Reframing the Stats About Architecture

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Architecture press is buzzing with recent Bureau of Labor Statistics reports on unemployment and self-employment figures for those in the architecture field. The media have taken this data and made a plentitude of fearful predictions about the dark future of the architecture profession: there are more too many graduates, seemingly few positions, higher educational requirements and less prestige for the profession as a whole. They paint a somewhat dismal picture, both for those entering the field and those in mid-career, who are looking to start a firm.

The BLA Statistics and a recent study from Georgetown University’s Center on Education offer the following as signs of difficulty and doom:

  • Licensing requirements (for architects) include not only a professional degree in architecture (4-6 years of schooling), but also at least 3 years of practical work, training, and passing all divisions of the Architect Registration Examination
  • Architecture graduates face stiff competition, especially for jobs in the most prestigious firms
  • Undergraduate architecture students are facing 13.9 percent unemployment rates
  • About 21 percent of architects are self-employed—almost 3 times the proportion for all occupations

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Cite: Jenn Kennedy. "Reframing the Stats About Architecture" 17 Jan 2012. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/200761/reframing-the-stats-about-architecture> ISSN 0719-8884

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