Architects are people who literally build your homes, offices and basically every building around you. They bring to life, your dreams and visions of what your house or office should look like. Being an architect is a dynamic, ever-changing and evolving process of learning and experiencing new ideas and technologies. They work on feasibility and environmental impact studies, site selection, cost analysis, and design needs along with planning to make your dreams come true. They use analytical thinking, communication, creativity, organizational and visualization skills to develop or renovate the building of your liking.
One can apply in private as well as public firms. Recently, there has been a huge exigency for talented and dedicated architects in construction, urban development, interior designing. Computer-Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) for developing designs and construction drawings can be used by architects to make their work finer and more accurate. To consider full-time, part-time, distance-learning, virtual classroom and online mode of study altogether, India has around 860 colleges offering architecture courses.
A candidate can choose to either take up a degree course or a diploma in architecture. You can pursue a Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture and PhD degree on UG, PG and Doctorate level, respectively. Diploma architecture course is a three years Architecture programme that can be pursued right after 10th with a minimum aggregate of 55 per cent.
Architecture Courses Eligibility Criteria
- Undergraduate level: With Mathematics and English as mandatory subjects, a candidate must have procured a minimum of 50 per cent aggregate score. You are also eligible to take the course having completed a 10+3 Diploma in any stream. The duration of the course is 5 years.
- Postgraduate level: A candidate must have passed Bachelor of Architecture course with a minimum of 50 per cent aggregate score. Master of Architecture is of two years.
- PhD level: A candidate must have passed Master of Architecture from a recognized university and secured a minimum of 55 per cent for general and 50 per cent for SC/ST and OBC. A candidate may also be required to pass PG entrance exams like GATE and CEED. The minimum course duration is three years whereas the maximum is six years.
Some of the Architecture colleges in India also take valid scores of some national, state and institution-level entrance exams such as JEE Main, JEE Advanced, KEAM and JoSAA in consideration for admission to Architecture courses. The eligibility might differ on the basis of the course selected by the candidate.
Books on Architecture that you need to check out
- Architecture: Form, Space and Order by Francis D.K. Ching
- Architectural Drawing by David Dernie
- GATE Architecture by Jinisha Jain
- Sun, Wind and Light: Architectural Design Strategies by G.Z. Brown
- The geometry of Design by Kimberly Elam
- The Future of Architecture in 100 Buildings by Marc Kushner
- A Complete Self Study Guide for B.Arch. Entrance Examination by PK Mishra.
- Steps to Architecture: B.Arch. (NATA/JEE Main) Exam Guide Paperback by Nimish Madan.
- NATA and B.Arch. Complete Self Study Material by Ar. Shadan Usmani.
- B.Arch Entrance Examination Guide by Surendra Kavimandan
Colleges that offer architecture courses in about 10 lakh rupees
- SPA Delhi
- HITS, Chennai
- SPA Bhopal
- JMI, Delhi
- NIT Calicut
- NIT Hamirpur
- MANIT, Bhopal
- NIT Trichy
Salary of an Architect
The more experience in the field, the more the salary. Initially, one can expect a salary varying from Rs. 4 Lac to Rs. 5 Lacs per annum. Although, as your work experience increases and your skills improve, you might get into the range of Rs. 8 Lac to Rs. 10 Lacs per annum. When comparing salaries in the private and government sector, the former exceeds the latter. Your salary also varies on the basis of job profile, location and company.
Job profiles
Some professional job positions that you can take up after completing your degree are Architect, Architecture Designer, Architecture Engineer, Interior Designer, Architecture Draftsman, Technical Assistant, Project Assistant Manager, Manager, Architectural Assistant, Architectural Historian or Journalist, Landscape Architect, Building Contractor, etc.
Recruiting companies for Architects
Some leading companies that hire architecture students are Adani Group, JLL, Kalpataru Power, Shapoorji Pallonji, PWC, Reliance, Turner, Alkins, SPCL, MEGA, KPMG, Voyants, Applied Materials, Reliance Industries Ltd, Tata Projects, GMR, HCC, L&T, Oracle, Uadaan, L&T Construction, PWC, Tata Steel, Siemens, V Construct, Honeywell, Applied Material, Maruti Suzuki, Larsen and Toubro, Tata and Hindustan Construction Company.
If creative work, job security, dynamic working style, learning about new technologies and advancements along with a handsome pay after a few initial years of hard work and long hours is what you are looking for, being an Architect is what you need.
– Aishwarya Ojha
