.
What will be the cost of the project?
How much money do we need to spend?
How much will each vendor charge?
What should we keep in the budget? Will it increase??
These are the questions asked by clients to every single architect. And only a proper estimation and costing can give the correct answer. 
So if you are good with numbers, this can be your choice.
10. Graphic Designer

Graphic Designers are visual storytellers. Through combining images, words, and graphics, they communicate information and engage audiences.Architects understand visual composition and design principles.Using architectural precision and adding the creative flair, an Architect turned Graphic Designer can create visually stunning  creatives   https://brainstation.io/career-guides/how-to-become-a-graphic-designer

11. Ui-Ux Designer
UI UX designers create the user interface for an app, website, or other interactive media.
Both architecture and UI/UX design deal with user experience, physical and digital, respectively. Architects, in fact, already have the upper hand when it comes to thinking about the needs of the users. They have been taught to consider many elements as part of ‘design’, including the experience of the users to a space. This already is the basic concept of UI UX design, even more so for the latter.
12. Website Designer
Can an Architect learn Web Designing?? Why not. It is alike to designing and constructing a building.Foundation, Framework, Composition, Colour Palettes, Spaces, etc. are all that we think about while thinking about the design of the building.
Check out the video and see how you can pursue this:
13. Product Designer
A product designer is a professional who is responsible for creating and developing physical products. This can include everything from household items and furniture to consumer electronics and appliances. Product designers work with a variety of materials, including metal, plastic, wood, and textiles, to create functional and aesthetically pleasing products. Transferable skills that Architects bring to Product Design: Design Thinking, Empathy, Feedback,Collaboration,Visual Presentation, Focus,Tools, and Tech Savvy.
14. 3D Rendering & Visualisation

3D visualization artists are helping creators envision and plan projects before they go into production, streamlining workflows and saving businesses time and money.3D visualisers bring architects’ ideas to life, taking plans, architectural illustrations, and other reference materials, and using these to produce photo-realistic 3D images or animations of proposed buildings and developments. As a 3D visualiser, you’ll need to be both creative and technically-minded in order to model prospective buildings that will both function well and look good.

https://www.easyrender.com/a/architectural-rendering-as-a-career-choice-things-newbies-should-know-about

15. VR AR Consultant

As an architectural AR/VR consultant, you advise practising architects to shift towards new-age technologies because modern practice blurs the lines between concepts and reality. As a VR/AR consultant, you need expertise in related software and technologies. You must also understand user experience (UX) design principles to convey the concepts effectively. 

16. Gaming Animation
If you’ve ever dreamed of designing architecture-oriented games like Project High-rise, SimCity Buildt, or Minecraft, architectural gamification is a profession for you.Gamification encourages creativity and learning by fostering a sense of virtual interaction with spaces. 
17. Model Maker

Today, the market is filled with so many 3D visualisation and 3D rendering software, but the model has its own importance. It can be felt and touched, and that makes it even better than 3D renders. Architects need the model to understand space and scale, while making process models the design gets shaped, it can be kept in the sun to understand how sciagraphy works.So if patience and precision are your qualities, then you can take up model making.

18. Architect/Interior Photographer
Architectural photography is a genre of photography that focuses on capturing photographs of buildings or structures. Hence, it also involves photographing the interiors and exteriors of buildings, bridges, structures, and cityscapes.When I was interning at a firm in Surat I got a chance to witness the work Photographix: 
 one of the company listed in the link below whose one of the partner is an Architect. Read more through the below links: 
19. Furniture Designer
Did you know, Sönke Hoof, one of the partners at Sangath - Vaastu Shilpa Consultants, Ahmedabad has a professional degree in Carpentry. So to say carpentry inspired him to become an Architect. It can be vice versa for you. Check out the link below to find some people working in this field:
20. Naval Architect
Naval architects work as part of a team responsible for designing, producing, and repairing safe, sea-worthy surfaces or underwater vessels. Naval architects need to have a creative, logical, and inquiring mind. Naval architects can work with a range of vessels including ships, ferries, submarines, and yachts.
read more through the below links:
21. Brand Shop/Retail Store Designer
Once, a colleague of mine, while we were chatting on the same topic as the blog is, she mentioned that one of her Architect friends is working with Fabindia to design all their shops in India. Sounds Interesting?? According to my observation, all brands have a design language for their stores, and who else will design for them if not architects Let’s take for example Pepperfry or Ellementary or even the book store Crossword.
Check out some retail shop design types below:
22. Material Vendors
If design is not your thing, then providing all kinds of supplies needed to finish the project can be done through you. We know that n number of products are needed to complete one project. You can choose the one that interests you the most and start making contacts for dealerships. This particular field will widen your knowledge of the products and materials and new technologies that are present and also coming in the future. You can be a material consultant too. Telling clients which material is latest, trending, sustainable, cost friendly, etc.
Something like these:
23. Exhibition and Installation Designer

Have you heard of the event FOAID?? Such events and a lot of others need a designer to design every space for the visitors to go through the complete flow and the theme of the exhibit. An exhibition designer is a professional who creates fixtures and display stands for events such as large public exhibitions, conferences, trade shows, and temporary displays for businesses, museums, libraries, and art galleries. 

https://www.yorkvilleu.ca/blog/how-to-become-an-exhibit-designer/

24. Comic Artist
If sketching, doodling, and making comic characters is what you are good at, being an Illustrator is the right choice for you.You must have seen Leewardist and many other Artists. One of the founding partner of Leewardist is also an Architect.Check out about it here:
25. Film Production & Video Maker
If not making designs, then capturing them and turning them into videos, series, documentaries, or even movies.We all know the power of a video, then just written words, and not only filming architecture, there are various topics on which videos can be made. You can also collaborate with someone making the video and you being in the post processing team.
Check out the links below:
26. Set Designer/Production
In this field, architects use their skills to create the physical backdrop against which stories unfold. This involves designing sets that reflect the mood, era, and atmosphere of the narrative, working closely with directors and cinematographers. Two of my friends,architects and also a married couple, are now in Mumbai and working with big names in the Bollywood film industry. No filmy connection and no nepotism, they both have got there through their sincere hard work. Sharing their Instagram handles for you to check out: 
Read more through the below links:
As Architecture students we all have discussed of opening a coffee shop, or a chai sutta corner, a printing shop and what not. Do you know the main reason for their success??
They actually understood what interests them and what they are good at. It was just a matter of getting the best at it, and there it was SUCCESS. So don’t doubt this Architecture degree; don’t think of it as a waste of time, money, and energy. It has given you a hell lot of things. Go and embrace them.
Lastly, I would quote one of my favourite lines from the movie Gully Boy - “ ​​Find & Follow your Passion; Money and Success will surely come.” Along with work satisfaction and inner fulfilment.
Heartiest gratitude to the readers who came till the end of the blog.
Some other interesting links on the same topic
Youtube Links
Alternative Careers For Architects
Changing Career from Architecture
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Ar. Toral

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