Sometimes we view ourselves only through our current career or our main focus, but many times skills are intertwined with passions and smaller projects that you are working on. Sometimes you have to think outside the box and see where your overall skills beyond just architecture or design can be applied to other parts of the economy. Find 7 interesting alternative career options for architects to be able to expand your horizon when it comes to your career and passions in life.
1. Industrial Designer
Every product you use comes from industrial design – would a coffee maker be as attractive without the rounded shape, oversized buttons, and vibrant color?
Industrial design in the development of a product from kitchen gadgets to cars involves a designer to:
- Ensure it does what the user needs.
- Create an aesthetically pleasing object.
- Make it straightforward to manufacture.
Architectural skills of drawing and sketching, 3D modeling, 3D rendering, understanding materials, and finishes mean architects transition smoothly into an industrial designer’s role in any industry.
2. Business Entrepreneur
Anyone can set up a business, but architects have a head start on the necessary business skills to set up a successful and profitable business.
As an architect, you get used to budgeting, project management, accounting, and managing conflicting deadlines. You also have the experience of sticking with a project and coping with the challenges.
Your business idea may be completely unrelated to architecture, or it may be complementary, but either way, you have the skills to forge your own business path.
3. Set and Production Designer
What else can you do with an architecture degree?
Consider working in the film industry. A production designer works with a film or theater director and producer to design and create all the visual elements involved.
These visual elements include:
- Finding locations (film) – that are in keeping with the age and style.
- Designing and creating sets and props.
- Setting the style guide for costumes.
- Graphic design.
You get the opportunity to work with stage productions, movies, video, TV, and television advertising.
4. CGI / Animator
A successful CGI artist or animator needs computer skills with graphic programs.
Some degree courses flow through to a CGI and animation career, but most artists are self-employed, and it is your experience and portfolio that land you the paying gig.
As an architect, you are familiar with learning computer design software, and that is a transferrable skill into learning how to use animation software.
Ultimately, successful artists have a flair and eye for design blended with technical skills.
You can work in the film or games industry and commercial marketing work involving CGI or animation.
5. Virtual World Designer
It is a small step from a 3D rendition of a building to creating a whole world for the film or games industry.
Why stop at one building when you can create an entire city, planet, or universe?
The skill lies in creating realistic world views that are impossible yet strangely believable.
A virtual world is a computer simulation, and you see it in films like Inception and Ready Player One. Sometimes they recreate the real world (like Notre Dame Cathedral in Assassin’s Creed) or a complete fantasy (like Dark World).
Opportunities lie in film, games, and marketing, and this is an area that an architect with a strong technical appreciation of how buildings and landscapes work together can thrive.
6. Stage Designer
Shakespeare calls the whole world a stage; architects design the most spectacular props and settings on that stage.
On a smaller scale, you have stages in theaters, concert halls, music festivals, political rallies, and commercial presentations that need props and settings.
Some stages (and their designs) go on tour, some are built for a week or two and then dismantled, but stages crop up in the most surprising locations.
It is still a design and build job and architects are excellent at that.
7. Automobile Designer
Engineers design the mechanical working parts, but a car is more than the engine – its appearance and comfort matter to the buyer, especially in the high-end luxury market.
A car is a structure to carry people from one place to another.
An automobile designer makes that moveable structure comfortable and attractive for people, much like an architect designing a structure.
Architects as designers quickly move into a field like automobile design as alternative career options for architects.
When considering your next career move, plan proactively and create Portfolios that include your best work. Consider looking into finding a mentor with Architect-US, and improving your Portfolios with our Portfolio Plans and Career Advice Program. We provide coaching and personalized mentorship, so you can have a professional and experienced take on your next steps in your career, as well as a great team to confide in.
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