Architecture Courses - Careers, Salary, Jobs, Scope

Why Architecture?

Architecture is the art and science of planning, designing and constructing buildings or structures. The candidates interested in this course are required to be artistic and creative. They are taught about constructional science, methodology, and technology through theoretical syllabi and practical training. The job of architects involves creating designs for construction projects according to budget constraints, environmental factors, and client needs.

Architecture courses are offered at Bachelors, masters and research level. The duration can range between 2 to 5 years, depending on the course.

These professionals are required to work for private companies in the design and construction sectors or as part of public construction corporations. They work closely with engineers, architectural technicians, and construction specialists and oversee a project from beginning to end. They should have good drawing, imaginative, presentation and management skills and should have a creative and logical approach to problem-solving.

The architects are required to travel on a daily basis to the construction sites, proposed locations, and meetings. They generally work outdoors. They are required to work for a standard 40 hours in a week but may work for long hours in order to meet project deadlines.

Architecture Courses

Degrees offered at diploma, undergraduate courses, and postgraduate level are as follows:

Jobs and career opportunities in Architecture Industry

Some of the popular job roles in this field are:

Architect

These professionals are responsible for designing new buildings, roads, bridges and provide alterations to existing constructions.

They may work on individual buildings or large redevelopment schemes and may be responsible for designing landscapes. They handle a project from scratch to masterpiece. They should be imaginative, creative and have analytical and good communication skills.

The average salary of an architect is INR 3.5 lakhs.

Architecture Engineer

They have the qualification of an architect and a civil engineer. These professionals are responsible for creating efficient building systems. They often work on projects with other professionals, construction workers and architects to make sure the plan is structurally feasible.

They may be required to work on new construction projects or renovations of existing buildings. They need to have good communication and adaptability skills.

The average salary of an architecture engineer is INR 3.6 lakhs per year.

Architecture Designer

These professionals are involved in designing houses and other small buildings, parks and urban landscapes. They perform some roles of an architect and additional duties such as designing of decorative facades malls or big and small buildings.

They work as a part of a company or studio or independently. The average salary of an architecture designer is INR 3.6 lakhs per year.

Interior Designer

These professionals are responsible for making interior spaces safe, beautiful and functional. They enhance the quality of living or working environment by making sure that these spaces have appropriate lighting, colors, and decoration.

They must possess excellent graphic, presentation, interpersonal and communication skills. They may work in studios, theatres, private consultancies, building, hotel chains and public works department.

Their average salary is INR 2.9 lakhs per year.

Architectural Draftsman

They are responsible for creating architectural constructional documents and drawings for their projects. They also inspect projects for quality assurance. They review, analyze, propose ideas and provide recommendations. They should have strong interpersonal skills.

They work in construction-related projects for public or private companies. Their average salary is INR 2.8 lakhs in a year.

Salary in Architecture Industry

The average salary for a beginner is around INR 20,000 a month but increases with experience to INR 60,000/month in 4-5 years. The salary in the private sector is more than the government sector.

There is an acute shortage of trained architects in India in spite of the demand. The demand is further expected to increase because of urbanization, industrialization and increased need for accommodation. Thus students with this specialization are in huge demand in India and companies are even ready to pay good salaries.

The demand for these professionals is expected to rise because of expansion of FDI in real estate sector and this would attract huge money from foreign companies. Thus the salaries are expected to go up.

Recruiters Architecture Recruiters

Among the top recruiters are in the public sector and private players in design and construction sector. Some of them are:

• DLF
• Eros Group
• L & T
• Jindal Group
• Public Works Department
• Ministry of Defense
• Department of Railways
• National Building Organization
• Housing and Urban Development Corporation
• Town and Country Planning Organization

Specializations offered

• Construction- Under this specialization, candidates learn the process of building a structure. Candidates taking up this specialization are a part of the design team and play an important role in providing inputs to the construction team to make the structure perfect. They are involved right from start to the completion of a project.

• Urban Design- This specialization involves the study of issues related to a situation. The candidates are taught not just to construct a building but putting together an entire living area and determining the right fit between social, economic, cultural and environmental needs. It thus helps in providing creative solutions for spatial needs.

• Interior Design- This specialization involves providing creative and sustainable solutions to enhancing the interiors of a space to achieve a healthy and pleasing environment for the user. It includes conceptual development, space planning, site inspections, programming, research, communication, construction management and execution of the design.

• Finance- Under this specialization, candidates learn how materials work together and how a design has to be constructed keeping the budget in mind. This gives the architects an idea of how much material is required to complete the construction within the given budget and he is able to save costs on the project.

Consultant- These specialists are the ones who put forward a plan rather than being involved in making the plan. Consulting architects are firm owners or managers and they are responsible for planning creative and good building design solutions for customers. These specialized candidates are hired by independent architecture or design firms.

Courses & Subjects

The course content for some course are mentioned below:

Top colleges offering Architecture courses in India

Below is a list of some of the popular colleges in India offering Architecture courses–

Let’s look at some renowned colleges that provide this course in detail:

Sir JJ College of Architecture, Mumbai

Sir JJ College of Architecture was established in 1913 and is the top architecture college in India as per Outlook. The college has consistently excelled and enhanced its reputation due to some renowned alumni architects. It has an excellent teaching facility that is all well updated with the current trends in the Architecture & construction industry.

Course: B.Arch. and M.Arch.

Recognition: AICTE

Fees: INR 17,800 per year for B.Arch. and INR 9,130 per year for M.Arch.

Eligibility:

• For B.Arch., 10+2 with Science and English with minimum 45% marks
• For M.Arch. , B.Arch. with minimum 50% marks

CEPT University, Ahmedabad

CEPT University was established in 1962 and takes its name from the ‘Center for Environmental Planning and Technology’. It aims to understand, plan, design, manage and construct human habitats and intends to deepen the understanding of human settlement through its teaching programs.

Recognition: AICTE, UGC

Course: B.Arch and M.Arch

Fees: INR 2.79 lakhs for B.Arch. and INR 3.3 lakhs for M.Arch.

Eligibility:

• 10+2 with minimum 50% marks for B.Arch
• Arch. with 50% marks for M.Arch

Salary: INR 4-6 lakhs per annum

Placement: L&T, DLF, Tata Consulting Services, HDFC, PwC etc.

 Chandigarh College of Architecture, Chandigarh

Chandigarh College of Architecture was established in 1961 and is affiliated with Punjab University, Chandigarh. It is a part of an ambitious project to communicate the need for architecture education. It aims to provide practical knowledge to the students, enhance their knowledge and make them aware of the real scenario.

Recognition: AICTE, COA

Course: B.Arch

Fees: INR 17,150 per year

Eligibility: 10+2 with minimum 60% marks from a recognized board

Placement: GNG Consultants, HR House, Personal Network, Websol etc.

National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli

National Institute of Technology was established in 1964 with the vision of imparting excellent technical education and conducting research studies and thus providing valuable resources to the industry and society.  The college focuses on academics, professional practice and extra-curricular activities.

Recognition: AICTE, UGC

Course: B.Arch, M.Arch (Energy Efficient & Sustainable Architecture)

Fees: INR 1.4 lakhs for B.Arch and INR 89,200 for M.Arch per year

Eligibility:

• For B.Arch- 10+2 from a recognized board
• For M. Arch- Bachelors in relevant stream from a recognized university

Placement: Jindal Group, Vedanta, Ernst & Young etc.

Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee

Indian Institute of Technology was established in 1847 but the Department of Architecture & Planning was established in 1956. The institute aims to attain a global level of excellence in education and has an objective to create a sustainable and equitable society through innovative research in science and technology.

Recognition: AICTE

Course: B.Arch

Fees: INR 1.3 lakhs for B.Arch. and INR 22,080 for M.Arch. per year

Eligibility:

• For B.Arch- 10+2 from a recognized board
• For M. Arch- Bachelors in relevant stream from a recognized university

Placement: Aarvee Associates Architects Engineers & Consultants Pvt Limited, NKG Infrastructure Ltd etc.

Average salary: INR 7.2 lakhs

Requirements for Architecture course

The requirements vary according to the degree courses and institutes. In most institutes, the requirements are:

• For Undergraduate courses, the candidate must have done 10+2 or Equivalent with a minimum of 50% marks from a recognized board.
• For Postgraduate courses, the candidate must have done graduation in architecture.

Scope of Architecture in India

In the last decade, there has been a tremendous growth in the scope of architectural designs due to the introduction of new concepts, designs, and technological improvements. Currently, the requirement of architects does not meet the supply.

Due to urbanization, industrialization and increased need for accommodation, this demand is going to increase. Also, expansion of FDI in real estate will increase the demand for architects and will attract money from foreign companies and thus increase the salary.

There are multiple career opportunities available in government as well as private sectors in construction sectors, urban planning, consultancy companies, universities, architecture firms, real estate developing companies etc. The career opportunities are high because of the boom in the construction and design sectors.

Thus there is tremendous demand and multiple career opportunities available in this field which widens the scope of this course and makes it a lucrative career option for interested professionals.